Sukumaran, J.

The two writ appeals are at the instance of the State Government and its officials. They question the correctness of the judgment in the two writ petitions-O.P. Nos. 2925 & 2929 of 1979-whereunder the learned judge quashed the revenue sale of the property of the two petitioners. The reason as given by the learned judge for nullifying the revenue sale is that the writ petitioners had become the owners of the property at the time when the revenue sale was actually conducted, that the properties did not therefore belong to the defaulter at (he time of the sale and that the revenue sale without reckoning the earlier private sale in favour of the petitioners was void.

2 The correctness of the reason so given has to be adjudged in the light of the facts and the provisions of the Kerala Revenue Recovery Act, 1969 (hereinafter referred to as 'The Act') particularly S.44 thereof.

3. We shall, at the outset, set out the relevant brief facts. The properties originally belonged to one A. P. Ramaswamy Gounder. He was an assessee to agricultural income-tax. Demands made for payment of the tax to the extent of Rs. 30,563.29 remained un responded to and the dues thus remain