High Court Of Rajasthan
Judgename : Kan Singh
BOGARAM - Appellant
Versus
MOHANARAM - Respondent
Second Appeal 340 Of 1964
Decided On : 09/14/1971
LAND REFORM - RAJASTHAN TENANCY ACT, 1955 - REPEAL OF EARLIER LAWS - NOTIFICATION REQUIRING PERMISSION FOR SALE OF LAND - INVALIDITY - SALE BY TENANT WITHOUT PERMISSION - VALIDITY - ATTACHMENT OF LAND IN EXECUTION OF DECREE - NOT PERMISSIBLE.
Fact of the Case:
A tenant, Isar, sold his agricultural land to Mohanaram by a registered sale deed without obtaining prior permission from the Revenue Commissioner as required by a notification issued by the former Bikaner State. Bogaram, a decree-holder against Isar, attached the land in execution of his decree. Mohanaram filed a declaratory suit under Order 21, Rule 63, Civil Procedure Code, challenging the attachment.
Finding of the Court:
The court held that the notification requiring permission for the sale of land was repealed by the Rajasthan Tenancy Act, 1955, and that the sale by Isar to Mohanaram was valid. The court also held that the agricultural land in the occupation of a tenant was not liable to attachment in the execution of a decree.
Issues: 1. Whether the notification requiring permission for the sale of land was law. 2. Whether the sale by Isar to Mohanaram was valid. 3. Whether the agricultural land in the occupation of a tenant was liable to attachment in the execution of a decree.
Ratio Decidendi: 1. The notification requiring permission for the sale of land was repealed by Section 3(b) of the Rajasthan Tenancy Act, 1955, which repealed all laws inconsistent with the provisions of the Act. 2. The sale by Isar to Mohanaram was valid as the notification requiring permission for the sale of land was repealed and there were no other restrictions on the sale of land by a tenant under the Rajasthan Tenancy Act. 3. The agricultural land in the occupation of a tenant was not liable to attachment in the execution of a decree under Section 37 of the Rajasthan Tenancy Act.
Final Decision: The court dismissed the appeal filed by Bogaram, upholding the validity of the sale by Isar to Mohanaram and declaring that the agricultural land was not liable to attachment in the execution of Bogaram's decree.
Key Points: - The Rajasthan Tenancy Act, 1955 repealed laws inconsistent with its provisions, including a notification requiring permission for sale of land (!) , (!) . - Section 3 of the Rajasthan Tenancy Act, 1955 repeals inconsistent laws; the Bikaner Tenancy Act, 1945 is repealed (!) . - The notification of 11-10-1943 requiring permission before sale is deemed repealed by Section 3(b) of the Rajasthan Tenancy Act (!) , (!) . - Section 41 of the Act: Khatedar tenants’ interest is transferable with restrictions; sale restrictions may be removed post-repeal (!) . - Section 37 of the Act provides that tenant rights in a holding are not liable to seizure, attachment, or sale by Civil Court, supporting non-attachment (!) . - The sale by Isar to Mohanaram is valid due to repeal of the notification and lack of other restrictions on sale of land by a tenant under the Act (!) , (!) . - The appellate court concluded the agricultural land in occupation of a tenant was not liable to attachment in execution of a decree (!) , (!) . - The District Judge’s view that Civil Court may grant relief even if the notification existed was not upheld; repeals govern validity (!) . - The appeal by Bogaram was dismissed; costs borne by each party in this Court (!) .
KAN SINGH, J.
( 1 ) THIS is a defen-dants second appeal arising out of a declaratory suit under order 21, Rules 63, Civil Procedure Code, The facts are not in dispute and lie within a narrow compass.
( 2 ) BOGARAM, defendant No. 1 (now appellant) was the decree-holder and defendant No. 2 Isar was the judgment debtor. Bogaram had filed the suit against isar sometime in the yean 1956 and obtained an order of attachment before judgment against his agricultural land on 19-101956. After the suit was decreed in favour of Bogaram on 23-2-1957. he put the decree in ex-ecution regarding 64 beghas of the agri-cultural land under attachment. Moha-naram, respondent, filed an objection, under Order 21, Rule 58. Civil Procedure Code making grievance of the attachment. He stated that this land had been sold to him by Isar by a register-ed sale deed on 9-6-1956 prior to the attachment before judgment in question. He further asserted that he was in possession of the land. The execution court, however, dismissed the objection on 11-4-1959. Mohanaram then filed the declaratory suit under Order 21. Rule 63, Civil Procedure Code. The learned Civil judge, Ganganagar, before whom the suit was filed, held that the sale of the land in question in favour of Mohanaram was void as it was made without obtaining the prior permission of the Revenue Commissioner as contemplated by a notification no. 108 dated 11th October, 1943, of the former Bikaner State as amended by a notification of the Rajasthan Government dated 15-9-1953. Accordingly he dismissed the suit.
( 3 ) AGGRIEVED by the judgment and decree of the trial court, the plaintiff went up in appeal to the court of the District Judge, Ganganagar. The learned District Judge considered the question whether the notification was law and whether it precludes a Civil Court from giving effect to the sale of land evidenced by a duly registered sale deed. On consideration of the notification the learned District Judge came to the conclusion that the clear intention of the notification seemed to be that the revenue authorities and the registering authorities were not to recognise a sale of land, if the sanction of the commissioner was not given thereto, nevertheless the other remedies open to the purchaser had not been taken away. The learned judge further pointed out that even if the revenue authorities could not give effect to the sale, a Civil Court can give appropriate relief to the purchaser and the sale cannot be declared void for want of sanction from the Commissioner, in the result, he held that the view taken by the first court was erroneous. Consequently the learned District Judge accepted the appeal, set aside the decree of the first court and declared that 61 bighas of land mentioned in paragraph 1 of the plaint was the property of the plaintiff Mohanaram and the same was not liable to be attached or sold in the execution of the decree obtained by Bogaram against Isar.
( 4 ) DEFENDANT Bogaram is now challenging the correctness of this view in this second appeal.
( 5 ) IT is doubtful if the notification of the former Bikaner Government dated 11-101943 was law. However, I am relieved from entering into this question on account of the legislative changes that have taken place after the formation of Rajasthan. The Raiasthan Legislature had passed the Rajasthan Tenancy Act, 1955 (Act No. 3 of 1955), hereinafter to be referred as the "act," which came into force from 1510-1955. Section 3 of this Act provided that on and from the coming into force of this Act fa) the enactments mentioned in column 2 of the First Schedule to the extent specified in column 3 thereof shall stand repealed and further, (b) any corresponding laws other than the enactments referred to in clause (a) hitherto in force in any of the covenanting States in so far as such laws are covered by or are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act; and (c) any laws amending the enactments or laws referred to in the preceding cl
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