These appeals, filed under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent from the judgment of Kailasam, J., involve, inter alia, the following question which has given rise to this Reference:

“Whether mere knowledge on the part of a purchaser in an execution sale about the admission of a petition to adjudicate the judgment-debtor insolvent, will render his purchase in Court auction as one not made in good faith and thereby deny him the protection afforded by section 53 (3) of the Presidency Towns Insolvency Act which corresponds to section 51 (3) of the Provincial Insolvency Act?”

By his judgment, the learned Judge set aside, on the application of the Official Assignee under section 7 of the Presidency Towns Insolvency Act (which will hereafter be referred to as the Act), certain sales conducted by the District Munsiff’s Court, Poonamallee, in execution of decrees obtained against one Ramalinga Reddy. E.K. Raghava Reddi, the appellant in O.S.A. No. 16 of 1963, is the purchaser in those sales which form the subject-matter of these appeals. He subsequently sold a few items of the properties so purchased to the appellants in O.S.A. No. 23 of 1963.

Several persons had filed su