The Odisha Land Reforms Act applies to urban homestead lands, and prior permission is required for their transfer, upholding the registering authority's jurisdiction to refuse registration for lack of such permission.

JUDGMENT :

B.P. Routray, J.

1. The common issues involved in all the writ petitions are that, whether the provisions contained in Section 22 of the Odisha Land Reforms Act, 1960 are exempted for homestead lands situated in urban areas? And secondly, whether the notification issued by the Planning Authority dated 14^th July, 1972 and other subsequent notifications issued by the Municipal Corporation to include the properties in the Municipal area would itself be sufficient to exclude the properties from the purview of the provisions of the OLR Act in terms of Section 73(c).

2. Admittedly, the properties involved in each writ petition have been recorded as homestead land and coming within Sambalpur Municipal Corporation area.

3. The Petitioners have presented their respective deed of transfer before the registering authority which was rejected for want of written permission in terms of Section 22 (1) of the OLR Act. The appeals preferred against such impugned orders of the registering authority have also been dismissed.

4. The facts in the leading case, i.e. WP(C) No.27920 of 2023 are to the effect that, the Petitioner, who is a member of Scheduled Tribe community, executed the deed of sale in favour of a person belonging to Non-ST category and presented the same before the Registering Authority, Sambalpur, who refused to register the same for want of written permission by order dated 30^th May, 2023. Against said order of the Registering Authority the Petitioner preferred appeal. The Appellate Authority rejected the appeal vide impugned order dated 16^th August, 2023 under Annexure-5.

5. Section 22 of the OLR Act reads as follows:-

“22. Restriction on alienation of land by Scheduled Tribes –

(1). Any transfer of holding or part thereof by a raiyat, belonging to a Scheduled Tribes shall be void except where it is in favour of –

(a) a person belong to a Scheduled Tribe; or

(b) a person not belong to a Scheduled Tribe when such transfer is made with the previous permission in writing of the Revenue Officer:

Provided that in case of a transfer by sale, the Revenue Officer shall not grant such permission unless he is satisfied that a purchaser belonging to a Scheduled Tribe willing to pay the market price for the land is not available, and in case of a gift unless he is satisfied about the bona fides thereof.

(2) The State Government may, having regard to the law and custom applicable to any area prior to the date of commencement of this Act by notification, direct that the restrictions provided in Sub-section (1) shall not apply to lands situated in such area or belonging to any particular tribe throughout the State or in any part of it.

(3) Except with the written permission of the Revenue Officer, no such holding shall be sold in execution of a decree to any person not belong to a Scheduled Tribe.

(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, where any document required to be registered under the provisions of Clause (a) to Clause (e) of Sub-section (1) of Section 17 of the Registration Act, 1908, (16 of 1908) purports to effect transfer for a holding or part thereof by a raiyat belonging to a Scheduled Tribe, in favour of a person not belonging to a Scheduled Tribe, no Registering Officer appointed under that Act shall register any such documents, unless such documents is accompanied by the written permission of the Revenue Officer for such transfer.

(5) The provisions contained in Sub-section (1) to (4) shall apply mutatis mutandis, to the transfer of a holding or part thereof a raiyat belong to the