A person can only be considered a tenure-holder if they are the holder of a holding on the relevant date.

N. D. Ojha, J.

1. BY this writ petition the order of the Prescribed Authority dated 6th January, 1975, and the appellate order dated 8th April, 1975, passed by the 1st Addl. District Judge, Rampur, declaring some land to be surplus treating respondent No. 4 Mohammad Yar Khan as its tenure-holder under the U. P. Imposition of Ceiling on Land Holdings Act, 1960 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) are sought to be quashed.

2. IT was urged by counsel for the petitioners that Mohammad Yar Khan, respondent No. 4, had executed a sale deed on 9th September, 1971, in respect of his entire holding in favour of the petitioners and the names of the petitioners were also mutated over the land so transferred on 8th June, 1972, and consequently respondent No. 4 was not a tenure-holder on 8th June, 1973, the relevant date contemplated by Section 5(1) of the Act. According to counsel for the petitioners since respondent No. 4 was not a tenure-holder on 8th June, 1973, no proceedings for declaration of surplus land could be initiated against respondent No. 4, the fact of a person being a tenure-holder being the sine qua non for taking such proceedings. IT was urged that the petitioners had filed an objection asserting that they were the purchasers of the land of which respondent No. 4 was the tenure-holder prior to the execution of the sale deed aforesaid dated 9th September, 1971 and raising other pleas but it was not considered. In view of these facts it was submitted that the Prescribed Authority should, in place of proceeding against respondent No. 4 have treated the petitioners as tenure-holders and decided their objection before declaring any portion of the land purchased by the petitioners as surplus. Reliance on the other hand was placed on Explanation II to sub-section (1) of Section 5 of the Act by the Standing Counsel and it was urged that in view of that Explanation the respondent No. 4 will still be presumed to be the tenure-holder and consequently the proceedings against respondent No. 4 were valid.

Having heard counsel for the parties I am of opinion that the impugned orders cannot be sustained. Section 5 (1) of the Act contemplates that on and from the commencement of U. P. Imposition of Ceiling on Land Holdings (Amendment) Act, 1972, no tenure-holder shall be entitled to hold in the aggregate throughout Uttar Pradesh any land in excess of the ceiling area applicable to him. The date of commencement of the aforesai4 Amendment Act is 8th June, 1973. In view of Section 5 (1) of the Act no tenure-holder was entitled to hold land in excess of the ceiling area applicable to him on and from 8th June, 1973, but before the ceiling area could be determined of a person such person should be a tenure-holder. It is only in proceedings for determination of ceiling area of a tenure-holder that the question of considering as to whether a sale deed executed by the tenure-holder after 24th January, 1971, should or should not be ignored can arise. If no proceeding can be initiated for determination of ceiling area against a person because he was not a tenure-holder on 8th June, 1973, the question of consideration whether any sale deed executed by him after 24th January, 1971, will not at all arise. Consequently if it is held that on 8th June, 1973, respondent No. 4 was not a tenure-holder proceedings for determination of the ceiling area against him would be misconceived and so would be misconceived the determination of the question as to whether the sale deed executed by him on 9th September, 1971 fulfilled the requirements of clause (b) of the proviso to Section 5 (6) of the Act or not. Explanations I and II to Section 5 (1) of the Act were inserted by U. P. Act No. 2 of 1975 with retrospective effect from 8th June, 1973. Explanation I would apply only in proceedings f or determination of the ceiling area applicable to a tenure-holder. If a person was a tenure-holder on 8th June, 1973, and proceedings for determination of his ceiling ar