The Ceiling Authority has the jurisdiction to examine the validity of a Civil Court decree in respect of land covered by the Ceiling Act, if it is alleged that the decree was obtained to defeat the provisions of the Act.

( 1 ) THE plaintiff/appellant has come up in appeal, aggrieved by the judgement and decree of the lower appellate Court, dismissing his suit for declaration of title, in reversal of the decree of the trial court which had decreed the suit.

( 2 ) VIDE order dated 25-8-1982, this appeal was admitted for hearing parties on the following substantial question of law :"whether, the Competent Authority had no jurisdiction to go into the question of the title of the present appellant in face of the compromise decree Ex. P-4 between the respondent No. 3 (the holder before the Competent Authority) and the present appellant (the objector before the Competent Authority) even though it is a compromise decree and State was not a party to the case ?"

( 3 ) THE undisputed facts are that the defendant/respondent No. 3 was the holder of an agricultural holding. Proceedings under the M. P. Ceiling on Agricultural Holding Act, 1960 (hereinafter referred to as the 'ceiling Act', for short) were initiated against him. On 10-1-1973, the plaintiff herein filed a civil suit against the defendant/respondent No. 3 registered as C. O. S. No. 7-A/73 seeking a declaration of title and correction of entries in revenue papers in respect of some of the survey numbers forming part of the holding recorded in Bhumiswami rights in the name of the respondent No. 3. As the certified copy of the judgement, Ex. P/4, shows the defendant did not offer any contest to the claim and rather filed a written statement admitting all the averments made in the plaint. On 31-1-1973, the Civil suit was decreed granting a declaration in favour of the plaintiff that he was the Bhumiswami in possession of 33 Bighas 17 Biswas of the land, also entitled to have his name recorded in the revenue papers in place of the defendant/respondent No. 3. This decree was set up before the Ceiling Authority in support of the plea that the land covered by the decree was not to be included in the land held by the respondent No. 3. The Ceiling Authority, after holding an inquiry, formed an opinion that the decree was secured with the idea of defeating the provisions of the Ceiling Act and was not liable to be recognised by the Ceiling Authority. The land held by the defendant/respondent No. 3 was directed to be declared surplus ignoring the decree of the Civil Court.

( 4 ) IT is submitted by the learned counsel for the appellant that the Ceiling Authority exceeded its jurisdiction in by-passing the Civil Court's decree while adjudicating upon the entitlement of the defendant/respondent No. 3 to hold the land.

( 5 ) IT will be useful to extract, reproduce and notice the following provisions of the Ceiling Act :-"4. Transfers or partitions made after the publication of the Bill but before the commencement of this Act - (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force, where after, the 1/01/1971 but before the appointed day, any holder has transferred any land held by him by way of sale, gift, exchange or otherwise or has effected a partition of his holding or part thereof or the holding held by the holder has been transferred in execution of a decree of any Court, the competent authority may, after notice to the holder and other persons affected by such transfer or partition and after such enquiry as it thinks fit to make, declare the transfer or partition to be void if it finds that the transfer or the partition, as the case may be, was made in anticipation of or to defeat the provisions of this Act. xx xx xx xx xx (4) In regard to every transfer to which this Section applies, the burden of proving that the transfer was not benami or was not made in any other manner to defeat the provisions of this Act shall be on the transferor. ""5. Restrictions on transfer or sub-divisions of land and consequences of transfer or sub-division made in contravention thereof.- (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force, no land shall be - (a