A.K. Shrivastava, J.

1. This second appeal has been filed at the instance of defendant/State against the reversing judgment passed by the learned First Appellate Court decreeing the suit of plaintiffs/respondents.

2. Plaintiffs No.2 to 5 are the sons of Plaintiff No. 1 Ram Charan, son of Hameer Singh. The case of the plaintiffs is that on the suit property which is agricultural land and the description whereof has been mentioned in the plaint is being possessed by them for the last 40 years from the date of the filing of the suit. Earlier the father of the plaintiff no. 1 Ram Charan was possessing the suit property. In order to get the names of plaintiffs recorded in the revenue record, defendant no.2 Motilal executed a registered sale deed on 09.09.1971 in favour of plaintiffs but the Collector/Competent authority by holding that the transaction was in between 01.01.1971 and 07.03.1974 held the same to be illegal and void and was in contravention of the provisions of the M.P. Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings Act, 1960 (in short, the Act). The order of Collector was assailed before the Commissioner who vide its order dated 15.6.1976 remanded the matter to the competent author