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2022 Supreme(Online)(MAD) 15467
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS DATED: 11.08.2022 CORAM:
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE R.SUBRAMANIAN W.P.Nos.3570, 14727, 14728, 14863, 14864, 18273 of 2018, 22101 of 2018 and W.M.P.Nos.4363, 4364, 17407, 17408, 17595, 17596, 21596, 21597 of
2018 W.P.No.3570 of 2018 G.Anjali ..Petitioner Vs.
1.The Union Territory of Puducherry, Rep. By its Secretary, Government of Pondicherry.
2.The Sub-Registrar, Oulgaret, Puducherry.
3.The Deputy Collector (Revenue North), Office of the Deputy Collector (Revenue North), Puducherry. ..Respondents Prayer: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking issuance of Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus, calling for the records of the 3rd respondent in respect of order vide letter dated 30.11.2016 in No.6532/DC(R)N/REV/C2/GLR/2016/2880 issued to the petitioner and quash the same as illegal and direct the 2nd and 3rd respondents to assign or fix or give guideline value of petitioner's property having an extent of 3600 Sq.ft., or 6 Kuzhi 4 Veesam bearing Plot Nos.121, 122 and 123 56 at Oulgaret Village, comprised in Re-Survey No.231/4 corelating to Cadastre No.1120 BIS ½, 1120 BIS 2/2, 1119/15, 119/2/5Pt, 1119/3/5, 1119/4/5/3Pt, 1119BIS, 1119/4/5/1/3, within the Oulgaret SRO and Puducherry Registration District.
For Petitioner : No Appearance For Respondents : Mr.C.T.Ramesh Additional Government Pleader W.P.Nos.14727, 14728, 14863 & 14864 of 2018 I.Ravi ...Petitioner in W.P.No.14727 of 2018 G.Rajeshwari ...Petitioner in W.P.No.14728 of 2018 R.Gandhimathi ...Petitioner in W.P.No.14863 of 2018 V.Lakshmi ...Petitioner in W.P.No.14864 of 2018 Vs.
1.The District Collector cum Additional Secretary (Revenue), Kamaraj Salai, Pondicherry.
2.The Sub-Registrar, Office of the Sub-Registrar, Registration Department, Government of Pondicherry.
3.S.Sudiramballe
4.P.Umadevi ...Respondents in all WPs Common Prayer:- Writ Petitions filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking issuance of Writ of Mandamus, directing the 1st respondent to issue GLR value and the second respondent to register the Sale Deed dated 06.04.2018 executed in favour of the petitioner by the 3rd and 4th respondents in respect of the land comprised in cadastre No.1062/pt corresponding to R.S.No.228/1 Da kchinamoorthy Nagar, Sokkanathampet Village, Oulgaret Revenue Village within such time as fixed by this Hon'ble Court.
For Petitioner in all WPs : Mr.U.Karunakaran For Respondents in all WPs : Mr.C.T.Ramesh Additional Government Pleader W.P.No.18723 of 2018 T.Prabakaran ...Petitioner Vs.
1.The District Collector cum Additional Secretary (Revenue), Kamaraj Salai, Pondicherry.
2.The Sub-Registrar, Office of the Sub-Registrar, Registration Department, Government of Pondicherry.
3.S.Sundiramballe
4.P.Umadevi ...Respondents Prayer:- Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking issuance of Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus, calling for the records relating to impugned letter bearing No.9265/DC/(R)N/LA/NOC/2014-15 dated 19.01.2015 on the file of the 1st respondent to issue NOC and value in respect of the land of the petitioner situated at Plot No.6, comprised in R.S.No.231/4Pt situated at Ulavarkari Commune, Puducherry.
For Petitioner : Mr.U.Karunakaran For Respondents : Mr.C.T.Ramesh Additional Government Pleader W.P.No.22101 of 2019 S.Rajeswari ...Petitioner Vs.
1.The District Collector cum Revenue Secretary, Department of Revenue and Disaster Management, Saram, Puducherry.
2.The Deputy Collector-Revenue (North), Department of Revenue and Disaster Management, Saram, Puducherry.
3.The Sub-Registrar, Office of the Oulgaret Sub-Registrar, Jawahar Nagar Main Road, Jawahar Nagar, Puducherry. ...Respondents Prayer: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking issuance of Writ of Mandamus, directing the respondents to consider the petitioner's representation dated 28.03.2019 and to fix the Guide Line Value of the petitioner's property comprised in Oulgaret Revenue Village in R.S.No.231/4, Cadastre Nos.1120 Bis 1/2, 1120 Bis 2/2, bearing Plot No.85 to an extent of 1200 Square Feet, to enable the petitioner to convey or mortgage the property, within a time frame.
For Petitioner : No Appearance For Respondents : Mr.C.T.Ramesh Additional Government Pleader
C O M M O N O R D E R
The prayer in all these writ petitions is for a mandamus directing the 1st respondent to issue guideline register value for the properties purchased by them under various sale deeds which were presented to the Registrars of Assurances for Registration.
2. Since the Registrars refused to register the documents due to absence of guideline value, the petitioners have come before this Court. It is the case of the respondents that the lands that are purchased by the petitioners are subject matter of proceedings under the Pondicherry Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling on land) Act, 1973. Since the proceedings are pending and the actual surplus has not been declared, the land owners cannot alienate the property. It is the further contention of the respondents that since most of the land owners have sold their entire land holding including the area that is declared as surplus and the area allowed to be retained by them, it would become difficult for the Government to recover the excess land in the hands of the purchasers if further alienations are allowed.
3. Mr.U.Karunakaran, learned counsel appearing for the petitioners, in some of the writ petitions, would submit that the land purchased by them are within the retention portion and therefore the contention of the respondents cannot be sustained. This question of alienability of land which are subject matter of Land reform proceedings under the Pondicherry Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling on land) Act, 1973 has been subject matter of various decisions of this Court. In W.P.Nos.12330 of 2007 and 36622 of 2006, this Court had taken note of Section 22(2) of the Act and held that the Registering Authority cannot refuse to register the documents on the ground of pendency of proceedings under the Land Reforms Act.
4. The difference between the provisions of Pondicherry Land Reforms Act and Tamil Nadu Land Reforms Act was considered by Hon'ble Mr.Justice V.Ramasubramanian in W.P.No.32472 of 2006, wherein, it was held that unlike the provisions of Tamil Nadu Act, the provisions of Pondicherry Act did not nullify the sale by the owner of the land which is subject matter of land reforms proceedings.
5. Section 22(2)(a) of the Pondicherry Act specifically validates the sale transactions and enables the Government to recover the excess land from and out of the land held by the transferor (land owner) and only in the event of such recovery becoming impossible, liberty is given to the Government to recover the land from the transferee. Section 22(2)(b) takes care of another situation where land is sold to several persons and provides that recovery will be made from each transferee in proportion of the land transferred to them.
6. Therefore, the Authorities cannot refuse to register the sale on the ground that the proceedings under the Land Reforms Act are pending, when there is a specific provision which safeguards the interest of the Government barring the land owner from exercising his right to sell the property would be in violation of Article 300A which protects the right to property.
7. The difference in language of the two provisions viz., Section
21 of the Tamil Nadu Act and Section 22 of the Pondicherry Act was also considered by a Division Bench of this Court in S.Vaitheeswaran Vs. Union of India dated 22.03.2016. The Division Bench in paragraph 13 of the said judgment noted the difference between the two provisions and held as follows:-
On the contrary, Section 22 of the Pondicherry Act (9 of 1974), operates on a totally different platform. Section 22 provides that any person, who is holding lands in excess of the ceiling area applicable under Section 22 shall not, after the commencement of the Act transfer by sale, gift or otherwise or make any partition of any land held by him or any part thereof until the excess land, which is to be acquired by the Government under section 17, has been determined and taken possession of by or on behalf of the Government. Section 22 (1)
