Auction sale Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Act, 1954, Sections 20 and 29 We are unable to agree that because the section permits a sale by auction, whenever there is an auction the sale must be deemed to be complete. Whether there is a transfer or not depends on the conditions of the auction and these have to be examined to find out when a transfer of the property auctioned takes place. There may be a sale by auction where the sale is not complete till, for example, a document is executed. It is clear from the rules and the conditions of sale set out above that the declaration that a person was the highest bidder at the auction does not amount to a complete sale and transfer of the property to him. The fact that the bid has to be approved by the Settlement Commissioner shows that till such approval which the Commissioner is not bound to give, the auction-purchaser has no right at all. It would further appear that, even the approval of the bid by the Settlement Commissioner does not amount to a transfer of property for the purchaser has yet to pay the balance of the purchase money and the rules provide that if he fails to do that he shall not have any claim to the property. The correct position is that on the approval of the bid by the Settlement Commissioner, a binding contract for the sale of the property to the auction-purchaser comes into existence. Then the provision as to the sale certificate would indicate that only upon the issue of it a transfer of the property takes place. (Bombay S. & C. Industries v. L.J. Johnson., AIR 1958 SC 289 (292,293)