# HIRALAL AGRAWAL, ETC v. RAMPADARATll SI:'l/GH & ORS., ETC

- **Citation:** [1969] 1 S.C.R. 328
- **Court:** Supreme Court of India
- **Decided:** 1968-07-15
- **Bench:** J. M. Shelat, K. S. Hegde
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/supreme-court-of-india/hiralal-agrawal-etc-v-rampadaratll-si-l-gh-ors-etc-4403
- **Pages:** 14

## Headnote

Bihar Land Re/ornts (Fixation of Ceiling Area and Acquisition of
Surplus Land) Act (12 of 1962), >. 16, Bihar Land Re1onns (Flxatio11
of Ceiling Area and Acquisition vi Surplus Land) Rule>. 1963, r. 19,
and Indian Registration Act (16 of B08), s. 47-Tramfer of propuiy .
• vhen r.01nplete-'E11ter1aining app/1c<111on' 1neaning of-R. 19,
wh~iher
1nandtitory or directory.
The owni:r of a certain land cxccutrd a sale deed on 9th October, 1964
conveying the land 10 the first rc<;;pondcnt cind the sale deed v.·a.s ten·
dcrcd for rcgi .. tralion.
On 14th ~ovember, 1964, the appellant obtained
from the rcgist~ring authority a certified copy of the sale deed, tendered.
On 26th 'Novcn1ber, he filed an application under s. 16(3) of thi.! Biha:
JJand Rcforn1s (Fixation of Ceiling Arca nod Acquisition of Surplus
Land) Act. 1962, in the office of the Collector. claiming to he entitled,
;1s a co--sha'rcr, to a right of reconveyanc·~ of the land.
He annexed to
his application the certified copv of the sale deed, '3 copy of the challan
cviden.cing his having deposited the sale price and the additional sun1
of 10% thereof in compliance \Vith the proviso to s. 16(3)(i) and r. 19
of the Rihar Land Rcf0rms (Fixation of (~ciling- Arca and Acquisition of
Surplus Land) Rules, 1963. On 30rh >iovcmber. the sale deed was re·
gic;tcrcd.
On the same day, the Collector, on being satisfied that
the
applicat:on \\·as proper. ordered possession to be given to the appellant
under s. I6(3)(ii). pending di<posal of the application.
Thereafter,
the \A1Pcctor passed his order hol\.linl! that the aoncil1nt v.·as
th~ CO·
<iharer of the \"endor, that he \\'JS ent"1llcd to the righl of rcconvcyance.
and directed the tran'\fcree (the first respondent) to roconvcv the land
in appellant's favour. The Commissioner upheld the order, but the Board
of Revenue set it aside.
The appellant's \VTit petition for quashing the
Board,'s order was di-;misscd by the High Court.
Jn appeal to this C,,ourt, on the question : Whether the Collector had
no jurisdiction lo entertain the application, tiecausc. (I) ref?_i-;lration of
the s..11-e deed \Vas not complered on the date of filing tho a.pplicatioo and
therefore, the transfer not having taken place on that date, the apptica·
tion was premature; and (2) the application \\.'as not maintainable as it
\Vets accompanied only hy a certified copv of lhe sale deed tendered f0r
registration and not hy a copy of the registered sale deed ao; required by
r. 19.
HF! .D : ( l) The ri~ht of rcconvcyance had not accnred to t.he appellant on 26th Noventher, 1964, !he date of presentation of his application. becau~e. the sale \\'<ts completed only \vhen rc¢s1ration of the sale
deed \va-; completed as contemplated hv s. 61 of thc Registration Act.
that is. on 30th '.'/ovcmher.
Merely because under s. 47 of the Registration Act t.he transferee's title related hack to 9th OOober. 1964, the dare
of execution of the sale deed, it could not he s'3id that the transfer itself
must he deemed to have hecn completed on 9th October. [336 C-EJ
Rant Saran I.al V •
• Wst.
/)()ntin;kuPr. rt962J
S.C.R. 474.
Rad/ta~
kisha11 L. Toshniwal v. Slrrid!rar, [19611 1 S.C.R. 248 and Bishan Sb11:h
v. Khazan Hingh, [1959) S.C.R. 878. followed.
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HIRALAL V. RAMPADARATH
329
But a mere presentation of the application in the sense of the appellant having handed it over to some subordinate in the collector's office
could not mean that it was entertdined by the Colleotor on that date.
It could not therefore be contended l:y the respondent that the Collector
had entertained the application either on the 26th when. it was taken
by the appellant to the collector's offioz or on the 28th when some subordinate in the office made an endorsement on it that it should be placed
before the Collector. The Collector took cognizance of it only on 30th
November when it was placed before him.
Since registration of the sale
deed and therefore the transfer had both be

## Text

_Characters 0–39,872 of 40,241. This is a partial read: ask again with offset=39872 for what follows._

HIRALAL AGRAWAL, ETC.
v.
RAMPADARATll SI:'l/GH & ORS., ETC.
July 15, 1968
[J. M. SHELAT AND K. S. HEGDE, JJ.J
Bihar Land Re/ornts (Fixation of Ceiling Area and Acquisition of
Surplus Land) Act (12 of 1962), >. 16, Bihar Land Re1onns (Flxatio11
of Ceiling Area and Acquisition vi Surplus Land) Rule>. 1963, r. 19,
and Indian Registration Act (16 of B08), s. 47-Tramfer of propuiy .
• vhen r.01nplete-'E11ter1aining app/1c<111on' 1neaning of-R. 19,
wh~iher
1nandtitory or directory.
The owni:r of a certain land cxccutrd a sale deed on 9th October, 1964
conveying the land 10 the first rc<;;pondcnt cind the sale deed v.·a.s ten·
dcrcd for rcgi .. tralion.
On 14th ~ovember, 1964, the appellant obtained
from the rcgist~ring authority a certified copy of the sale deed, tendered.
On 26th 'Novcn1ber, he filed an application under s. 16(3) of thi.! Biha:
JJand Rcforn1s (Fixation of Ceiling Arca nod Acquisition of Surplus
Land) Act. 1962, in the office of the Collector. claiming to he entitled,
;1s a co--sha'rcr, to a right of reconveyanc·~ of the land.
He annexed to
his application the certified copv of the sale deed, '3 copy of the challan
cviden.cing his having deposited the sale price and the additional sun1
of 10% thereof in compliance \Vith the proviso to s. 16(3)(i) and r. 19
of the Rihar Land Rcf0rms (Fixation of (~ciling- Arca and Acquisition of
Surplus Land) Rules, 1963. On 30rh >iovcmber. the sale deed was re·
gic;tcrcd.
On the same day, the Collector, on being satisfied that
the
applicat:on \\·as proper. ordered possession to be given to the appellant
under s. I6(3)(ii). pending di<posal of the application.
Thereafter,
the \A1Pcctor passed his order hol\.linl! that the aoncil1nt v.·as
th~ CO·
<iharer of the \"endor, that he \\'JS ent"1llcd to the righl of rcconvcyance.
and directed the tran'\fcree (the first respondent) to roconvcv the land
in appellant's favour. The Commissioner upheld the order, but the Board
of Revenue set it aside.
The appellant's \VTit petition for quashing the
Board,'s order was di-;misscd by the High Court.
Jn appeal to this C,,ourt, on the question : Whether the Collector had
no jurisdiction lo entertain the application, tiecausc. (I) ref?_i-;lration of
the s..11-e deed \Vas not complered on the date of filing tho a.pplicatioo and
therefore, the transfer not having taken place on that date, the apptica·
tion was premature; and (2) the application \\.'as not maintainable as it
\Vets accompanied only hy a certified copv of lhe sale deed tendered f0r
registration and not hy a copy of the registered sale deed ao; required by
r. 19.
HF! .D : ( l) The ri~ht of rcconvcyance had not accnred to t.he appellant on 26th Noventher, 1964, !he date of presentation of his application. becau~e. the sale \\'<ts completed only \vhen rc¢s1ration of the sale
deed \va-; completed as contemplated hv s. 61 of thc Registration Act.
that is. on 30th '.'/ovcmher.
Merely because under s. 47 of the Registration Act t.he transferee's title related hack to 9th OOober. 1964, the dare
of execution of the sale deed, it could not he s'3id that the transfer itself
must he deemed to have hecn completed on 9th October. [336 C-EJ
Rant Saran I.al V •
• Wst.
/)()ntin;kuPr. rt962J
S.C.R. 474.
Rad/ta~
kisha11 L. Toshniwal v. Slrrid!rar, [19611 1 S.C.R. 248 and Bishan Sb11:h
v. Khazan Hingh, [1959) S.C.R. 878. followed.
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HIRALAL V. RAMPADARATH
329
But a mere presentation of the application in the sense of the appellant having handed it over to some subordinate in the collector's office
could not mean that it was entertdined by the Colleotor on that date.
It could not therefore be contended l:y the respondent that the Collector
had entertained the application either on the 26th when. it was taken
by the appellant to the collector's offioz or on the 28th when some subordinate in the office made an endorsement on it that it should be placed
before the Collector. The Collector took cognizance of it only on 30th
November when it was placed before him.
Since registration of the sale
deed and therefore the transfer had both become
complete
on
that
date, the Collector had jurisdiction to entertain the application on that
date and pass appropriate orders. [337 B-E]
(2) Rule 19 provides that tho application under s. 16(3) should be
made in a particular form, that the applicant has to deposit the purchase
money together with 10% thereof in the appropriate treasury and that
a C'Opy of the challan showing the deposit together with 'a copy of the
registered deed, shall be filed along with the. application.
But the rule
does not lay down the consequence of non-compliance with the provisions.
The deposit in the relevant treasury, the. applicant's readiness and willingness to have the la.nd reconveyed to him on the same terms and conditions as in the sale deed, and the completed transfer are conditions precedent to the applicant acquiring the right of reconveyance and to· the
Collector's jurisdiction to try the application.
But the prescription as
to annexing a copy of the registered deed is not mandatory but only
directory. [340 E-HJ
In a case where there1 is no express mention of the consequence of
n.on-complianc·e with a statutory declaration, no rule can be laid down
for determining whether the req.uirement is a mere direction involving
no invalid consequence, or is an imperative mandate, with an. implied
nullification for disobedience, except, that
it depends on the scope and
object of the enactment. The obje.ct of s. 16(3) is to secure consolidation by giving a right of reconV\...ayance1 to a co-sharer or a raiyat of an
adjoining area so that the land can be used in the most advantageous
manner and to prevent fragmentation; and that of r. 19 is to enable the
Collector to ascertain the purchase price,, the terms und conditions of
the sale, the readiness and willingness of the applicant to have the land
reconveyed to him on the same terms and conditions as in thei sale deed
and that the requisite deposit had been
made in
the
treasury. The
purpose of prescribing that a copy of the re.gistered deed should accom~
parry the application is that if such a copy is before the Collector there
would be no scope for any controversy about the transfer, the sale
price and the teirms and conditions.
But if this inform·ation is before
the Collector otherwise, and the Collector is satisfied, failure to annex
the copy of the registered deed cannot be fatal to the application. Further,
s. 16 of the Act fixes th'ree months from the date of registration as the
period of limitation for making the application, but, if the
registering
authority does not furnish the copy of the registered deed
within that
period and if the requirement of annexing the copy is held to be mandatory, the, applicant would be deprived of his statutory right of reconveyance .. [337 H; 338 A-B; 339 F-H]
In the plresent case, the fact that a copy of the registered deed was not
annexed to the application was not fatal to the application, nor did such
omis'sion deprive the Collector of his jurisdiction to entertain it, because,
annexing a certified copy of the sale deed when a copy of the registered
deed was not available on account of the process of registration not having
been completed was sufficient compliance with the directory prescription
330
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1969] i S.CR.
as it furnished the information necessary for the Collector to proceed with
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lhe application.
Buland Sugar Co. v. Municipal Board, [ 1965] 1 S.C.R. 970, followed,
Belfruny v. Saul!. f1863j 32 LJ.Q.ll. 336 :ind King v. l.inco/11shitc
App<'al Trihu11al; I::x-Partr. Stubhins, {1917] 1 K.B. 1, ;1pplicd.
C1v1L APPELLATE JuR1so1cnoN : Civil Appeals Nos. 1244
B
to 1246 of 1968.
Appeals by special leave from the judgment and order, dated
March 20, 1968 of the Patna High Court in C.W.J.C. Nos. 115 to
117 of 1967.
S. T. Desai and R. C. Prasad, for the appellant (in all the
C
appeals).
,\!/. K. Nambiar, D. P. Sini:h and Nai:inder Singh, for respondent No. I (In C.As. Nos. 1244 and 1246 of 1968) and respondents l><os. 1 and 2 (in C.A. No. 1245 of 1968).
K. M. K. Nair, for respondents Nos. 3 (in C. A. No. 1244
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of 1968).
F. C. Aganvala, for respondents Nos. 5 and 6 (in C. A. No.
1245 of 1968).
M. Veerappa, for respondent No. 3 (in C. A. No. 1246 of
1968).
U. P. Si11i:h. for respondent No. 5 (in C. A. No. I 244 of
1968) and respondent No. 4 (in C.As. Nos. 1245 and 1246 of
1968 ).
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
E
Shelat, J.
These three appeals,
by special leave,
raise
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common questions and are, therefore, disposed of by a eonunon
judgment. The facts in Civil Appeal No. 1244 of 1968 being
typical, we need set out them only so that the rival contentions
of the parties on those questions may be properly appreciated.
By a deed of sale dated October 9, 1964, one Prembati Devi
sold 2.62 acres of land to respondent 1 for Rs. 2,000. The said
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deed was thereafter presented to the Sub-Registrar for registration. On October 14. 1964, the appellant applied for a certified
copy of the said sale deed and on its being furnished to him he
filed an application dated November 26, 1964 under s. 16(3) of
the Bihar Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling Area and Acquisition of Surplus Land) Act, XII of 1962 before the Collector.
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He annexed to his application the said copy of the sale deed and
a copy of the challan evidencing his having deposited the sale
price of Rs. 2,000 and an additional sum of 10 per cent thereof
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H!RALAL v. RAMPADARATH (She/at, !.)
331
as required by the proviso to s. 16(3 )(i) and r. 19 of the Bihar
Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling Area and Acquisition of Surplus Land) Rules, 1963. On November 30, 1964, the Registrar
completed registration by endorsing his certificate on the said sale
deed under s. 60 (1) and copying out the endorsement and the
certificate in the relevant register under s. 61 (1) of the Registration Act, 1908. The appellant had in his said application claimed
to be entitled as a co-sharer to the right of re-conveyance of the
said land under s. 16(3) of the Act.
On November 30, 1964,
the Collector, on being satisfied that the application was proper,
ordered possession to be given to the appellant under s: 16(3)(ii)
pending its disposal.
It is not in dispute that registration
was
completed
on.
November 30, 1964, i.e., four days after the appellant had handed
over his application and that though the certified copy furnished
by him was not that of the registered deed, it was a correct copy
of the sale deed presented for registration.
In April, 1966,
the Collector passed his order holding that the appellant was
the co-sharer of the vendor and was entitled to the right of reconveyance. He, therefore, directed the transferee, respondent l,
to reconvey the said land in appellant's favour.
No objection
was taken before the Collector that the said application was not
maintainable as registration was not completed when the appellant filed it or on the ground that only a certified copy of the
sale deed and not of the registered deed had been annexed to it.
This contention was raised for the first time in appeal before the
Commissioner who rejected it holding that in view of the admitted'
fact that registration was completed on November 30, 1964 the
said proceedings before the Collector and his said order were not
invalidated.
The Commi);sioner consequently upheld the said'
order. In appeal before the Board of Revenue, the Board held
that when the appellant presented his application on November
2~, 1964, the transfer as contemplated by s. 16 was not completed and, therefore, its presentation by the appellant was not
valid inasmuch as it was not in accordance with r. 19 (2) of the
said Rules.
The reason given by the Board was that the rule
required a copy of the registered deed and not a mere copy of·
the sale deed. On this ground the Board set aside the Collector's
order and dismissed the appellant's application.
The appellant thereupon filed a writ petition in
the High
Court for a writ of certiorari for quashing the Board's said order.
The High Court, relying on its previous decision in Rajkishore
Singh v. l!hubnes~wa~i Si~gh('), held thats. 16(3) was a piece
of b_eneficient legisl~~ton mtended to prevent fraginentation of
holdmgs and to facthtate consolidation with a view to utilisation·
of land in the most advantageous manner, and that to attain these:
(I) 1968 B.L.J.R. 33.
:332
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1969] JS.CR
obj~cts when a transfer of land was made, a co-sharer of the
transferer or a raiyat of the adjacent land was given the right to
have tJ1e land reconveyc<l to him by the transferee through the
Collector.
The High Court, however, held that the said right
depended on two conditions, viz., (a) the transferee was entitled
lo the full purchase price and an additional 10 per cent thereof
.as solatium and ( b) the applicant made an application in the
prescribed manner.
The prescribed manner means the manner
laid down by r. 19 under which an application is to be made in
form L. C. 13 which requires the applicant to annex to his application a challan evidencing the deposit of the requisite amount
in the relevant treasury, a copy of the registered sale deed, and
a statement to that e!Icct in the application.
The High Court
obs~rved that s. 16 ( 3) (ii) confers on the Collector the extraordinary power, without having to hold a preliminary enquiry, to
dispossess the transferee and deliver to the applicant possession
of the land in question pending the disposal of the application.
It further observed that the exercise of this power was dependent
on the condition that deposit has been made and that there has
been a completed transfer, that is, a transfer evidenced by a
copy of the registered deed of sale.
Section 16(2) (iii) provides
that a transfer can only be made by a registered sale deed. The
object of this clause and r. 19 is that the Collector who is required to direct possession from the transferee to the applicant
can satisfy himself that the land is transferred and that the deposit
made is full and this he can do only if the application is accompanied by a copy of the registered deed. The High Court agreed
that s. 16 w;1s unlike the law of preemption under the Mahomedan law in that it gets rid of the procedural matters thereunder
and provides not the right of substitution of the applicant in place
of the transferee but a right of reconveyance of land in question.
But it held that the right of reconveyance arises only on the transfer of the land to the transferee, that such transfer is completed
only when the deed is registered and that though by reason of
s. 47 of that Act the transfer takes effect from the date of execution once registration is completed, the transfer was not complete
on November 28, 1964 when the Collector accepted the said
application. Therefore, the right of rcconvcyance had not accrued
rn the appellant on that day, the transfer not having been yet
completed and the Collector consequently had no jurisdiction to
entertain the application.
The High Court further held that the
provisions of r. I 9 were mandatory and agreed with the Board
that the appellant not having annexed a copy of the registered
deed, his application was not only premature but was also not
maintainable. Those conclusions are challenged in these appeals.
Before we proceed further. it is necessary first to consider
some of the relevant provisions of the Act and the Rules.
The
long title of the Act shows that its object is inter alia to provide
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HIRALAL v. RAMPADARATH (She/at, !.)
333
for fixation of ceiling area and acquisition of surplus land by the
State Government.
Chapter 2 deals with fixation of ceiling of
land and ss. 4 and 5 therein lay down ceiling areas for different
types of land and the rule that it shall not be lawful for any
person to hold, except as provided under the Act, laud in excess
of the ceiling area. Chapter 3 contains provisions connected with
resumption of land by a raiyat from his sub-raiyat and Chapter 4
deals with acquisition of surplus land by the State Government.
Chapter 5, which contains s. 16, deals with restrictions on future
acquisition of laud.
Section 16 ( 1) lays down that no person
shall acquire land which together with the land held by him
exceeds in the aggregate the ceiling area. Clause (i) of sub-s. (2)
provide that no document of acquisition or possession of any
land shall be registered unless the transferee declares before the
registering authority the total area held by him. Clause (ii) prohibits registration of the document, if from the said declaration it
appears that the transaction is in contravention of sub-s. ( 1), thdt
is to say, the acquisition would make the total area held by the
transferee in excess of the ceiling area. Clause (iii) provides that
no transfer, exchange, lease, mortgage, bequest or gift can be made
without the document therefor duly registered. Sub-section ( 3) ( i)
provides that if any transfer is made to a person other than
a co-sharer or a raiyat of an adjoining land, such a co-sharer or
a raiyat shall be entitled within three months from the date of
the registration to apply before the Collector in the prescribed
manner for transfer of the land to him on terms and conditions
in the said deed provided that no such application shall be entertained by the Collector unless the purchase money together with
10 per cent thereof is deposited in the prescribed manner within
the said period. Clause (ii) provides that on such deposit being
made the co-sharer or the raiyat shall be entitled to be put in
possession of the land even though his application is
pending.
Under cl. (iii) of sub-s. (3), if the application is allowed, the
Collector has to direct the transferee to convey the laud in favour
of the applicant by executing and registering
a document of
transfer.
The object of s. 16 is two-fold : (i) to ensure that no one
holds land in excess of the ceiling area and (ii) to confer on a
co-sharer or a raiyat of the adjoining area the right of reconveyance from the transferee. To sub-serve this object, sub-s. (2)
Jays down certain restrictions : (a) that there can· be no registration of a deed of transfer without a declaration by the transferee
that the total area which would be held by him including the
area under transfer does not exceed the ceiling area; (b) prohibition against registering a document if such a declaration shows
that ,the transfer would have the effect of exceeding the ceiling
area; and ( c) that no such transfer would be complete without
L!ZSup.C.l./68-7
334
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
(1969] l S.C.R.
the deed of transfer being registered. The object of sub-s. (3) is
to secure consolidation by giving the right of reconvcyance to a
co-sharer or a raiyat of an adjoining area so that the land in question can be used in the most advantageous manner and alrn to
prevent fragmentation of the land.
Ruic 18 of the said Rules provides that the declaration to be
made by a transferee under s. 16(2)(i) before the registering
authority shall be in Form L. C. 12.
That form mter aiia requires the transferee to declare that the land held by him and the
land acquired by him under the document to be registered would
not exceed the ceiling area.
Ruic 19 deals with the application
by a co-sharer or a raiyat of the adjoining land under s. l G ( 3).
It provides that such an application is to be made in form L. C.
13. and the applicant has to deposit the purchase money toi:;cther
with I 0 per cent thereof in the treasury or sub-treasury cf the
di>trict within which the land is situate. Clause ( 2) of the rules
provides that a copy of the challan showing the deposit t~gethcr
with a copy of the registered deed shall be filed with the application in which a ;tatcmcnt to this effect shall also be made.
Cb use ( 3) of the rule provides that a copy of the ;aid application shall also be sent by the applicant to the transferor and the
transferee by registered post with acknowledgement due. Cl~use
( 4) provides that the Collector shall issue a notice to the transferor, the transferee and the applicant to appear before him at
a date lo be specified in the notice and after giving the parties a
reasonable 'opportunity of showing cause and of being heard
shall either allow the application or reject it.
Form L.C. 13
requires the applicant (a) to state that the transfer of the land
has been made through a document registered on the date to be
specified therein, (b) to enclose a copy of the challan in token
of the deposit of the purchase money plus I 0 per cent so:atium,
and ( c) to enclose a copy of the registered deed by which the land
has been transferred.
rrom the contents of rr. 18 and 19 and Forms L. C. 12 and
13, it is clear that the object of these rules, firstly, is to cvable
the registering authority to see that the transferee docs not by
the transfer acquire land in excess of the ceiling area and, sec mdly,
to ~nable the Collector to know that a transfer of the laod has
been made and that such transfer is completed by registration.
the price paid for it and that the deposit made by the appiicant i.>
of ~ sum equivalent to the purchase price and
l 0
per cent
thereof.
It is manifest that the purpose for requiring the applicant to file a copy of the challan and of the registered deed is to
en1ble the Collector to ascertain therefrom the aforesaid facts
and to proceed further on being satisfied about them.
It is necessary at this stage to be clear about certain dates.
The sale deed was executed by the transferor and the transferee
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HIRALAL v. RAMPADARATH (She/at, /.)
335
on October 9, 1964.
On November 14, 1964, the appellant
obtained from the registering authority a certified copy of the sale
deeJ tendered for registration. The appellant filed his application
in the Collector's office on November 26, 1964. It is true that
the Board of Revenue has stated at one place that the C1ollector
"admitted" the application on November 28, 1964 and at another
place that he "took cognizance of" it on that date. If by the
words ·admitted" and "took cognizance of" the Board meant
that the Collector took cognizance of the
application in
its
technical sense, the Board would appear to be factually incorrect.
The record of the case shows that some one in the Collector's
office received the application on November 28, 1964 and made
an endorsement thereon that it should be put up
before
the
Collector on November 30, 1964. As already stated, on the said
application having been placed before him on November 30,
1964, the Collector passed his interim order under s. 16(3) (ii)
directing the transferee to deliver possession of the land in question
to the appellant. Admittedly, registration was also completed on
that date.
Two contentions were urged by counsel for the respondents.
Proceeding on the basis that the appellant presented the application on November 26, 1964, Mr. Nambiar contended (1) that
the application was premature as registration of the sale deed
was not then completed and, therefore there was not yet a completed transfer and (2) that, therefore, the Collector had no
jurisdiction to entertain such an application, his jurisdiction being
dependent on a transfer having taken place. The argument was
that under s. 16 ( l) there can be no transfer to a person who
together with the land already held by him acquires land by transfer which in the aggregate makes the area in excess of the ceiling
area; that under s. 16(2) no registering authority can register
such a deed of sale and there can be no valid transfer unless the
sale deed is registered.
Therefore,
as
the sale
deed
was
not registered until November 30, 1964, there was no transfer
till then, that no right of reconveyance accrued to the appellant
and the Collector, therefore, could not entertain an application
without such a right having already accrued to the applicant.
The second contention was that the right conferred under s. 16(3)
being a statutory right and it being inconsistent with the right of
a citizen to hold and dispose of his property it must be exercised
in strict conformity with the terms and conditions laid down in
the Act and the Rules, that the language of r. 19 is mandatory,
that the power of the Collector under s.
16(3) (ii) is extraordinary in the sense that without holding any preliminary enquiry
he can direct the transferee to hand over possession of the land
to the applicant. Therefore, he argued, the requirements of r. 19·
must be held to be mandatory and that if they are not strictly com-
336
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
11969] l S.C.R.
plied with, the Collector would have no jurisdiction to entertain an
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fhcrdore, the appellant having failed to annex a
copy of the registered deed of sale as required by r. 19 and Fenn
L. C. 13 and having annexed only the certified copy of lhc unrcgjstcrcd deed of sale, his application was not in conformity with
r. 19 and the Collector could not entertain it, much less act on it.
When the appellant lodged his application in the Collc.:tor's
.office he had already deposited the requisite
amount
in
the
treasury and had annexed thereto the copy of the challan.
So
that the condition under s. 16 was complied with.
The application was also filed within the time prescribed by
the
section.
Under s. 16(2) and (3), however, no transfer takes place unless
the sale deed is registacd.
Registration is complete only when
the certificate under s. 60 is given and the endorsement and
copying out the said certificate under s. 61 of the Registration Act
arc made.
But Mr. Desai argued that under s. 47 of that Act
-0ncc registration is effected, the title under the sale deed relates
back to the date of its execution and therefore though registration was completed on November 30, 1964, the lransfcree's title
under the sale deed related back to the date of its execution,
i.e., October 9, 1964.
Assuming, therefore, that the application
was presented on November 26, 1964, the transferee's title having
relaled back to the date of the execution of the sale deed, the
transfer must be deemed to be complete on that date and, therefore, it was not correct that the right of rcconvcyance had not
accrued to the apr-cllant on l\'ovcmber 26, 1964 or that
the
Coaector had no iurisdiction on that date to accept the
said
application.
This contention, however, cannot be accepted in
view of the decision in Ram Saran Lal v. Mst. Domini Kuer( 1 )
where this Court rejected an identical
contention.
Mr.
Desai
tried to distinguish that case on the ground that it was based on
Mahomedan law which by custom applied to the parties there.
But the decision is based not on any principle of Mahomcdan
Jaw but on the effect of s. 4 7 of the Registration Act. The majority decision clearly laid down that the sale there was completed
only when rcgbtration of the sale deed was completed as contemplated by s. 61 of the Registration Act and, therefore. the raiab-immmsibat made before the date of completion of registration was
premature and ;; suit based on such a demand of the right of preemption was premature and must, therefore, fail.
Similarly, in
Radhakishan L. Tos/miwa/ v. Shridhar(") this Court laid down
that where a statute providing for the right of preemption lays
down that it accrnes only wljcn transfer of the property takes
place and such tr,nsfct is not complete except through a rcgi'-
1ercd <.Iced, a sun filed before the sale deed is executed is premature as the right or preemption under the statute did not "ccrue
(I) 11 %c] 2 S.C.R. 474.
(C) [1%1] I S.C.R.
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HIRALAL v. RAMPADARATH (She/at, J.)
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till the transfer became effective through a registered deed.
ln
Bishan Si11gh v. Khazan Singh(') this Court laid down that in a
suit for preemption the plaintiff must show that the right had
acquired to him at the time when he exercised it.
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But the question whether the right
of
reconveyance
had
accrued to the appellant or not on November 26, 1964 appears
to be academic. As already stated, his application was placed for
the first time before the Collector on November 30, 1964 when
admittedly registration was completed and thereupon the transfer
also had become complete.
A mere presentation of the application in the sense of the appellant having handed it over to some
subordinate in the Collector's office cannot mean its having been
entertained by tile Collector on that date. There is, therefore, no
merit in the contention that the Collector had entertained the
application either on the 26th when it was taken by the appellant
to the Collector's office or on the 28th when some subordinate
in the office m2.de an endorsement on it that it should be placed
before the Collector.
The endorsement on the contrary shows
that the Collector had not even seen it on that day, much less
accepted it.
The Collector took cognizance of it on November
30, 1964 only when it was placed before him and when on being
satisfied that the conditions of s. 16 were satisfied he passed his
order under sub-s. (3) (ii) for handing over possession from the
transferee to the appellant.
On these facts, Mr. Nambiar's first
contention must fail.
The contentk>n next was that the right of preemption being a
weak nght as held in Bishan Singh v. Khazan Singh(') and the
. outcome thereof being to disturb a valid transaction by virtue of
~uch a right having b~en created by statute, there are no equities
m favour of a preemptor as held in Radhakishan L. Toshniwal v.
Shridhar (2) and, therefore, the person coming to the court for
exercise of such right must show that he has duly complied with
all the conditions laid dGwn by the law giving him that right.
Mr. Nambiar submitted that that being the position, the condition laid down in r. l 9 must be held to be mandatory and unless
they are complied with an application for enforcing such a right
must fail. The question 1s whether non-satisfaction of the condition that the application must be accompanied by a copy of the
registered deed is fatal to the exercise of the right conferred under
the Act.
Rule 19 does not lay down the consequence of non-compliance of its provisions.
When a statute requires that something
shall be done or done in a particular manner or form without
expressly declaring what shall be the conseqnence of non-com-
(1) [1959] S.C.R. 878.
(2) [1961] 1 S.C.R .248
338
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1969] 1 sc.R.
pliance, the question often arises what intention is to be attributed
by mference ll' the legidature.
(see Maxwell on Interpretation
of Statutes I !th ed. p. 362). It has b,ecn said that no rule can
be laid down lo: determining whether the requirement is to be
considered as a mere direction or instruction involving no invalid
consequence for its disregard or as imperative with an implied
nullification fo; disobedience beyond the rule that it depends on
the scope and object of the enactment.
A case nearest to the
one before us is to be found in Bellamy v. Saul!( 1). Section 34
of the Revenue No. 2) Act, 1861 enacted that no copy of a
bill of sale shculd be filed in any Court unless the original was
produced before the o'.ficer duly stamped.
It was held that this
prO\ision did not invalidate the registration if the bill was not
duly stamped \\hen so p1oduced for the object of the enaciment
was to protect the revenue and this was thought sufficiently attained if the deed was afterwards duly stamped without going to the
extreme of holding the registration void.
Similarly in K.ng v.
Unconshire Appeal Tribunal; Ex parte Stubbins(")
Regulation 19, Part 1, Section II of the Schedule to the Military Service
(Regulations) Order, 1916 was held to be directory. The Military
Service Act, 1916 provided that any person aggrieved by the
decision of a !0~al tribun:;l and a person generally or specially
authorised by the army council to appeal from the decision of
th:it tribunal may appeal against the decision of a local tribunal
to the appeal tribunal of the area. The regulation provided that
any such person may appeal against the decision of the local
tribunal by delivering to that tribunal, in the prescribed form in
dupiicate, notice of appeal not later than three clear days after
its decision, and the local tribunal shall thereupon send t<.: the
other party to the application the duplicate notice of appeal.
The
local tribunal granted the applicant exemption
from
military
service.
The military re;:rcscntative immediately announced in
the presence and hearing or the applicant that he would appeal
sta;ing also his grounds of appeal.
The copies in Ille pres.-ribcd
form of the notice of appeal not being available,
the
military
representative handed over to the clerk of the local tribunal a list
of the names of persons in respect of whom he intended to appeal
including the applicant's name and some weeks before appeal
was heard the clerk discussed the matter with the applicant. The
applicant raised an objection hefore the appeal trib~nal that. it
had no jurisdiction to hear the appeal as the prescnbed no!Jce
had not been given. The Appeal Court held that inasmuch as the
applicant knew within the prescribed time that the . appc?l was
pending, strict compliance by the military representauve wit~ the
letter of Regulation 19 by delivering to the local tribunal not1:~ of
appeal in the prescribed form in duplicate was not a cond1llon
(I) [1861) 12 I..J. Q. R. 166.
(2) [191711 K. B. I.
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HIRALAL v. RAMPADARATH (She/at, J.)
339
precedent to the appeal tribunal having jurisdiction to hear and
determine the appeal, that the provisions of regulation 19 as to
procedure were directory only and not imperative and, therefore,
non· compliance with them did not deprive the military representative of his right of appeal. The same rule of construction has
also been laid down in Buland Sugar Co, v. Municipal Board(1 ).
The appellant company there challenged the validity of water tax
levied by the municipal board on the ground that the tax had not
been imposed according to law inasmuch as the proposals and the
draft rules had been published by the Board in an urdu paper
whereas according to s. 131(3) read withs. 94(3) of the U.P.
Municipalities Act, 1916 they should have been published in a
Hindi paper. The Court held that s. 131 (3) fell into two parts,
the first providing that the proposal and draft rules for an intended
tax should be published for inviting objections of the public and
the second, laying down that such publication must be in the
manner laid down in s. 94 ( 3). It held that considering the object
of the provisions for publication, the first part was .mandatory
while the second was merely directory. What that part required
was that the publication should be in Hindi in a local paper :md
if that was done there was sufficient compliance of s. 94 ( 3). The
publication was made in Hindi in a local paper which had good
circulation in Rampur; there was no regularly published local
Hindi newspaper. There was in the circumstances substantial
compliance with the provisions of s. 94(3). At p. 975 this Court
observed that the question whether a particular provision of a
statute which on the face of it appears mandatory inasmuch as it
used the word 'shall' is merely directory cannot be resolved by
laying down any general rule and depends upon the facts of each
case and for that purpose the object of the statute in making the
!Jrovision is the determining factor.
The object of r. 19 in prescribing that the application under
s. 16(3) must be accompanied by a copy of the registered deed is
clearly to enable the Collector before he exercises his power thereunder to ascertain the purchase prices, the terms and conditions
of the sale, the readiness of the applicant to have the land in
question reconveyed to him on the same terms and conditions as in
the sale deed and the fact of the applicant having deposited the
relevant amount in the treasury. The purpose of prescribing that
a copy of the registered deed should accompany the application is
that if such a copy is before the Collector there would be no scope
for an:i: controversy that the land is transferred to the purchaser,
about its area and location, and the terms and conditions of the
sale including the sale price. If this information is before the
Collector and he is satisfied about it, does it still mean that it
would be fatal to the application if the formality of armexing a
{I) [1965] I S.C.R. 970.
340
SUPREME COuRT REPORTS
[ 1969] I S.C.R.
copy of the registered deed is not complied with.
Section 16 Jays
down that such an application must be made within three months
from the date of the registration and if it is not done within that
period, it would be time barred. Suppose for a while that an applicant docs not know when registration under s. 60 and 61 of the
Registration Act is completed and annexes to his application a
ccr:iticJ copy oi the sale deed furnished at his instance by the registering authority or where the registering authority is not able to
furnish a copy of the registered deed of sale within time. Docs it
mean that an applicant is to he deprived of the right of reconveyance conferred by the statute ?
To hold that if the formality prescribed by r. 19 is not satisfied the application would be bad would
be to nullify the object of the statute. That surely cannot be the
intention of the draftsmen who framed r. 19 and Form L. C. 13.
Rule 19 ( 3) requires that a copy of the application shall be
sent to the transferee and the transferor by registered post with
a';knowlcdgement due.
Forni L. C. 13 requires the applicant to
state that the transfer is tmde by a registered deed on the uatc
specified therein. If a copy of the application is delivered hl the
tra1deror or the transferee by hand delivery or by registered post
hut without acknowledgement due or if the applicant is riot able to
stale the date of registration because he does not know it, does
it mean that merely because cl. ( 3) of r. 19 and the form use the
word "shall'' the omission to comply with the aforesaid rcquiremcltls is fatal to the application.
Surely
these
arc
directory
instructions and if there is sufficient compliance thereof the applic:ition can he validly entertained by the Collector.
In our view, whereas the deposit in the relevant treasury, the
applicant being either a co-sharer or a raiyat of the adjoining land,
!tis readiness and willingness to have the land in question rcccnvcycJ to him on the same terms and conditions as in the sale deed
and the transfer of the land to the transferee are conditions precedcm to his acquiring the right of rcconveyancc
and
to
the
Collector's jurisdiction to try such an application. the prescription
as to annexing a copy of the registered deed is only directory and
is laid down to furnish necessary infonnation to the Collector to
cn:iblc him to proceed with it.
Annexing a certified copy of the
sale deed where a copy of the registered dead is not yet available,
on account of the process of registration not having been completed would. in our view. he sufficient compliance of the directory
preo.cription so long as it furnishes information necessary for the
Collector to proceed with the application.
The fact that a copy
of the registered deed was not furnished along with the application was, therefore. not fatal to the application nor did
~ue.h
ombsion deprive the Collector of his jurisdiction to entertam rt
nor did it vitiate the proceedinj!S before him or the order thereon
made by him.
The Board of Revenue and the High Court were
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HIRALAL v. RAMPADARATH (She/at, !.)
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