Jahanvi Agarwal
On 25th January 2025, the Allahabad High Court rendered a decision invalidating a Subsequent Purchaser’s Application under Section 12-A of the UP Imposition of Ceiling on Land Holdings Act, 1960. The court emphasized that such applications are permissible exclusively for recorded tenure holders.
The bench of Justice Alok Mathur was dealing with the petition challenging the order passed by the Prescribed Authority thereby allowing the application under Section 12 of the Act preferred by the respondents.
The petitioners, successors to Gayatri Devi, the recorded tenure holder of 31-33 acres of irrigated land, contested a notice issued under Section 10(2) of the Act, which sought to declare the mentioned land as surplus. Despite Gayatri Devi’s objections, the Prescribed Authority rejected them, leading to subsequent legal proceedings.
Following a remand by the court, the Prescribed Authority, in the absence of an appeal, finalized the declaration of surplus land. Subsequent buyers then filed an application under Section 12-A (d) and Section 13-A of the Act, seeking a review and exclusion of two plots from the declared surplus.
The Allahabad High Court, upon hearing the writ petition filed by the petitioners, emphasized the limited scope of Section 12-A applications, noting that they can only be initiated by the recorded tenure holder. The court underscored that the discretion to choose the land for surplus declaration rests solely with the recorded tenure holder, and subsequent purchasers do not possess the right to dictate which lands should be declared surplus.
The High Court observed that undisputedly no objection under Section 11 (2) of the Act of 1960 was filed by the respondent nos. 4 to 6 for exclusion of the lands and they have been resorted to an application under Section 12-A of the Act of 1960 for the purpose of exclusion of the said land.
Case Name: Shyam Kishore And Anr. v. State Of U.P. Thru Secy. Revenue And Ors.
Diary Number: 3000109/2002
Bench: Justice Alok Mathur