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Rajasthan Imposition of Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings Act,1973: s.15 – Power to reopen cases – Limitation period – Relevantdates for determination of issue of limitation is the date of ordersought to be reopened and the date of issuance of show-causenotice under s.15 of the Ceiling Act of 1973.Rajasthan Tenancy Act, 1955 – ss.30C, 30D, 30DD – Ceilinglimit – Appellant was owner of 254.2 bighas of land – On19.12.1963, he gifted away 127.1 bighas of land to his son andthereafter he was left with 17.25 standard acres of land – Proceedingwas initiated under the ceiling law but same was dropped on14.04.1972 with observation that amendment of s.30DD of the Act,1955 was effective from 31.12.1969 and since the gift deed wasexecuted before the said amendment, the said transfer was valid –By notice dated 15.03.1982, the Revenue Ceiling Department re-opened the case of the appellant – Authorities held that the appellantwas holding land over and above the ceiling limit – High Court,while passing the impugned order, held the registered gift deed dated19.12.1963 to be invalid on the basis that it did not meet therequirements as provided under s.122 of the Transfer of PropertyAct, 1882 – High Court observed that gift deed did not showacceptance of gift by the donee, rather it seemed that donee waseven unaware of the gift – High Court held that appellant washolding 4.5 standard acres of land in excess of ceiling limit –Aggrieved land owner filed instant appeal – Held: The recitals inthe gift deed indicated that donor intended to part with ownershipand possession immediately after the execution of the gift deed –Mutation entry in the Revenue Record reflected that half portion ofappellant’s land was bestowed as a gift by him to his son through aregistered instrument of gift – Even in the statement of the appellant,he has stated that the transferee-son was living separately and wascultivating the said gifted property and that he was in possession ofan ox and equipments for ploughing and agriculture – These factswere reiterated by the transferee also in his statement – Thestatements of transferor and the transferee clearly indicated thatthe transferee had the equipment and skills and was sustaininghimself as an agriculturalist – Lastly, the said transfer was executedway before the cut-off date stipulated under s.30DD i.e. 31.12.1969– Therefore, the registered gift deed was a bona fide transfersquarely covered within the ambits of s.30DD, which intended toprotect the rights of agriculturalists – The transfer of the land beingvalid under s.30DD, the ceiling area of the appellant fell within theceiling limit as provided under s.30C – Rajasthan Imposition ofCeiling on Agricultural Holdings Act, 1973.Transfer of Property Act, 1882: ss.122, 123 – Whether theregistered gift deed executed by appellant was valid in the eyes oflaw – Held: For a gift to be valid, it must be gratuitous in natureand must be made voluntarily – The said giving away implies acomplete dispossession of the ownership in the property by the donor– Acceptance of a gift by the donee can be done anytime during thelifetime of the donor – Act of receiving willingly, acceptance can beinferred by the implied conduct of the donee – The recitals in thegift deed indicated that donor intended to part with ownership andpossession immediately after the execution of the gift deed –Mutation Record clearly reflected that half portion of appellant’sland was bestowed as a gift by him to his son through a registeredinstrument of gift – Furthermore, the statement rendered by theappellant before the Additional District Magistrate indicated thatthe donee was already a major at the time of the execution of thegift deed and after execution of the gift deed the donee startedcultivating on the same – This statement of the appellant wascompletely supported by the statement made by the donee beforethe Additional District Magistrate in which donee had stated that,as he did not get along with his step-mother, he started livingseparately and the land was transferred to him by virtue of giftdeed was under his possession and he was cultivating the same –Therefore, these circumstances clearly indicated that there was anacceptance of the gift by the donee during the lifetime of the donor– Respondents failed to bring on record any evidence to rebut thefact that the donee was in enjoyment of the property – In light ofthe same, the Single Judge Bench took a plausible view that, it wasa transfer between a father and a son and there was a validacceptance of the gift when the donee-son started living separately– Lastly, since it was registered deed bearing signature of the donorand attested by two witnesses, the requirements under s.123 of theTransfer of Property Act, 1882 were satisfied – Gift deed – RajasthanImposition of Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings Act, 1973 – RajasthanTenancy Act, 1955.Rajasthan Imposition of Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings Act,1973 – s.6 – Applicability of – Held: s.6 of the Ceiling Act of 1973declares that every transfer of land including by way of gift, madeon or after 26-09-1970 and before 01-01-1973, shall be deemed tohave been made to defeat the provisions of the Ceiling Act of 1973– In the instant case, the gift deed was executed on 19-12-1963,that is much before 26-09-1970 – Therefore, s.6 of the Ceiling Actof 1973 does not affect the transfer of land by the appellant-donorin favour of the donee-son – Also, there is no finding that the giftdeed in this case was actuated upon any extraneous consideration– Hence, it constituted a bona fide transfer which are exemptedfrom the rigors of s.6 of the Ceiling Act of 1973.Words and Phrases: Word ‘acceptance’ – Meaning of. |
