Immediate cash deposit requirement for auction bids: cheque tender does not satisfy Rule 285-D and renders sale void.

Rule 285-D of the U.P. Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Rules, 1952 requires immediate deposit of twenty-five per cent of the bid amount after auction. Read with the connected sale rules and analogous Order 21 Rules 84, 85 and 86 CPC, the expressions "immediately" and "forthwith" were treated as imposing a strict, mandatory obligation to secure prompt compliance and prevent disruption of the resale process. A cheque does not satisfy that requirement because the rule contemplates actual cash deposit at once, not a conditional or deferred realization. On that construction, non-compliance renders the auction sale void.

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Issues: Whether the requirement under Rule 285-D of the U.P. Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Rules, 1952 to deposit twenty-five per cent of the bid amount immediately is mandatory, and whether tender of that amount by cheque constitutes a valid deposit.

Analysis: Rule 285-D was read with the connected sale rules and with the analogous provisions of Order 21 Rules 84, 85 and 86 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. The expressions "immediately" and "forthwith" were held to indicate a strict and prompt obligation, intended to ensure that the sale process is not delayed and that a defaulting purchaser does not disturb the statutory consequences of resale. On that construction, the rule was treated as mandatory and non-compliance as rendering the sale a nullity. A cheque was held not to satisfy the rule, because the statute contemplates actual cash deposit at once, not a conditional or deferred realization that may fail or be delayed.

Conclusion: The deposit of twenty-five per cent of the bid amount by cheque was not a valid tender under Rule 285-D, the auction sale was void, and the challenge succeeded.

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