Strict 60-day sale sequence under revenue recovery law required for Government acquisition; title was not divested.

Government acquisition under the Kerala Revenue Recovery Act failed because the mandatory sequence of an initial sale and a postponed sale within 60 days was not met. The Court held that section 50 requires a valid first sale or failed sale process followed by a postponed sale on a date not exceeding the statutory 60-day limit. Earlier dates were stayed or adjourned and did not amount to a sale preceding the Government purchase on 23 February 1998. The sale therefore did not divest the appellant of title, and the impugned sale proceedings were set aside.

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Issues: Whether the Government acquired the property under section 50 of the Kerala Revenue Recovery Act, 1968 when the sale on 23 February 1998 was not preceded by a valid sale within 60 days as required by the statute.

Analysis: Section 50 requires that when an immovable property is put up for sale and there is no bid or an insufficient bid, the sale may be postponed to another date, but the postponed date must fall within 60 days of the first sale date. The statutory scheme contemplates a first sale under section 50(1) and a postponed sale under section 50(2), with the gap between them not exceeding 60 days. Although notices for sale had been issued on earlier dates, the material facts showed that no sale was in fact conducted within 60 days before 23 February 1998. Earlier dates were either stayed or adjourned and did not satisfy the statutory requirement of a sale preceding the Government purchase on the postponed date.

Conclusion: The Government did not acquire the property under section 50(2), because the mandatory 60-day sequence between the first sale and the postponed sale was not satisfied. The sale dated 23 February 1998 could not divest the appellant of title.

Final Conclusion: The appeal was allowed and the impugned sale proceedings were set aside, leaving the respondents at liberty to proceed afresh in accordance with law.

Ratio Decidendi: Acquisition by the Government under the revenue recovery auction provisions arises only when the statute's requirement of a prior sale and a postponed sale within the prescribed 60-day period is strictly complied with.

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