Part performance under section 53A requires proof of possession before Form No. 37-I can be ignored as already transferred.

The Appropriate Authority could not refuse to act on Form No. 37-I unless the statutory ingredients of part performance under section 53A were clearly established, including a finding that possession had been taken or retained in part performance. Here, the agreement contemplated eviction of tenants and later delivery of possession, and the authority recorded no specific finding that possession had actually passed or remained with the transferee. The refusal to treat the form as never filed was therefore not sustainable because the precondition for treating the transaction as an already completed transfer had not been met.

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Issues: Whether the Appropriate Authority could refuse to act on Form No. 37-I and treat it as never filed on the ground that the agreement had already been partly performed and a transfer had taken place under section 269UA(f) read with section 53A of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882.

Analysis: Chapter XX-C required the Appropriate Authority, on receipt of Form No. 37-I, to proceed only in the manner authorised by law. A finding that the transaction had already resulted in a transfer by reason of part performance could be recorded only if the statutory ingredients of section 53A were clearly established, including a finding that possession of the property or part of it had been taken or retained in part performance. On the facts, the agreement showed that tenants were to be evicted and possession was to be delivered later, while the authority had not recorded any specific finding that possession had in fact been transferred or continued with the transferee in part performance.

Conclusion: The refusal to act on Form No. 37-I could not be sustained, as the precondition for treating the transaction as an already completed transfer was not established.

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