Deemed purchaser protection fails where purchase never crystallised, leaving the armed-forces landlord free to terminate tenancy.

A mere deemed purchaser whose Chapter III purchase proceedings were dropped and never crystallised cannot invoke Section 43-1IE to defeat a landlord's right under Chapter III-AA. The Supreme Court held that the exclusion in Section 43-1IE applies only where the tenant's purchase has been completed and the purchaser's rights have crystallised. Because the earlier order dropping the Section 32G proceedings had become final, the tenant could not be treated as a tenant whose land had already been purchased. The armed-forces landlord therefore retained the statutory right to terminate the tenancy and recover possession, and the High Court judgment was set aside.

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Issues: Whether a tenant who became only a deemed purchaser, but whose purchase proceedings under Chapter III were dropped and never crystallised, could invoke Section 43-IE to bar the landlord, a member of the armed forces, from terminating the tenancy under Chapter III-AA.

Analysis: Chapter III-AA was introduced to confer additional benefits on landlords who are serving or ex-serving members of the armed forces. Section 43-1B overrides the earlier provisions and enables such a landlord to terminate the tenancy and recover possession, while Section 43-1IE excludes from that chapter only land which, before the amendment, is purchased by a tenant under Chapter III. The decisive question was whether a deemed purchaser whose proceedings under Section 32G were dropped could be treated as a tenant whose land had already been "purchased" for the purpose of Section 43-1IE. The earlier order dropping the purchase proceedings had become final and binding between the parties. Since the tenant's rights as a purchaser had not been crystallised, and the purchase had not been completed, the tenant could not claim the protection of Section 43-1IE. The landlord therefore remained entitled to rely on Chapter III-AA.

Conclusion: Section 43-1IE does not protect a mere deemed purchaser whose purchase has not been completed; the landlord was entitled to terminate the tenancy under Chapter III-AA.

Final Conclusion: The impugned High Court judgment was set aside and the order allowing the landlord's claim for possession was restored.

Ratio Decidendi: Exclusion provisions in a beneficial resumption scheme apply only where the tenant's purchase has been completed and the purchaser's rights have crystallised; a mere deemed purchase without final completion does not bar the landlord's statutory right of termination.

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