Statutory charge cannot defeat a bona fide auction purchaser without notice; post-sale attachment was quashed.

A statutory sales tax charge could not be enforced against purchasers who bought secured property in a SARFAESI public auction for value without actual or constructive notice of the dues. Applying the principle under Section 100 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, the Court stated that a charge is not enforceable against a transferee for consideration without notice unless the governing statute expressly displaces that protection. The post-sale attachment against the purchasers was therefore unsustainable and was quashed, while the revenue authorities remained free to proceed against the original debtor in accordance with law.

---

---

Issues: Whether the sales tax charge could be enforced and the attachment sustained against purchasers who bought the secured property for value in a public auction without notice of the sales tax dues.

Analysis: The purchasers acquired the property in a SARFAESI auction after the sale was confirmed and before any sales tax charge was reflected in the revenue records. The Court found that the purchasers had no actual or constructive notice of the sales tax claim when they paid the full consideration. Relying on the principle governing charges under Section 100 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, the Court held that a charge cannot be enforced against a transferee for consideration without notice unless the statute clearly dispenses with that requirement. The subsequent attempt to attach the property in the hands of the purchasers was therefore unsustainable.

Conclusion: The attachment order could not be enforced against the purchasers, and the challenge succeeded.

Final Conclusion: The impugned attachment was quashed, and the writ petition was allowed in favour of the purchasers, while leaving the sales tax department free to pursue its claim against the original debtor in accordance with law.

Ratio Decidendi: A statutory charge is not enforceable against a transferee who has purchased property for consideration without notice of the charge unless the governing law expressly overrides the protection afforded by Section 100 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882.

---