Agreement to sell does not transfer title; land stays in transferor's holding for ceiling computation until registered conveyance.

Land covered by agreements to sell, even where possession had been delivered, remained includible in the transferor's holding for ceiling purposes because title passes only on a registered sale deed. The Court read the definitions of "holding" and "tenure-holder" in the Uttar Pradesh Imposition of Ceiling on Land Holdings Act, 1960, and held that Section 53-A of the Transfer of Property Act gives only a defensive right to retain possession, not ownership. The land could not be excluded from the transferor's holding while legal title remained unchanged, and it was rightly counted in the ceiling computation.

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Issues: Whether land covered by agreements to sell, where possession had been parted with but no registered sale deed had been executed, remained includible in the transferor's holding for ceiling purposes under the Uttar Pradesh Imposition of Ceiling on Land Holdings Act, 1960.

Analysis: The definition of "holding" and "tenure-holder" in Section 3 of the Act and the prohibition in Section 5(1) show that what matters is whether the land continues to be held by the tenure-holder in law. An agreement to sell does not divest title, and title passes only by a registered sale deed. Section 53-A of the Transfer of Property Act gives the transferee only a defensive right to retain possession against the transferor; it does not transfer ownership or defeat the State's right to treat the land as part of the transferor's holding. The land may be excluded from the transferee's holding in the absence of a statutory explanation, but it continues to remain includible in the transferor's holding so long as legal title has not passed.

Conclusion: The land covered by the agreements to sell remained part of the tenure-holder's holding and was rightly included for ceiling computation. The challenge by the State succeeded.

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