Prior approval for Scheduled Caste land transfers is mandatory; later application cannot cure an invalid sale.

Prior approval under section 157-AA of the U.P. Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act is mandatory before a transfer by a Scheduled Caste purchaser is effected. A post facto application cannot cure the absence of prior permission, so a sale made without obtaining approval in advance is not validated later by a subsequent request. On that reasoning, the transaction was treated as void under the statutory scheme and the annulment of the transfer was upheld. Decisions permitting later approval were distinguished because, in those cases, permission had been sought before the transfer process was completed.

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Issues: Whether a transfer by a Scheduled Caste purchaser made without prior approval under section 157-AA of the U.P. Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act could be saved by a subsequent application, and whether the authorities were justified in treating the sale as void under sections 166 and 167.

Analysis: Section 157-AA(4) requires previous approval of the Assistant Collector before the transfer is made. The requirement is mandatory, and in the absence of any application before the sale-deed was executed, the transaction could not be validated later on the basis of a post facto request. The authority concerned had jurisdiction to act under the statutory scheme, and the decisions relied upon for post-transaction approval were distinguishable because in those cases the application for permission had been made before the relevant transfer or sale process.

Conclusion: The sale transaction, having been effected without prior approval, was not saved by the subsequent application and the order annulling the transfer was upheld.

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