Attornment and estoppel allow an auction-purchaser in provisional possession to pursue ejectment before sale certificate issuance.

An auction-purchaser of evacuee property who has not yet received a sale certificate may still maintain an ejectment suit under the ordinary law if the occupier has attorned. The text explains that title transfer depends on issuance of the sale certificate and payment of the balance consideration, so statutory protection under the Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Act does not arise at the stage of provisional possession. Even so, attornment creates a landlord-tenant relationship and the occupier is estopped under Section 116 of the Indian Evidence Act from disputing the purchaser's title. The rent-control exclusion for Government property was read literally, and no exception was added for such interim purchasers.

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Issues: Whether an auction-purchaser of evacuee property, who has not yet obtained a sale certificate but to whom the occupier has attorned, can maintain a suit for ejectment under the ordinary law.

Analysis: The transfer of ownership in auctioned evacuee property was held to depend on the issue of the sale certificate and payment of the balance consideration, so the statutory protection under Section 29 of the Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Act, 1954 did not arise at the stage of mere provisional possession. Even so, possession itself was treated as sufficient to sustain a landlord-tenant relationship, because attornment by the occupier created mutual rights and obligations and the tenant was estopped from disputing the landlord's title under the settled rule embodied in Section 116 of the Indian Evidence Act. The exclusion of premises belonging to the Government from the rent-control regime was read literally, and the Court declined to add an exception for auction-purchasers at the intermediate stage, treating the gap as a casus omissus that could not be cured by construction.

Conclusion: Yes. An auction-purchaser who has provisional possession and to whom the occupier has attorned can maintain a suit for ejectment under the ordinary law, even though the sale certificate has not yet been issued.

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