TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2010 (4) TMI 962
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....l (Director), Shri T.R. Sharma (General Manager) and Shri Jai Prakash Kaushal (Authorised Signatory) to negotiate and finalise purchase of land in the State of Uttar Pradesh and/or other States and Union Territories, to sign sale deeds etc. for effective acquisition/transfer of land. Paragraphs (e) and (f) of that resolution read as under: "To sign for and on behalf of the company all sales deeds conveyance deeds, Intkals, Mutations and other documents necessary for the effective acquisition/transfer of the land in the name of the company and for this purpose to appear for and on behalf of the company before any court of law, Tehsildar, Naib Tehsildar, Patwari, Registrar, Sub Registrar of any other land transferring authority. And to do all other acts, things and deeds for and on behalf of the company which any of the above noted persons in the discharge of their lawful duties consider proper and in the best interest of the company." 3. Soon thereafter, an application dated 24.10.1991 was submitted on behalf of the appellant to Joint Director of Industries, Bareilly Zone, Bareilly for grant of permission under Section 154(2) of the Act for purchase of land in excess of 12.5 acre....
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....hment of Industry after making the payment to the farmers. But I had the knowledge of law in Punjab and was not well conversant with the provisions of U.P. Zamindari Abolition Act therefore, I purchased the land in question which is more than 12 acres. We had given an application dated 24.10.1991 to the State Government for the permission of establishment of Industry and only thereafter we started purchasing the land without waiting for the permission from the Government because we had the belief that permission will be granted to us for establishment of Industry. 3. That we filed application for mutation of whole of the land under the sale and all of them had been accepted and we continued the purchasing of land because we had the belief that we are not violating any provision of Zamindari Abolition Act. 4. That the details of land which we want to keep for the establishment of factory, measuring twelve and a half acres out of the disputed land, are being given in the succeeding paras and we have no objection for any legal action with regard to the remaining land." The particulars of the land suit sought to be retained by the appellant were given in the affidavit of Shri T.R. S....
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.... his authority appears to have been given up and it was submitted that the general manager had been authorised to pursue the case but he did not do it properly. The Additional Commissioner dismissed the revision of the appellant and confirmed the order of the Collector by recording following reasons: "It is clear from the perusal of records that the defendants themselves have admitted in their objections filed before the court below that the land in question had been purchased for establishment of Industry and purchased the land more than 12.50 acres intentionally. They have also given the details of land which they want to keep with them and agree for merging of remaining land into the State. Revisionist has stated that they had given an application for obtaining the permission and it has also been admitted that they had purchased the land in excess than 12.50 acres without waiting for the permission. In these circumstances, the court below has correctly passed an order for merging of 27.95 Acre land into the State, which is in excess than the 12.50 acres land and this order does not require any intervention. Therefore, the Revision, being devoid of merits, is liable to be dismis....
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....ade by the appellant in excess of 12.50 acres was illegal per se and its case does not fall within the ambit of the exceptions carved out in sub-section (2) of Section 154. The learned Single Judge rejected the appellant's plea that surrender made by Shri T.R. Sharma was unauthorized and held that the Collector did not commit any illegality by declaring that excess land will vest in the State Government. Simultaneously, he gave a direction to the Chief Secretary to ensure that possession of the excess land is taken by the Government free from all encumbrances without any delay. 10. At this stage, we may mention that during the pendency of the suits filed by the State Government before the Collector, the appellant instituted Suit No.25/1992-93 under Section 143 of the Act, which was disposed of by Pargana Adhikari, Pilibhit vide her order dated 12.7.1993 by declaring that 7.97 acres land purchased by the appellant in Tehsil and District Pilibhit was non-agricultural land. 11. Shri Manoj Swarup, learned counsel for the appellant argued that the order passed by the Collector was vitiated due to violation of the basics of natural justice inasmuch as the concerned officer did not give....
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....orders of the Collector and the Additional Commissioner on the ground that Shri T.R. Sharma was not authorized to give option for retaining the particular parcels of land and the learned Single Judge rightly held that the transfers made in violation of Section 154 were null and void. 13. Before dealing with the respective arguments/submissions, we consider it appropriate to note that after one year and five months of passing of order by the Collector, the appellant and the State Government entered into a lease agreement dated 15.10.1994 whereby the latter agreed to give excess land measuring 27.95 acres, the details of which were given in Schedule `A' appended to the agreement, to the appellant on lease for a period of 30 years at an yearly rent of Rs.281.05. The lease agreement was signed on behalf of the appellant by Shri Kamal Oswal, Director and Shri J.P. Kaushal, General Manager (Liaison). In the lease agreement, a copy of which has been annexed as Annexure CA-1 with the counter affidavit filed on behalf of the respondents in this Court, the lessee i.e., the appellant candidly admitted that transfers made in its favour by the Bhumidhars were contrary to Section 154 of the Act....
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....gh Court and this Court to entertain adventurous litigation instituted by it and pass interim orders. If either of the courts had been apprised of the fact that by virtue of lease deed dated 15.10.1994, the appellant has succeeded in securing temporary legitimacy for its possession over excess land, then there would have been no occasion for the High Court or this Court to entertain the writ petition or the special leave petition. 15. It is settled law that a person who approaches the Court for grant of relief, equitable or otherwise, is under a solemn obligation to candidly disclose all the material/important facts which have bearing on the adjudication of the issues raised in the case. In other words, he owes a duty to the court to bring out all the facts and refrain from concealing/suppressing any material fact within his knowledge or which he could have known by exercising diligence expected of a person of ordinary prudence. If he is found guilty of concealment of material facts or making an attempt to pollute the pure stream of justice, the court not only has the right but a duty to deny relief to such person. In one of the earliest decisions on the subject i.e., - R. v. Kens....
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.... material facts within his knowledge, and if he does not make that fullest possible disclosure, then he cannot obtain any advantage from the proceedings, and he will be deprived of any advantage he may have already obtained by means of the order which has thus wrongly been obtained by him." 17. This Court and different High Courts have repeatedly invoked and applied the rule that a person who does not disclose all material facts has no right to be heard on the merits of his grievance - State of Haryana v. Karnal Distillery Co. Ltd. (1977) 2 SCC 431, Vijay Kumar Kathuria v. State of Haryana (1983) 3 SCC 333, Welcome Hotel and others v. State of Andhra Pradesh and others etc. (1983) 4 SCC 575, G. Narayanaswamy Reddy (dead) by LRs. and another v. Government of Karnataka and another (1991) 3 SCC 261, S.P. Chengalvaraya Naidu (dead) by L.Rs. v. Jagannath (dead) by LRs. and others (1994) 1 SCC 1, Agricultural and Processed Food Products v. Oswal Agro Furane and others (1996) 4 SCC 297, Union of India and others v. Muneesh Suneja (2001) 3 SCC 92, Prestige Lights Ltd. v. State Bank of India (2007) 8 SCC 449, Sunil Poddar and others v. Union Bank of India (2008) 2 SCC 326, K.D. Sharma v. S....
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....ngrain these values in their daily life. Truth constituted an integral part of justice delivery system which was in vogue in pre-independence era and the people used to feel proud to tell truth in the courts irrespective of the consequences. However, post-independence period has seen drastic changes in our value system. The materialism has over-shadowed the old ethos and the quest for personal gain has become so intense that those involved in litigation do not hesitate to take shelter of falsehood, misrepresentation and suppression of facts in the court proceedings. In last 40 years, a new creed of litigants has cropped up. Those who belong to this creed do not have any respect for truth. They shamelessly resort to falsehood and unethical means for achieving their goals. In order to meet the challenge posed by this new creed of litigants, the courts have, from time to time, evolved new rules and it is now well established that a litigant, who attempts to pollute the stream of justice or who touches the pure fountain of justice with tainted hands, is not entitled to any relief, interim or final. 21. From what we have mentioned above, it is clear that in this case efforts to mislead ....
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....tions necessary for transfer of land. That apart, in view of lease agreement dated 15.10.1994, which was not produced by the appellant before the Additional Commissioner, the learned Single Judge of the High Court and even this Court (for the first time, the lease agreement came to the fore when a copy thereof was annexed with the counter affidavit filed on behalf of the respondent), challenge to the competence of Sri T.R. Sharma to make an admission that the land was purchased by the appellant without waiting for the State Government's permission and that appropriate legal action can be taken with regard to excess land pales into the realm of insignificance. The learned counsel was at loss to explain as to how in the face of the lease agreement, which was signed by none else than Shri Kamal Oswal (Director of the appellant), whose name finds mention in Resolution dated 14.10.1991 and General Manager (Liaison) and which contains unequivocal admission that the land was purchased in violation of Section 154(1) and, as such, the transaction was void and that by virtue of Section 167, excess land vested in the State Government, it can be said that Shri T.R. Sharma acted beyond his auth....
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....ave land sufficient for its need or that the transfer is in the interest of general public. Explanation.- For the purposes of this section, the expression 'family' shall mean the transferee, his or her wife or husband (as the case may be) and minor children, and where the transferee is a minor also his or her parents. (3) For every transfer of land in excess of the limit prescribed under sub-section (1) prior approval of the State Government shall be necessary: Provided that where the prior approval of the State Government is not obtained under this sub-section, the State Government may on an application give its approval afterward in such manner and on payment in such manner of an amount, as fine, equal to twenty-five per cent of the cost of the land as may be prescribed. The cost of the land shall be such as determined by the Collector for stamp duty. Provided further that where the State Government is satisfied that any transfer has been made in public interest, it may exempt any such transferee from the payment of fine under this sub-section. 166. Transfer made in contravention of the Act to be void.- Every transfer made in contravention of the provisions of this Act shall....
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....fer of land in excess of the limit prescribed in sub-section (1) if it is of the opinion that such transfer is in favour of a registered cooperative society or an institution established for a charitable purpose, which does not have sufficient land for its need or the transfer is in the interest of general public. The substantive part of sub-section (3), which was added by an amendment made in 2005, lays down that every transfer of land in excess of the limit prescribed under sub-section (1) shall require prior approval of the State Government. By virtue of proviso to this sub-section, the State Government has been clothed with power to give post facto approval on payment of the specified amount as fine. Section 166 declares that every transfer made in contravention of the provision of the Act shall be void. This obviously includes Section 154(1). Section 167 enumerates the consequences of void transfers. Clause (a) of Section 167(1) lays down that a transfer which is void by virtue of Section 166, the subject matter of transfer shall be deemed to have vested in the State Government from the date of transfer. In terms of Section 167(2), the Collector is entitled to take over posses....
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....nstrued as comprehending, not only such things, as they signify according to their natural import, but also those things which the interpretation clause declares that they shall include. The word 'include' is susceptible of another construction, which may become imperative, if the context of the Act is sufficient to show that it was not merely employed for the purpose of adding to the natural significance of the words or expressions used. It may be equivalent to 'mean and include' and in that case it may afford an exhaustive explanation of the meaning which for the purposes of the Act must invariably be attached to those words or expressions. - Dilworth v. Commissioner of Stamps (1899) AC 99. In State of Bombay and others v. Hospital Mazdoor Sabha and others AIR 1960 SC 610, Gajendragadkar, J., observed: "It is obvious that the words used in an inclusive definition denote extension and cannot be treated as restricted in any sense. Where we are dealing with an inclusive definition, it would be inappropriate to put a restrictive interpretation upon terms of wider denotation. In CIT, A.P. v. Taj Mahal Hotel, Secunderabad (1971) 3 SCC 550, this Court interpreted the word 'plant' used....
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.... the land of the tillers by offering them comparatively remunerative prices and again make them landless poor. 28. At this stage, we may notice two precedents which have direct bearing on the interpretation of word 'person'. In Hasmukhlal Dahayabhai and others v. State of Gujarat and others (1976) 4 SCC 100, this Court was called upon to interpret Section 6 of the Gujarat Ceiling Act, 1961. It was argued on behalf of the appellant that the concept of person embodied in Section 6(2) was contrary to the concept of that word in second proviso to Article 331A(1) of the Constitution. While repelling the challenge, this Court observed: "It is evident that Section 6 conceives of each "person" holding land as a single unit whose holding must not exceed the ceiling limit. Section 2 sub-section (21) says: " 'person' includes a joint family",. Thus, the term "person" is not, strictly speaking, defined in the Act. Section 2 sub-section (21) only clarifies that the term "person" will "include" a joint family also. It certainly does not exclude an individual from being a person in the eyes of law. This has been done apparently to make it clear that, in addition to individuals, as natural pers....
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....e object of the Act, as set out above, is twofold: firstly, to limit the ceiling area of each holder; and, secondly, to acquire what falls beyond the ceiling limit so that the State may distribute it to more needy persons. It is not disputed that compensation is provided for acquisition of what exceeds the ceiling area in every case. As was held by this Court in H.H. Kesavananda Bharati Sripadagalavaru v. State of Kerala the amount of compensation fixed cannot be questioned. Therefore, no provision of the Act could be or is challenged on the ground that the required compensation is not prescribed for an acquisition under it as required by Article 31(2) of the Constitution or is inadequate." 29. The issue was recently considered in Ramanlal Bhailal Patel v. State of Gujarat (2008) 5 SCC 449. That case involved interpretation of the provisions contained in the Gujarat Agricultural Land Ceiling Act, 1960. The High Court held that the word 'person' appearing in Section 6 of the Act includes an association of persons and as such 10 co-owners were entitled to only one unit i.e. 36 acres. It was argued on behalf of the appellant that the definition of "person" in the General Clauses Act ....
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...." as "any being whom the law regards as capable of rights and duties" or as "a being, whether human or not, of which rights and duties are the attributes" (Jurisprudence, 12th Edn., p. 299). Thus the word "person", in law, unless otherwise intended, refers not only to a natural person (male or female human being), but also any legal person (that is an entity that is recognised by law as having or capable of having rights and duties). The General Clauses Act thus defines a "person" as including a corporation or an association of persons or a body of individuals whether incorporated or not. The said general legal definition is, however, either modified or restricted or expanded in different statutes with reference to the object of the enactment or the context in which it is used. For instance, the definition of the word "person" in the Income Tax Act, is very wide and includes an individual, a Hindu Undivided Family, a company, a firm, an association of persons or body of individuals whether incorporated or not, a local authority and every other artificial juridical person. At the other extreme is the Citizenship Act, Section 2(f) of which reads thus: ' "Person" does not include any ....
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....s is being mentioned only to be rejected in view of the contents of lease agreement. That apart, no evidence was produced before the Collector or the Additional Commissioner to prove that the land was purchased in the name of the Directors of the appellant. Even before the learned Single Judge of the High Court and this Court, no such evidence has been produced. In Ramanlal Bhailal Patel's case, this issue was considered and answered in negative in the following words: "Instead of buying the land (172 acres 36 guntas) jointly under the four sale deeds it was open to the ten persons to have bought the lands individually, that is each of them purchasing such extent of land as he or she wanted. If they had registered the sale deeds individually (subject to each of them being entitled to buy agricultural land, under the land reforms laws in force) each couple would have been entitled to hold land to the extent of one unit. Instead of each individual or couple purchasing the land in their respective names, if for convenience in negotiations, ten individuals buy the land jointly, the position will be no different. It cannot be said that merely because the sale deed is in the joint names....