In Brief
Durjan Singh sought to set aside a sale deed dated 23 November 1953 (executed for 8.04 acres as security for a loan) under the M.P. Adhiniyam 1976, a statute protecting agricultural land of weaker sections. The lower authorities allowed his application, but the High Court quashed the order, holding that he had not proven he was a member of a weaker section holding less prescribed hectares. The Supreme Court found the High Court failed to address fundamental questions: whether the 1976 Act applies to a 1953 transaction (before the appointed day of 1 January 1971), and whether the underlying loan was subsisting on that date. The Court remitted the case to the High Court to examine these threshold questions of law before considering substantive conditions."
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