In Brief
K. Arjun Das purchased deity-owned agricultural land after the Commissioner of Endowments granted sale permission complying with the Orissa Hindu Religious Endowments Act, 1951. A registered sale deed was executed in his favour at Rs. 10 lakhs per acre. Later, third parties intervened offering Rs. 25 lakhs per acre and challenged the sale in the High Court. The Division Bench set aside the sale deed and ordered fresh public auction. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, holding that once a sale deed is registered in compliance with statutory procedures, the High Court cannot nullify it merely because higher offers surface later, particularly when intervenors failed to participate in the original process and made no fraud allegations against the deed itself.
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