In Brief
A Karnataka government granted agricultural land to scheduled caste beneficiaries in 1982 with a 15-year non-alienation condition. In 1997, all beneficiaries sold their land to the appellant through the appellant's wife (who held a power of attorney) for cash consideration, without obtaining Government permission as required by the Karnataka Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prohibition of Transfer) Act, 1978. In 2005, an application challenged the sales as illegal. The Supreme Court held that Section 4(2) of the 1978 Act imposes an absolute statutory ban on any transfer of granted land after the Act commenced without prior Government permission, regardless of whether 15 years had elapsed. This prohibition is not limited to the 5-15 year window in the earlier Land Grant Rules. The Court dismissed the appeals, upholding the orders annulling the sales, rejecting both the delay defence and contentions that permission was only required within the restricted period.
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