In Brief
The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal of purchasers seeking restoration of occupancy rights to inam land. The protected tenant had been issued an ownership certificate under Section 38-E of the Tenancy Act in 1975, vesting full ownership in them. The Court held that the purchaser's claim to occupancy rights, based on alleged oral surrender of tenancy in 1954 and a 1957 sale deed, was invalid. Protected tenancy rights can only be surrendered through written instruments admitted before the Tahsildar and made in good faith—neither oral surrender nor conveyance by sale deed complied with statutory requirements. Once an ownership certificate is issued to a protected tenant, they become the full owner as against all other persons, and occupancy rights cannot thereafter be granted to others. The Inams Act does not override Section 38-E, which contains an overriding non-obstante clause. The Court recognized occupancy rights only for land not covered by the protected tenant's ownership claim.
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