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Challenge to auction sales of excess vacant land under Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976. Analysis: The petition before the court was brought by the competent authority appointed under the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976, seeking to quash or set aside auction sales conducted by income-tax authorities for plots of land categorized as "excess vacant land" belonging to "Ranjit Villa Palace." The petitioner argued that the auctioned lands were supposed to be surrendered as excess land under the Act and should not have been sold for income-tax arrears. The petitioner contended that auction purchasers would not gain any rights through the sale and sought the sale to be set aside to prevent future claims by purchasers regarding their title under the Act. The court clarified that in an auction purchase, the purchaser only acquires the title of the owner whose property is sold, and any obligations of the defaulting income-tax assessee remain intact post-auction. The competent authority's grievance stemmed from income-tax authorities misleading prospective purchasers by implying they would obtain absolute title, which the court deemed legally incorrect. The court emphasized that representations by income-tax authorities do not alter legal rights and that the auction could not be challenged based on such representations. The court highlighted that until delivery is completed following an auction, the income-tax assessee retains some rights, such as possession of the property until divested in accordance with the law. The court refrained from determining the exact rights of auction purchasers but concluded that the competent authority had no valid grievance as the obligations under the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976, remained unaffected by the auction sales. Additionally, the court referenced a prior Full Bench decision regarding the enforcement of an agreement for specific performance concerning vacant land under the Act, emphasizing that ownership rights may exist even before proceedings under the Act are initiated. Ultimately, the court dismissed the petition challenging the auction sales of excess vacant land under the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976, maintaining that the competent authority lacked grounds for grievance as the Act's obligations were not compromised by the auction sales.
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