TMI Blog1995 (2) TMI 359X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... lid tender within the meaning of Rule 285-D of U.P. Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Rules, 1952. 4. The facts in brief leading to the filing of this appeal may be stated thus :The deceased respondent No. 1 Rao Mahmood Ahmad Khan being the defaulter of Government dues to the extent of Rs. 23026.37 paise was proceeded against for recovery of the said amount as arrears of land revenue and in pursuance of recovery proceedings the Collector, Saharanpur on 15.11.1986 attached his agricultural land bearing Khasra No. 162, Mohalla Ismail Khan, Khewat No. 1/2 situated in Village Palhanpur, Tehsil District Saharanpur. The said land was put to auction sale on 18.10.1973. Raghubir Singh, the respondent No. 1 herein was one of the bidders and his bid being highest for Rs. 31500/-, it was knocked down in his favour. The Sale Officer taking the bid made by respondent No. 1 to be adequate and reasonable accepted the same and directed the respondent No. 1 to deposit 25 per cent of the bid amount at once and the balance of the sale amount within IS days by his order dated 18.10.1973. The respondent No. 1, auction purchaser depos- ited a sum of Rs. 8000/- by means of a cheque dated 18.10.197 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... gh Court by the impugned judgment dated 22.1.1992 allowed the writ petition filed by respondent No. 1, by setting aside the aforesaid order of the Board of Revenue dated 12.4.1985 by holding that the confirmation of the auction sale in favour of respondent No. 1 was valid as the deposit of 25 per cent of the bid amount by cheque was a valid deposit for the purposes of Rule 285-D of the rules. It is this decision of the High Court which has been challenged by the appellants in this appeal who are the legal representatives of deceased Rao Mahmood Ahmad Khan. 6. Learned counsel for the appellants urged that the provisions contained in Rule 285-D of the U.P. Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Rules, 1952 (hereinafter referred to as the Rules) are mandatory and have to be strictly applied in so far as the requirement of deposit of 25 per cent of the amount of bid immediately after the declaration of the person to be the purchaser of the property is concerned and on his failure to do so the sale becomes a nullity. He submitted that in the present case the sale was knocked down in favour of the respondent No. 1 on 18.10.1973 and, therefore, it was obligatory on him to deposit 25 per c ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... or 285-E in default of payment of the purchase money shall be made until a fresh proclamation has been issued as prescribed for the original sale. 8. It may be noted that similar provisions are contained in the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 also. Order 21, Rule 84 of the Code is almost similar in terms to Rule 285-D of the Rules in question which provides for deposit of 25 per cent of the bid amount immediately and on failure to do so re- sale of the property forthwith. Order 21, Rule 85 and 86 of the Code arc similar to Rule 285-E of the Land Reforms Rules requiring the purchaser payment of the full amount of the purchase money before the court closes on the 15th day from the date of sale of property and in the event of default to do so the property shall be re-sold with the only distinction that in the case of default under Order 21, Rule 86 the Court has the discretion to forfeit to the Government 25 per cent of the bid amount deposited on the date of sale while in the case of default under Rule 285-E of the Land Reforms Rules there is no such discretion but in the event of default to deposit the full amount of purchase money, 25 per cent deposit has to be forfeited after defr ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... mmediately and if he fails to do so the property shall be re-sold forthwith. 10. Further the Rule 285-D provides resale of the property forthwith on the failure of the purchaser to deposit 25 per cent of the bid amount. The meaning of the word 'forthwith' is synonymous of the word immediately which means with all reasonable quickness and within a reasonably prompt time. It, therefore, necessarily follows that the intention of the Legislature is that as soon as it becomes known that the purchaser has failed to deposit 25 per cent immediately after he is declared as purchaser, the property shall be put to re-sale forthwith without any loss of time or postponement of the date of re-sale. The provision has been made mandatory because if the property is not re- sold forthwith and on the same day but later on after a day or two, the sufficient number of purchasers may not be forthcoming and the property may not fetch adequate and fair price to the prejudice of the judgment debtor. There is yet another reason for making this provision mandatory and it is this that if on the failure of the purchaser to deposit 25 per cent of the bid amount immediately and on the day the person is declare ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of the aforementioned corresponding provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure and in view of the aforesaid discussion there is no escape from declaring the sale a nullity if Rule 285-D is not complied with. 13. The question now remains to be considered is whether the deposit of 25 per cent of the bid amount by the purchaser respondent No. 1 herein by cheque instead of cash would be a valid deposit within the meaning of Rule 285-D of the Rules. Admittedly the respondent No. 1 was declared purchaser of the property in question on 18.10.1973. According to the learned counsel for the appellants neither the deposit of 25 per cent of the bid amount was made in cash nor by cheque on 18.10.1973 as the cheque was encashed on 22.10.1973. While according to the learned counsel appearing for the auction purchaser respondent No. 1 the cheque was tendered on 18.10.1973 itself which was encashed on 22.10.1973 and the amount was deposited in the Government treasury on 22.10.1973. The question is whether such a payment by cheque could be regarded as a valid deposit within the, meaning of Rule 285-D. As discussed above Rule 285-D is a mandatory rule according to which if 25 per cent of the bid amo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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