R. M. Sahai, J. - (1.) The short and the only question that arises for consideration in these appeals is whether a co- sharer of Khatedari rights of agricultural land is entitled to claim pre-emption under the Rajasthan Pre -emption Act, 1966 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act').
(2.) Right of pre-emption has not been looked upon favourably as it operates, 'as a clog on the right of the owner to alienate his property.' In Radhakishan Laxminarayan Toshniwal v. Shridhar Ramchandra Alshi, AIR 1960 SC 1368:(1961) 1 SCR 248 , it was observed that 'to (To) defeat the law of pre-emption by any legitimate means was not fraud . Therefore, availability of this weak or archaic right has to be construed strictly . In the Act, there is no provision extending the benefit of pre-emption to agricultural holdings. A person claiming pre-emption, therefore, has to squarely fall within the four corners of the provisions contained therein .
(3.) The right of pre-emption is defined in Section 3 to mean, 'a right accruing under Section 4 of the Act upon transfer of any immovable property to acquire such property and to be substituted as the transferee thereof in place of and in preference to the original transferee.' Section 11 of the Act entitles a person to bring a suit for pre-emption when a transfer has been completed . Transfer under clause(viii) of Section 2 of the Act means 'a sale, or a mortgage where the final decree for foreclosure in respect thereof has been passed'. A transfer of immovable property for purposes of the Act, therefore, must be a transfer or mortgage. Sale has been defined by clause (vii) of Section 2 to mean, 'a transfer of ownership in immovable property in exchange for a price paid or promised or partly paid and partly promised'. A co-sharer under Section 2(i) of the Act is entitled to claim pre -emption by filing a suit under Section 11 of the Act. Since factually there was no dispute that each of the appellants are co-sharers in the Khatedari rights of the land transferred the entire dispute that shall clinch the issue is if the sale of the land amounted to transfer of ownership within meaning of Section 2(vii) of the Act.;