- (1.) Leave granted.
(2.) Respondents admittedly had purchased cashew nut estate on April 16, 1989. The State Government of Kerala introduced the Land Reforms Bill, 1963 on April, 1064. One of the clauses relates to taking away exemption of cashew nut estate of its conversion from the purview of the Kerala Land Reforms Act, 1963 (for short,'The Act'). The Bill was made Act 35 of 1969 with effect from January 1, 1970. Section 82(4) of the Act declares that where after the commencement of the Act, any class of land specified in Schedule II has been converted into any other class of land specified in that Scheule or into explantation, the extent of land liable to be surrendered by a person owning or holding such land shallbe determined without taking into consideration such conversion. Section 84(1) reads thus: "84.Certain voluntary transfers to be null and void - (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force, all voluntary transfers effected after the date of publication of the Kerala Land Reforms Bill, 1963, in the Gazette, otherwise than:- (i) by way of partition; or ********** (iii) in favour of a person who was a tenant of the holding before the 27the July, 1960, and continued to be so till the date of transfer; ********** by a family or any member thereof by an adult unmarried person owning or holding land in excess of the ceiling area or otherwise than by way of gift in favour of his son or daughter or the son or daughter of his per-deceased son or daughter by any person owning or holding land in excess of the ceiling area shall be invalid." (Emphasis supplied)
(3.) Thr voluntary sale is not one of the exempted transfers mentioned in Section 84(1). On the other hand, all voluntary transfers other than those excepted, should be deemed to be transfers calculated to defeat the provisions of the Act and should be invalid. The question, therefore, is whether the land purchased by the respondent was intended to defeat the purpose of the Act and is invalid.;