Pankaj Naqvi, J. - (1.) Heard Sri Anoop Kumar Pandey, learned counsel for the petitioner and Sri Abhishek Shukla, the learned standing counsel.
(2.) This writ petition is preferred against the orders dated 19.9.2014 and 25.9.2017 in Suit No.8/13-14 under Sections 166/167, whereby name of the petitioner is directed to be deleted from the revenue records so as to record the name of State.
(3.) Learned counsel for the petitioner has challenged the correctness of the order, being in teeth of the judgement of this Court in Ramey vs. State of U.P. and other (Writ C No.22508/2007) decided on 19.1.2015, wherein it has been held that where both the purchaser and the seller are persons belonging to scheduled caste, no previous approval under Section 157-AA would be required from the Assistant Collector. Section 157-AA is extracted hereunder: "157AA. Restrictions on transfer by member of Scheduled Castes becoming Bhumidhar under Section 131-B. - (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in Section 157-A and without prejudice to the restrictions contained in Sections 153 to 157, no person belonging to Scheduled Caste having become a Bhumidhar with transferable rights under Section 131-B shall have the right to transfer the land by way of sale, gift, mortgage or lease to a person other than a person belonging to a Scheduled Caste and such transfer, if any, shall be in the following order of preference- (a) land less agricultural labourer; (b) marginal farmer; (c) small farmer; and (d) a person other than a person referred to in Clauses (a), (b) and (c). (2) A transfer in favour of a person referred to in Clause (a) of sub-section (1) shall be made in order of preference given below. If a person referred to in Clause (a) is not available then transfer may be made to a person referred to in Clause (b) of the said sub-section and if a person referred to in Clause (b) is also not available then to a person referred to in Clause (c) of the said sub-section if a person referred to in Clause (c) is also not available then to a person referred to in Clause (d) of the said sub-section in the same order of preference :- (a) first, to the resident of the village where the land is situate; (b) secondly, if no person referred to in Clause (a) is available, to the resident of any other village within the Panchayat area comprising the village where the land is situate; (c) thirdly, if no person referred to in Clauses (a) and (b) is available, to the resident of a village adjoining the Panchayat area comprising the village where the land is situate. (3) If no person referred to in sub-section (1) belonging to a Scheduled Caste is available, the land may be transferred to a person belonging to a Scheduled Tribe in the order of preference given in sub-sections (1) and (2). (4) No transfer under this sections shall lie made except with the previous approval of the Assistant Collector concerned. Explanation. - For the purpose of this section, (5) A transferee of land under sub-section (1) shall have no right to transfer the land by way of sale, gift, mortgage or lease before the expiry of a period of ten years from the date of transfer in his favour.] (1) 'agricultural labourer' means a person whose main source of livelihood is agricultural labour; (2) 'landless' means the transferee who or whose wife or husband, as the case may be, or minor children, and where the transferee is a minor, also his or her parents, hold no land as bhumidhar or asami and also hold no land as such within two years immediately preceding the date of transfer; (3) 'panchayat area' shall have the meaning assigned to it in the United Provinces Panchayat Raj Act, 1947: (4) 'marginal farmer' means a person residing in a village, who holds agricultural land not exceeding one hectare of unirrigated land and whose principal means of livelihood is income from agricultural land or by manual labour on such land and includes a person cultivating land as an asami or as a share-cropper; (5) 'small farmer' means a person residing in a village, who holds unirrigated land exceeding one hectare but not exceeding two hectares and whose principal source of livelihood is income from agricultural land or by manual labour on such land and includes a person cultivating land as an asami or as a share-cropper.";