Tarun Chatterjee, J. - (1.) Writ petitioners Nos. 1 to 5 are the joint owners of the premises Nos. 9, 7/1A and 7/1B, Lovelock Place, Calcutta-700 009 (hereinafter referred to collectively as the said premises). Writ petitioner No. 6 has entered into an agreement on January 28, 1994, with the writ petitioners Nos. 1 to 5 to develop the said premises. By the Finance Act, 1986, with effect from October 1, 1986, Chapter XX-C consisting of Sections 269U to 269UO was inserted in the Income-tax Act, 1961, with the object of inducing the transferors and the transferees to declare the full amount of consideration in their agreements for transfer. Section 269UC of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act") provides as follows : "(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 (4 of 1882), or in any other law for the time being in force, no transfer of any immovable property of such value exceeding ten lakh rupees as may be prescribed, shall be effected except after an agreement for transfer is entered into between the person who intends transferring the immovable property (hereinafter referred to as 'the transferor') and the person to whom it is proposed to be transferred (hereinafter referred to as 'the transferee') in accordance with the provisions of Sub-section (2) at least four months before the intended date of transfer. (2) The agreement referred to in Sub-section (1) shall be reduced to writing in the form of a statement by each of the parties to such transfer or by any of the parties to such transfer acting on behalf of himself and on behalf of the other parties. (3) Every statement referred to in Sub-section (1), shall,-- (i) be in the prescribed form ; (ii) set forth such particulars as may be prescribed ; and (iii) be verified in the prescribed manner, and shall be furnished to the appropriate authority in such manner and within such time as may be prescribed, by each of the parties to such transaction or by any of the parties to such transaction acting on behalf of himself and on behalf of the other parties."
(2.) The prescribed form under Section 269UC of the Act is Form No. 37-I.
(3.) Section 269UD of the Income-tax Act, 1961, inter alia, provides that the appropriate authority, after the receipt of the statement under Sub-section (3) of Section 269UC in respect of any immovable property, may, notwithstanding anything contained in any other law or any instrument in writing, make an order for the purchase by the Central Government of such immovable property at an amount equal to the amount of the apparent consideration : Provided that no such order shall be made in respect of any immovable property after the expiration of a period of two months from the end of the month in which the statement referred to in Section 269UC in respect of such property is received by the appropriate authority, .;