HC Issues Strict Guidelines on Sale, Transfer of Equal Shareholders Belonging to SC/ST Communities
HC Issues Strict Guidelines on Sale, Transfer of Equal Shareholders Belonging to SC/ST Communities
No Sale Without Partition, Consent, and Official Clearance if Buyer is Non-SC/ST
In a landmark judgment aimed at safeguarding the land rights of Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities, the Odisha High Court has issued strict legal guidelines governing the sale and transfer of undivided joint family property by SC/ST coparceners (co-owners by birth).
Justice S.K. Panigrahi, delivering the verdict, ruled that no individual member of an SC/ST family can unilaterally sell or transfer any portion of joint family property unless a formal partition has taken place, either through a registered mutual agreement or a civil court decree. In the absence of such lawful partition, the proposed transaction requires the explicit and informed written consent of all coparceners.
The ruling further mandates that if the buyer does not belong to an SC/ST community, prior approval from the competent revenue authority is essential. This authority must verify that:
- The seller’s share has been formally partitioned and demarcated
- The transaction carries the informed consent of all other coparceners
- The sale does not adversely affect the livelihood or shelter of any SC/ST family member
- The sale does not violate protective provisions under applicable land laws
“No mutation in favour of the buyer shall be allowed unless the transferor provides documentary evidence of partition or written consent from the other coparceners,” the order, dated July 18, stated.
Significantly, the court clarified that any transaction violating these norms would be considered void ab initio, invalid from the very beginning not merely voidable. This means that such sales carry no legal recognition, and revenue authorities have the power to cancel them on their own initiative under the Orissa Land Reforms Act, 1960, or other relevant statutes.
The judgment arose from a case involving four acres and 40 decimals of undivided land at Baniapat Khuntapada in Keonjhar district. Three sisters Srimati Sethi, Saraswati Sethy, and Malati Behera, belonging to a Scheduled Caste family, approached the High Court after their brothers sold the family property without their consent. The land was purchased by a non-SC/ST individual and was later acquired for a national highway project, triggering compensation issues.
The court ruled that the sale deeds executed without formal partition or unanimous consent of the coparceners violated protective laws and were legally invalid. “All derivative rights arising from these transactions are vitiated and cannot be used as a legal basis for mutation, possession, or claims by any party, private or institutional,” Justice Panigrahi said.
This judgment sets a precedent for the protection of ancestral property rights of SC/ST families in Odisha, ensuring that legal safeguards are strictly implemented and enforced.
