15. 19.06.2019 This order arises out of the dismissal of Misc. (Registration) Appeal Case No.01 of 2017 passed by the learned Additional District Magistrate-Cum- District Registrar, Sambalpur, whereby the learned Additional District Magistrate-Cum- District Registrar, Sambalpur vide order dated 21.10.2017 confirmed the order dated 24.06.2017 passed by the learned District Sub-Registrar, Sambalpur refusing to register the sale deed to be executed by the present petitioners. Case of the petitioners in brief is that the petitioner no.1 is the recorded owner in possession of land situated in Mouza- Sambalpur Town Unit No.13, Bareipali bearing M.S. Khata No.567/ 337, Plot No.3801/ 4176, measuring an area Ac.0.053 dec. along with the existing residential house standing thereon. Due to urgent need of money, the petitioners wanted to sell away the aforesaid land along with the house standing thereon. Accordingly, they got the sale deed prepared and presented the same to the Registering Officer i.e. District Sub-Registrar, Sambalpur with the contention that though the petitioners (vendors in the sale deed) belong to Scheduled Caste community, permission under Section 22 of the Orissa Land Reforms Act, 1960 (hereinafter referred to as “the OLR Act” for brevity) is not required as the land is situated within the Sambalpur Municipal Corporation area (Urban Area) and the Kisam of the land is “Homestead”. The District Sub-Registrar, Sambalpur, however, vide his order dated 24.06.2017 refused to register the sale deed with the observation that W.P.(C) No.23573 of 2017 2 the document has not been accompanied with a written permission of the Sub-Collector, Sadar, Sambalpur as required under Section 22 of the OLR Act with Clause (4) of the said Act as well as in the absence of a Notification under Section 73 (C) of the OLR Act as the proposed transfer is by a Scheduled Caste person in favour of Non-Scheduled Caste person. Being aggrieved by the said order dated 24.06.2017 passed by the District Sub-Registrar, Sambalpur, the petitioners preferred W.P.(C) No.13763 of 2017 before this Court which was disposed of on 13.07.2017 giving liberty to the petitioners to avail the alternative remedy available to them. In view of such order dated 13.07.2017 passed by this Court in W.P.(C) No.13763 of 2017, an appeal was preferred before the learned Additional District Magistrate-cum- District Registrar, Sambalpur. It was urged before the learned Additional District Magistrate-cum- District Registrar, Sambalpur that by virtue of the order passed by the authorities in O.L.R. Case No.1849 of 2013 in pursuance of the power conferred upon them under Section 8A of the OLR Act, the authorities have converted the agricultural land to homestead land. Therefore, the proposed transfer does not require any prior permission of the Revenue Officer as envisaged under Section 22 of the OLR Act. In support of their claim, the petitioners had produced the Gazette Notification No.207-CAD dated 14th July, 1972 relating to preparation and publication of Master Plan in respect of Sambalpur Town and certain other villagers where Baraipali 3 has been included. Therefore, it was urged before the learned Additional District Magistrate-cum- District Registrar, Sambalpur that permission under Section 22 of the OLR Act is not applicable to the present case. Admittedly, there is no Notification under Section 73 (C) of the OLR Act. But keeping in view the observations made by this Court vide judgment dated 14.12.2016 passed in W.P.(C) No.18171 of 2016, it was urged that once a Notification is made by the State Government to include that area in the Town Planning Authority, then the language itself will obviate any Notification under Section 73 (C) of the OLR Act. Learned Additional District Magistrate-cum- District Registrar, Sambalpur did not accept the argument as it was observed that if under the Town Planning Scheme the area of Baraipali has been included as per the Notification of the year 1972, then the application under Section 8(A) of the OLR Act is misconceived. So, the order passed under Section 8(A) of the OLR Act cannot be given much weightage to and conversion of agricultural land to homestead land will not take any effect. Learned counsel for the petitioners relied upon the observations made by the Division Bench of this Court in the case of Mahurilal Agarwalla –vrs.- Dusasan Sahu and others : XLIII CLT 681 wherein it has been held that the house is not ‘land’ within the definition of Section 2(14) of the OLR Act and the Revenue Officer had no jurisdiction to deal with the property in the ceiling fixation proceeding and treat the same as surplus for the purpose of ceiling. The 4 determination by the Revenue Officer is thus without jurisdiction and consequently it is a nullity. That decision cannot affect the rights of the parties. The restriction imposed on transfer by the Act does not operate in respect of such property and, therefore, the Revenue Officer has no competency to render a decision which would adversely affect the ownership of the property. The subject matter of the aforesaid decision was a house situated within the town or Tahasil and it was not established that the same is ‘homestead ordinarily used as a house site, ancillary or incidental to agriculture’. The said judgment of the Division of this Court i.e. the case of Mahurilal Agarwalla (supra) has also been followed in the case of Smt. Madanbati Lath – vrs.- S.D.O., Sadar, Sambalpur and others: 71 (1991) CLT 390. This Court in the judgment dated 14.12.2016 rendered in W.P.(C) No.18171 of 2016 has observed that “going through the Gazette Notification dated 14th July, 1972, this Court finds, there remains no doubt that even though the notification did not refer to the provision under Section 73 of the O.L.R. Act but from the language therein, it is amply clear that the State Government by virtue of the notification has already included the land belonging to Sakhigopinath (part) revenue village which includes the land of the petitioner merged with the town planning authority, Sambalpur. This being the position, this Court finds, for the notification herein, the provision of Section 22 of the O.L.R. Act has no application in the present case”. 5 Thus, the Notification is also squarely applicable to the present case, as the area of Baraipali has been included in Town Planning Authority, Sambalpur and is under the jurisdiction of Town Planning Authority, Sambalpur. So, even though there is no Notification under Section 73 of the OLR Act, this Court deems it to be excluding the area from the provision of OLR Act, but it cannot be said that the whole OLR Act is not applicable and the proceeding taken under Section 8(A) of the OLR Act will not be effected. The reason resorted to by the learned Additional District Magistrate-Cum-District Registrar, Sambalpur is fallacious and it cannot be said that the order passed by the Revenue Officer under Section 8(A) of the OLR Act converting the agricultural land to homestead land is without jurisdiction. Once the land becomes homestead land and come within the jurisdiction of the Town Planning Authority, then the permission under Section 22 of the Act is not sine qua non for transfer of the land. In that view of the matter, this Court is of the opinion that the order dated 24.06.2017 passed by the District Sub-Registrar, Sambalpur and the order dated 21.10.2017 passed by the learned Additional District Magistrate –Cum- District Registrar, Sambalpur are erroneous and liable to be set aside. In the result, this writ petition succeeds. Annexures-3 and 4 i.e. the order dated 24.06.2017 passed by the District Sub-Registrar, Sambalpur and the order dated 21.10.2017 passed by the learned Additional District 6 Magistrate –Cum- District Registrar, Sambalpur respectively are hereby set aside. It is hereby directed that the District Sub-Registrar, Sambalpur shall register the sale deed to be executed by the petitioners forthwith without any further delay. With the aforesaid, this writ petition is disposed of. Urgent certified copy of this order be granted on proper application. ……………………… S. K. Mishra, J. BJ