Chapter V RESTRICTIONS ON 1[HOLDING OR]1 TRANSFER OF AGRICULTURAL LANDS

(1) (a) No sale (including sales in execution of a decree of a civil court or for recovery of arrears of land revenue or for sums recoverable as arrears of land revenue), gift or exchange or lease of any land or interest therein, or shall be lawful in favour of a person,- (i) in case of A-class irrigated land, who does not use for agriculture purpose, or; (ii) who holds as a owner or tenant or partly as owner and partly as tenant land which exceeds the limits specified in section 63 or 64; or (2) Nothing in sub-section (1) shall apply to lands granted under section 77.

(1) No document relating to any transfer of land either by sale, gift, exchange, lease, mortgage with possession surrender, agreement, settlement, or otherwise, shall be registered unless a declaration in writing is made in duplicate in such form as may be prescribed and filed by the transferee before the registering authority under the Indian Registration Act, 1908 (Central Act XVI of 1908), as to the total extent of land held by him as also his assured annual income.

(2) The registering authority referred to in sub-section (1) shall forward within such time and in such manner as may be prescribed, one copy of the declaration referred to in sub-section (1), to the prescribed officer, within whose jurisdiction the land which is the subject matter of the transfer or the major part thereof is situated.

(3) On receipt of the copy of the declaration under sub-section (2), the prescribed officer may obtain such information as may be necessary and take such action as he deems fit in accordance with the provisions of this Act, and in accordance with such rules as may be made in this behalf.

Every village officer and every officer of the Revenue, Registration and Land Records Departments shall report to the prescribed authority, every transaction in respect of any land in contravention of any of the provisions of this Act, as they stood before and as they stand after the date of commencement of the Amendment Act which comes to the notice of such officer.

The prescribed authority shall, after a summary inquiry, determine whether the transaction reported to it under section 82 or coming to its notice in any other manner is in contravention of or is unlawful or invalid under the provisions of this Act, as they stood before or as they stand after the date of commencement of the Amendment Act and make a declaration accordingly. Any transaction so declared to be in contravention of or is unlawful or invalid under any of the provisions of this Act, as they stood before or as they stand after the date of commencement of the Amendment Act shall be null and void. The land in respect of which such transaction has taken place shall, as penalty, be forfeited to and vest in the State Government free from all encumbrances. No amount is payable therefor.