Section 269D: Preliminary Notice for Acquisition of Immovable Property
Section 269D prescribed how the competent authority initiated acquisition proceedings under the historical Chapter XXA regime, including publication in the Official Gazette, limitation periods and service of notice.
Section 269D: Statutory provisions
The following reproduces the substantive provisions supplied in the original webpage, with editorial footnote markers separated from the operative text.
(1) The competent authority shall initiate proceedings for the acquisition, under this Chapter, of any immovable property referred to in section 269C by notice to that effect published in the Official Gazette:
Provided that no such proceedings shall be initiated in respect of any immovable property after the expiration of a period of nine months from the end of the month in which the instrument of transfer in respect of such property is registered under the Registration Act, 1908 (16 of 1908), or, as the case may be, section 269AB:
Provided further that
(a) in a case where it is determined under sub-section (4) of section 269B by the competent authority who has initiated proceedings for the acquisition of any immovable property under this Chapter or by the Board that such competent authority has no jurisdiction to initiate such proceedings, the competent authority having jurisdiction may initiate such proceedings within
(i) the period of nine months specified in the foregoing proviso; or
(ii) a period of thirty days from the date of such determination, whichever period expires later;
(b) in a case where proceedings for the acquisition of any immovable property under this Chapter could not be initiated during any period of time by reason of any injunction or order of any court prohibiting the initiation of such proceedings or preventing the examination of documents or other materials required to be examined for the purpose of determining whether such proceedings should be initiated, the time of the continuance of the injunction or order, the day on which it was issued or made and the day on which it was withdrawn shall be excluded in computing the period during which such proceedings may be initiated under this sub-section.
(2) The competent authority shall
(a) cause a notice under sub-section (1) in respect of any immovable property to be served on the transferor, the transferee, the person in occupation of the property, if the transferee is not in occupation thereof, and on every person whom the competent authority knows to be interested in the property ;
(b) cause such notice to be published
(i) in his office by affixing a copy thereof to a conspicuous place;
Historical amendment notes
(ii) in the locality in which the immovable property to which it relates is situate, by affixing a copy thereof to a conspicuous part of the property and also by making known in such manner as may be prescribed the substance of such notice at convenient places in the said locality. Explanation. The provisions of the Explanation to sub-section (2) of section 269B shall apply for the purposes of this sub-section as they apply for the purposes of that sub-section.
Meaning and scope of Section 269D
Competent authority and Gazette notice
The competent authority was the income-tax officer authorised under Section 269B. Proceedings relating to property described in Section 269C were initiated by publishing a notice in the Official Gazette, the government's formal publication for statutory notifications.
Transferor, transferee and interested persons
The transferor is the person transferring the property; the transferee is the recipient. A person interested includes a person claiming an interest in compensation payable on acquisition, as described in Section 269A. Section 269D required service of notice on specified parties and other known interested persons.
Notice publication and service
In addition to Gazette publication, the authority had to serve notice on the transferor and transferee, on an occupier where the transferee did not occupy the property, and on other known interested persons. Copies also had to be displayed at the authority's office and at the property, with local publicity in the prescribed manner.
Limitation period and exceptions
The historical general deadline was nine months from the end of the month in which the instrument of transfer was registered under the Registration Act, 1908 or, where applicable, Section 269AB. If a jurisdictional determination established that the initiating authority lacked jurisdiction, the correct authority could initiate proceedings within the original nine-month period or 30 days from the determination, whichever expired later.
Where a court injunction or order prevented initiation or examination of required documents, the specified period of restraint and relevant boundary days were excluded when calculating the time limit. These rules concern historical Chapter XXA matters, not contemporary property registration deadlines.
Relationship with other provisions
Section 269E dealt with objections, while Section 269F dealt with their hearing. Section 269RR limits the temporal reach of Chapter XXA. For a modern transaction, assess the legislation actually applicable to the date and nature of the transaction instead of relying on this historic acquisition mechanism.
Official legal resources
For authoritative legislation and amendments, consult India Code (Government of India), the Income Tax Department and the Income Tax e-Filing Portal. Check the version of the statute applicable to the relevant transfer and proceeding.
Disclaimer: This article is for general legal information and historical reference; it is not a substitute for advice on a specific property or proceeding.