Section 269UH: Re-vesting of Property on Failure to Pay or Deposit Consideration

Section 269UH explains what happens when the Central Government has purchased an immovable property under the former compulsory purchase framework but fails to tender or deposit the required purchase consideration within the statutory period.

Meaning and purpose of Section 269UH

Chapter XX-C empowered the Central Government, acting through an appropriate authority, to purchase certain immovable properties in the circumstances prescribed by that Chapter. Section 269UD dealt with the purchase order, Section 269UE with vesting of property, and Section 269UG with payment or deposit of consideration.

Section 269UH provides a statutory consequence for failure to make the payment or deposit required by Section 269UG: the purchase order stands abrogated and the property re-vests in the transferor, subject to the stated rule concerning court proceedings.

Section 269UH(1): Automatic abrogation and re-vesting

Where the Central Government fails to tender the whole or any part of the consideration under Section 269UG(1), or fails to deposit the whole or any part under Section 269UG(2) or (3), within the prescribed period, and the property had vested in the Central Government under Section 269UE(1) or (6), two consequences follow after expiry of that period:

1. The purchase order made under Section 269UD(1) stands abrogated, meaning it ceases to operate by force of the statutory provision.
2. The immovable property stands re-vested in the transferor, meaning title returns under the statutory mechanism.

These consequences arise under the wording of the section itself; the written declaration required by subsection (2) records and implements that result.

Time limit linked to Section 269UG

Section 269UG(1) required tender of consideration within one month from the end of the month in which the property vested in the Central Government under Section 269UE(1) or (6). Sections 269UG(2) and (3) required deposit within that same period where the prescribed disputes or refusal to receive payment arose.

Proviso: Time taken by a court

If a dispute described in Section 269UG(2) or (3) is pending before a court, the time taken by the court to pass its final order in that dispute is excluded when calculating the period for the purposes of Section 269UH(1). This proviso must be considered before deciding whether the statutory time limit has expired.

Section 269UH(2): Declaration and restoration of possession

Once a purchase order has been abrogated and the property has re-vested under subsection (1), the appropriate authority must, as soon as practicable, issue a written declaration confirming the abrogation and re-vesting.

The distinction between re-vesting of legal title and restoration of actual possession is important: subsection (1) addresses the statutory reversal of vesting, while subsection (2) directs the authority to document the reversal and return possession to the proper person.

Important legal terms

• Transferor: The person proposing to transfer the immovable property, as referred to in Section 269UC.
• Appropriate authority: The authority constituted for the purposes of Chapter XX-C under Section 269UB.
• Consideration: The purchase amount payable under Section 269UF, subject to its statutory terms.
• Abrogation: The statutory cancellation of the compulsory purchase order upon the specified failure.
• Re-vesting: The return of property ownership to the transferor under Section 269UH.

Illustrative example

Suppose a property vested in the Central Government on 10 January in a transaction governed by Chapter XX-C. Ordinarily, the consideration had to be tendered or deposited by the end of February under Section 269UG. If the required amount was not tendered or deposited in time, Section 269UH could operate to abrogate the purchase order and re-vest the property, subject to any applicable exclusion of time for a pending court dispute. This is a hypothetical illustration of the former framework, not a procedure for a present-day property transaction.

Related provisions and official legal resources

Read this provision together with Section 269UG (payment or deposit), Section 269UD (purchase order), Section 269UE (vesting) and Section 269UP (cutoff date).

• Income Tax Department, Government of India - official portal for income-tax legislation and resources.
• India Code - official repository of Central legislation; consult the Income-tax Act, 1961 and relevant historical versions.

Article reviewed: 28 October 2026. For a legacy dispute, check the version of the law applicable to the transaction date, the purchase order, court orders and the statutory payment records.