PRAYAGRAJ, May 17 -- The Allahabad high court has set aside an order issued by district magistrate, Sant Kabir Nagar and its subsequent confirmation decision issued by the commissioner, Basti division, whereby the sale deed of land purchased in Khalilabad, in favour of a society, was declared void. The deed had been declared void as it was executed in the name of a society and its sarprast (chairman) Samsul Huda Khan, is a foreign national. Both the DM and the commissioner had directed that the entire property be vested in the state. However, the court directed the state government to proceed against the petitioner in accordance with the law. Justice Arun Kumar, while allowing a writ petition filed by Kulliyatul Banatir Razviya Educational and Welfare Society, set aside the order passed by the DM and commissioner, observing that these orders cannot be sustained. In its judgment dated May 15, the high court observed, "A plain and simple reading of UP Land Revenue Act makes it clear that the collector includes additional collector as well as assistant collector and is authorised to discharge the powers and duties conferred upon him under the Act. "The aforesaid Act does not confer upon the collector (DM) the power to declare a transaction to be void under section 166 of the Act being violative of Section 154 or 157-A of the Act. Such power is vested only in the assistant collector first class (SDM), who may be authorised by the state government to discharge all or any of the functions of the DM but converse to it is not permitted. "The duties and functions assigned therein to the SDM under law are not to be discharged by the DM even though he may be the controlling authority of the SDM. The DM is not authorised to take over the functions assigned to the SDMs," the court said. The petitioner - Kulliyatul Banatir Razviya Educational and Welfare Society is a registered society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860,l. It purchased the land in dispute through a registered sale deed on August 28, 2014. The said sale deed was executed in favour of petitioner society and the Sarparast, Samshul Huda Khan. Later, one Abdul Karim, filed a complaint before the district magistrate, Sant Kabir Nagar, under Section 104/105 of the U.P. Revenue Code, 2006, alleging that as Samshul Huda Khan had become a British citizen in 2013, the purchase of immovable property in India in his name without require permission of the state government and was void as per provisions of UP Revenue Code, 2006, as such, the land may be vested in the state government. Both the DM and the commissioner had declared the sale void. Hence, the society filed the present writ petition before the high court, challenging the orders of both DM and the Commissioner....