In the year 2007 my friend got interested to purchase a piece of agriculture land in Maharashtra. He is not a farmer and therefore in order to qualify to make the purchase he required to obtain permission from the local collector which he was unable to obtain. Hence he paid the purchase price to the original owners and purchased the said agriculture land in my name by a registered sale deed. Accordingly the property title is in my name.
On the next day after executing the sale deed, he got me to execute an MOU confirming that I would transfer the property to him after he obtained the permission, which I did and the same MOU is notarized.
He hasn't yet obtained the requisite permission. Nevertheless, he has in the year 2013, filed a suit for specific performance against me in terms of the MOU, praying to the Court to direct me to transfer the property to him and to pay a sum of 2 crores as compensation for not transferring the property to him for all these years.
My question is:
1. Was executing the sale deed in 2007 a benami transaction? If so can he succeed.
2. Can he pray for specific performance of the MOU when the very same document was executed to circumvent the law.
3. Leaving the permission aside, If I agree to transfer the property back to him without any consideration since he paid for it when the sale deed was executed in 2007, will this deed I now execute in his favour, amount to another benami transaction?
