UP ruling raises questions on Amitabh's Pune land

The ruling by a Uttar Pradesh court dismissing an appeal by megastar Amitabh Bachchan against an order cancelling transfer of land in his name on the ground that he was not a farmer in UP, has raised questions about validity of his agricultural land deal in Pune district.

"As per section 63 of the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act 1948, no person can purchase agricultural land in Maharashtra if he is not a farmer," a senior state government official told PTI.

The Mulayam Singh Yadav government in UP had allotted three bighas (about 70,000 square feet) of prime land in Barabanki district to Bachchan, who used the allotment as a testimonial to establish his credentials as a farmer to buy over 20 acres of agricultural land in Pune district.

The Pune District Collector in March 2006 had written to the Barabanki District Magistrate for authentication of Bachchan's testimonial. Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh had recently announced that the state government would seek a factual report from Uttar Pradesh and would take appropriate action on Bachchan's land deal in Pune district.

The land, 2 km from Pavna dam in Maval, was purchased in the name of Amitabh and and his son Abhishek.

In March 2006, Amitabh produced documents approved by the UP government that certified him as a farmer who was cultivating agricultural land in Daulatpur village of UP, the official said.