Khatoon Nisa vs State Of U.P. And Ors.

The Supreme Court upheld the decision of the Allahabad High Court affirming the prescribed authority's conclusion that the tenure holder and his wife were still married under the U.P. Imposition of Ceiling on Land Holdings Act, 1960, as there was no valid divorce despite claims made by the parties. The Court clarified that the definition of 'family' under Section 3(7) of the Act includes spouses unless judicially separated, and found that the High Court's examination of the divorce under Muslim law was unnecessary for the case at hand. The appeals were dismissed, affirming the authority's determination of surplus land holdings.