THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE NOUSHAD ALI WRIT PETITION No.17820 of 2007 Date: 25.01.2011 Between : Vakacharla China Venkateswara Rao and others. … Petitioners and Government of Andhra Pradesh, Rep.by its Principal Secretary, Revenue Department, Secretariat, Hyderabad and others. … Respondents THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE NOUSHAD ALI WRIT PETITION No.17820 of 2007 ORDER : The petitioners, being the brothers, claiming to be the joint co-owners of the land to an extent of Ac.1.36 cents situated in Sy.No.320/1 of Vedurupaka Village, Gokavaram Mandal, East Godavari District, have filed this writ petition assailing the draft notification dated 22.7.2007 in R.C.No.G3/4374/07 issued under Section 4(1) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (for brevity “the Act”) as arbitrary and illegal. Through the said notification, the land of the petitioners was sought to be acquired for providing house sites to the weaker sections of the society. The petitioners have challenged the said notification on the ground that large extent of Government land is available in the village and as per the Circular Memo No.10054/L.A.1/2005, dated 22.4.2006 of the State Government, no private land should be acquired wherever alternate Government land is available. The challenge to the notification is also on the ground that without converting the agricultural land into non-agricultural land, no acquisition should be made as per the provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Agricultural Land (Conversion for Non-Agricultural Purposes) Act, 2006. 2. This Court, by order dated 23.8.2007 in W.P.M.P.No.22841 of 2007, granted interim stay of all further proceedings including dispossession of the petitioners from the aforesaid land. 3. A counter affidavit has been filed along with vacate stay petition stating that the land of the petitioners is required for construction of house sites to the weaker sections of the society under Indiramma Programme and that the contentions raised by the petitioners in the writ petition can as well be raised by filing objections under Section 5-A of the Act and, in that regard, a notice had already been published in the locality. It is further stated that for acquisition of the land use, proper application will be moved after completion of the land acquisition proceedings. 4. Heard learned counsel appearing for the petitioners as well as the learned Government Pleader for Land Acquisition. 5. It is indisputable that objections have already been invited under Section 5-A of the Act. Learned counsel for the petitioners would submit that the petitioners have already submitted their objections and the decision thereon has not yet been taken by the Land Acquisition Officer. The learned counsel, however, expressed an apprehension that the Land Acquisition Officer might not consider the said objections in a dispassionate manner and may dispossess the petitioners even before a decision is taken in that regard. 6. The learned Government Pleader, however, would submit that being the statutory authority, the Land Acquisition Officer would consider and take a decision and the apprehension expressed by the learned counsel for the petitioners is not well founded. 7. Having regard to the aforesaid submissions, the writ petition is disposed of directing respondent Nos.2 and 3 to consider the objections filed by the petitioners in a dispassionate manner and take a decision thereon in accordance with law and communicate the same to the petitioners. Till such decision is taken, the petitioners shall not be dispossessed from the subject land. There shall be no order as to costs. _________________________ JUSTICE NOUSHAD ALI 25.01.2011. Msr THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE NOUSHAD ALI WRIT PETITION No.17820 of 2007 25.01.2011 (Msr)