THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE SANJAY KUMAR WRIT PETITION NO.14018 OF 2010 DATED JULY, 2010 BETWEEN Duddukuru Sathyanarayana … Petitioner And The District Collector, Kadapa District, Kadapa and Others. … Respondents THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE SANJAY KUMAR WRIT PETITION NO.14018 OF 2010 O R D E R The petitioner challenges the order dated 09.07.2009 passed by the Revenue Divisional Officer, Rajampet, Kadapa District, confirming the proceedings dated 12.01.2008 of the Tahsildar, Atloor Mandal, Kadapa District, whereby the extent of land admeasuring Ac.4-97 cents in Sy.No.915/2, Atloor Village, belonging to the petitioner was resumed in exercise of the powers conferred by the Andhra Pradesh Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfers) Act, 1977 (for brevity, ‘the Act of 1977’). The petitioner purchased the subject land in an auction sale conducted by the Primary Agricultural Co-operative Society Limited, Atloor. He was issued Sale Certificate dated 25.05.2006 in this regard and was also sanctioned a Pattadar Pass Book and title deed under the provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Rights in Land and Pattadar Pass Books Act, 1971. This land was originally assigned to one Syed Abdul Subhan under DKT Patta No.12/85. The assignee mortgaged the said property with the Primary Agricultural Co-operative Society, Atloor, for the purpose of availing loan facilities. Owing to his failure in repayment of the loan, the Society initiated arbitration proceedings under the provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Co-operative Societies Act, 1964 (for brevity, ‘the Act of 1964’) which resulted in Award No.4489/1999-2000 dated 06.03.2000. Thereupon, proceedings were initiated under Section 71 of the Act of 1964 to bring the property to sale and in consequence the petitioner, having emerged as the highest bidder in the auction sale, purchased the said property. While so, action was initiated under the Act of 1977 for contravention of Sections 3(1) and (2) thereof. After considering the petitioner’s explanation, the Primary Authority, namely, the Tahsildar, Atloor, directed resumption of the subject land, by his order dated 12.01.2008. Aggrieved thereby, the petitioner filed an Appeal before the Revenue Divisional Officer, Rajampet. It was contended before the Appellate Authority that in the light of the Judgment dated 26.07.2007 in W.P.Nos.14743 and 14750 of 2007, the subject land could not be treated as assigned land. However, by order dated 09.07.2009, the Appellate Authority confirmed the resumption orders passed by the Tahsildar, Atloor, and dismissed the appeal. Hence this writ petition. Sri Boya Ravinder Reddy, learned counsel for the petitioner, pointed out that the Judgment of the learned Judge of this Court in W.P.Nos.14743 and 14750 of 2007, reported in N.RAJA REDDY V/s. THE SUB-REGISTRAR, SRIKALAHASTI, CHITTOOR DISTRICT[1] was confirmed in Appeal by a Division Bench of this Court in THE SUB-REGISTRAR, SRIKALAHASTI, CHITTOOR DISTRICT V/s. K.GURAVAIAH[2]. He submitted that the approach of the Appellate Authority in not following the law laid down by this Court in the aforestated Judgments required to be condemned. The learned counsel further reiterated that in the light of the ratio of the aforestated Judgments, the action of the authorities in seeking to resume the petitioner’s land was legally unsustainable. The question that fell for consideration before the learned single Judge in N.RAJA REDDY was whether the prohibition under the Act of 1977 applied to mortgaged assigned lands which were brought to sale by a Co-operative Society. The learned Judge, referring to Section 6 of the Act of 1977 which exempts assigned lands held on mortgage by the State/Central Government/Local Body/Co-operative Society/Scheduled Bank/Financial Institutions owned, controlled or managed by a State Government/Central Government from the provisions of the Act of 1977, opined that mortgaged assigned lands held and thereafter sold by the Institutions named in Section 6 ceased to be ‘assigned lands’ for the purposes of the Act of 1977. The said Judgment was confirmed in Appeal by a Division Bench of this Court in K.GURAVAIAH. The Division Bench considered the contention put forth by the State that under G.O.Ms.No.471, Food and Agriculture (Co.op.VI) Department, dated 18.06.1977 the Banks/Co-operative Societies were permitted to sell the mortgaged assigned lands only for a limited period extended upto 18.06.1999. As the sales in that case had been conducted after the said date, it was the argument of the State that the same were not valid. However, the Division Bench was not impressed with this argument. Adverting to Section 6 of the Act of 1977, the Bench held that once the original assignee of the land lawfully mortgaged it in favour of a Co-operative Society/Bank the natural consequence which followed was that the said land stood exempted from the provisions of the Act of 1977, under Section 6 thereof. The Bench while dealing with G.O.Ms.No.471, dated 18.06.1977 pointed out that the same dealt with the sharing of sale proceeds between the creditor Bank/Society and the Government and after 18.06.1999 the said G.O. ceased to be in force, thereby extinguishing the scheme of sharing of the sale proceeds envisaged thereunder. Faced with the aforestated legal position, the Revenue Divisional Officer, Rajampet, once again referred to G.O.Ms.No.471 dated 18.06.1977 which was extended under G.O.Ms.No.255, Food and Agriculture (Co.op.VI) Department, dated 19.06.1997, for a further three years upto 18.06.1999, and held that a Co-operative Society/Bank had to follow such instructions and the sales made after 18.06.1999 had no legal sanctity. Though he referred to the order of the learned single Judge in N.RAJA REDDY, the Revenue Divisional Officer preferred another Judgment dated 27.12.2008 said to have been rendered by a learned Judge of this Court in W.P.No.27336 of 2007. Perhaps, it was not brought to the notice of the Revenue Divisional Officer that the Judgment in N.RAJA REDDY was confirmed by a Division Bench of this Court on 30th December, 2008 in K.GURAVAIAH, which would in any event prevail over the Judgment rendered by a learned single Judge to the contrary. In this regard, reference may also be made to G.O.Ms.No.255 dated 19.06.1997 upon which much stress has been laid by the Revenue Divisional Officer, Rajampet. By way of the said G.O. the Government extended the period of operations of G.O.Ms.No.471 dated 18.06.1977 by a period of three years from 18.06.1996. The Division Bench while considering G.O.Ms.No.471 dated 18.06.1977 was of the opinion that this G.O. dealt with the scheme of sharing of the sale proceeds by and between the Government and the creditor Bank/Society. In any event, this G.O. being in the nature of executive instructions cannot control or prevail over statutory provisions. Section 71 of the Andhra Pradesh Co-operative Societies Act, 1964 provides that notwithstanding anything in that Act or in any other law for the time being in force and without prejudice to any other mode of recovery which is being taken or may be taken, the Registrar may issue a certificate for the recovery of the amounts stated to be due as arrears to a Society being the sum advanced to any of its members. In the light of the aforestated statutory provision, the power of the Co-operative Society to recover its debts thereunder cannot be curtailed by way of a time stipulation prescribed by the Government through executive instructions. Further, Section 6 of the Act of 1977 specifically exempts assigned lands which are mortgaged to the institutions named therein from the provisions of the Act of 1977. What is to be noted is that upon such lawful mortgage being created, rights vest in the mortgagee and the assigned land ceases to be so for the purposes of the Act of 1977. The exemption is not linked with the ‘sale’ of such mortgaged property and arises upon the ‘mortgage’ itself. Therefore, the executive instructions of the Government in G.O.Ms.No.471 dated 18.06.1977 which stood extended upto 18.06.1999 by G.O.Ms.No.255 dated 19.06.1997 cannot have the effect of nullifying the exemption granted under Section 6 of the Act of 1977. In such view of the matter, the instructions in G.O.Ms.No.471 dated 18.06.1977 extended upto 18.06.1999 by G.O.Ms.No.255 dated 19.06.1997 do not, in any manner, dilute the law laid down by this Court in N.RAJA REDDY, confirmed in appeal in K.GURAVAIAH. The action of the Revenue Divisional Officer, Rajampet, in attempting to sit in appeal over the Judgments of this Court, symptomatic of a growing disturbing trend on the part of the minions of the State in overreaching themselves, requires to be strongly deprecated. The Writ Petition is accordingly allowed holding that the land purchased by the petitioner in the auction sale conducted by the Primary Agricultural Co-operative Society, Atloor, ceased to be assigned land for the purposes of the Act of 1977. In consequence, the order dated 09.07.2009 passed by the Revenue Divisional Officer, Rajampet, and the proceedings dated 12.01.2008 of the Tahsildar, Atloor Mandal, are set aside. In the circumstances of the case, there shall be no order as to costs. -------------------------- SANJAY KUMAR,J ________JULY, 2010 PGS [1] 2007 (5) ALD 845 [2] 2009 (2) ALD 250 (DB)