IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) TUESDAY, THE NINTH DAY OF SEPTEMBER TWO THOUSAND AND EIGHT PRESENT THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE B.SESHASAYANA REDDY WRIT PETITION NO : 19206 of 2008 Between: Sri. Vemula Guru Raju s/o. Ramaiah, R/o. Kesav Patnam Village, Dommugudam Mandal, Khammam District. ..... PETITIONER AND 1 The Project Officer, Integrated Tribal Development Agency ( ITDA), Bhadrachalam, Khammam District. 2 The Settlement Officer / Sub-Collector, Bhadrachalam, Khammam District. 3 The Tahsildar, Dommugudam Mandal, Khammam District. 4 Sri. K.Mohan Rao S/o. Chinnabbi, R/o. K.Veerabhadrapuram Village, Dommugudam Mandal, Khammam District. .....RESPONDENTS Petition under Article 226 of the constitution of India praying that in the circumstances stated in the Aﬃdavit ﬁled herein the High Court will be pleased to issue a writ or direction preferably writ of Mandamus declaring the action of the 1st respondents in not passing appropriate orders either on the stay petition or on the appeal ﬁled on 4-8-2008 ﬁled against the order of the 2nd respondent Dt.17-5-2008 as illegal, arbitrary and violative of principles of natural and consequently direct the 1st respondent to consider the dispose of the stay petition or appeal itself within a reasonable time. Counsel for the Petitioner: MR.KOWTURU VINAYA KUMAR Counsel for the Respondents: GP FOR SOCIAL WELFARE The Court made the following : ORDER: This writ petition has been ﬁled by Sri Vemula Guru Raju assailing the inaction of the Project Oﬃcer, Integrated Tribal Development Agency, Bhadrachalam-ﬁrst respondent either on the stay application or on the appeal ﬁled by him assailing the order dated 17.05.2008 passed by the Settlement Oﬃcer/Sub- Collector, Bhadrachalam. The petitioner claims to be in possession and enjoyment of Ac.1.02 in S.No.3, Ac.2.03 in S.No.39/2, Ac.1.23 in S.No.79/2, Ac.1.27 in S.No.44/3 and 0.64 hectors in S.No.4/5 situated at Kesavpatnam Village, Khammam District. According to him, the concerned authorities granted patta in his favour on 22.07.2002 under Section 9 of A.P. Regulation II of 1970. While so, the Settlement Oﬃcer/Sub-Collector, Bhadrachalam-second respondent passed orders on 17.05.2008 cancelling the patta issued in favour of the petitioner in an extent of Ac.1.02 hectors. Assailing the order passed by the second respondent, the petitioner ﬁled an appeal before the Project Oﬃcer, Integrated Tribal Development Agency. Since the ﬁrst respondent has not passed any orders on the stay application, the petitioner approached this Court invoking the jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. When the writ petition came up for admission, learned Government Pleader for Social Welfare received notice on behalf of respondents 1 to 3. Heard learned counsel appearing for the petitioner and learned Government Pleader for Social Welfare appearing for respondents 1 to 3. The grievance of the petitioner is that the ﬁrst respondent being the appellate authority is not passing any orders on the stay application ﬁled by him. The factual aspect of the petitioner presenting the appeal before the ﬁrst respondent is not contradicted by the learned Government Pleader for Social Welfare. In that view of the matter, the writ petition is disposed of at the admission stage directing the ﬁrst respondent to consider the appeal ﬁled by the petitioner and pass appropriate orders. There shall be status quo existing as on this day with regard to the possession of the land in dispute till the disposal of the appeal or the stay application, whichever is earlier. _________________________ (B. Seshasayana Reddy, J.) 9th September, 2008 Js. ASSISTANT REGISTRAR // TRUE COPY // SECTION OFFICER To 1 The Project Officer, Integrated Tribal Development Agency ( ITDA), Bhadrachalam, Khammam District. 2 The Settlement Officer / Sub-Collector, Bhadrachalam, Khammam District. 3 The Tahsildar, Dommugudam Mandal, Khammam District. 4 Sri. K.Mohan Rao S/o. Chinnabbi, R/o. K.Veerabhadrapuram Village, Dommugudam Mandal, Khammam District. 5 2 CCs to G.P. for Social Welfare, High Court of A.P. Hyderabad.(OUT) 6 2 CD copies.