IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD THURSDAY, THE SEVENTH DAY OF APRIL TWO THOUSAND AND ELEVEN PRESENT: THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE SANJAY KUMAR WRIT PETITION No.15175 OF 2010 Between: Sachin Kumar Uradi and two others … Petitioners AND The State of A.P., rep. by Prl.Secretary to Government, Revenue Department, Secretariat Buildings, Hyderabad and five others. … Respondents This Court made the following: O R D E R : The grievance of the petitioners herein is with regard to the action of the Joint Collector, Hyderabad District, in issuing Memo dated 26-02-2010, whereby the said authority informed them that their land in Premises No.5-4- 790/F/7 to F/12 of Kattal Mandi, Hyderabad, was covered by proceedings initiated under Section 10(6) of the Urban Land (Ceiling & Regulation) Act, 1976 (for brevity ‘the Act of 1976) and therefore, a ‘No Objection Certificate’ could not be issued in respect thereof. They seek consequential directions to the Revenue Authorities to issue a ‘No Objection Certificate’ in respect of the said premises and to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, Hyderabad, to release their building plan in respect of the subject premises for re-development, which was kept pending owing to the above issue. 2. The petitioners claim to have purchased the subject premises under registered sale deeds of the year 1997. Admittedly, the subject premises were the subject matter of proceedings under the Act of 1976 and the orders passed thereunder were challenged before this Court in Writ Petition No.32455 of 1997. By order dated 31-03-1998, a learned Judge of this Court set aside the orders impugned and remanded the matter for consideration afresh. This order was confirmed on 19-01- 2001 by a Division Bench of this Court in Writ Appeal No.1907 of 1998. According to the petitioners, the proceedings under the Act of 1976 were still pending at the stage of Section 8(1) when the Act was repealed in the State of Andhra Pradesh with effect from 27-03-2008. This aspect is confirmed by the Jurisdiction Officer, Urban Land Ceiling, Hyderabad, in his U.O.Note dated 15-06- 2010 issued in response to the petitioners’ application under the Right to Information Act, 2005. Therein, the said authority confirmed that the case had been processed up to Section 8(1) stage as on the date of the repeal. In that view of the matter, the impugned Memo issued by the Joint Collector, Hyderabad District, obviously basing upon the earlier proceedings under the Act of 1976 which had been set aside by this Court, cannot be sustained. 3. The learned Assistant Government Pleader, basing on written instructions, stated that upon remand by this Court in Writ Petition No.32455 of 1997, confirmed in Writ Appeal No.1907 of 1998, the proceedings under the Act were processed again up to the stage of Section 10(5). Revised orders under Section 8(4) are said to have been issued on 24-01-2007, under Section 10(1) on 28-02-2007, under Section 10(3) on 30-03-2007 and notice under Section 10(5) was said to have been issued on 21-05-2007. However, upon appeal before the Chief Commissioner of Land Administration, Andhra Pradesh, the orders passed were again set aside and the matter was remanded by the said authority for consideration afresh. After such remand, the matter was pending at the stage of Section 8(1) at the time of repeal of the Act of 1976. 4. That being so, the stand of the Joint Collector, Hyderabad, that the case had been processed up to Section 10(6) of the Act, cannot be countenanced, as the same relates to the proceedings which already stood nullified. Admittedly, the case was still pending at Section 8(1) stage when the Act was repealed and therefore the proceedings under the Act of 1976, in so far as the subject premises are concerned, abated in their entirety in the eye of law. The Revenue authorities therefore cannot withhold the ‘No Objection Certificate’ sought by the petitioners on the ground that the same is barred by the proceedings initiated under the Act of 1976. There shall accordingly be a direction to the District Collector, Hyderabad, to issue a ‘No Objection Certificate’ in respect of the subject premises within one month from the date of receipt of this order without reference to the proceedings initiated under the Act of 1976 prior to its repeal. Consequently, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation shall also process the building application of the petitioners in respect of the subject premises in accordance with law upon the production of the said certificate. The Writ Petition is disposed of with the above directions. There shall be no order as to costs. _____________________ SANJAY KUMAR, J Date:07-04-2011. KVS THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE SANJAY KUMAR WRIT PETITION No.15175 OF 2010 (Disposed of. No costs) APRIL 7TH, 2011 KVS