THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE SANJAY KUMAR WRIT PETITION NOS.9394 AND 13176 OF 2006 DATED 10TH FEBRUARY, 2011 BETWEEN Praja Seva Samithi and another. …Petitioners And The Revenue Divisional Officer, Tenali and others. …Respondents THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE SANJAY KUMAR WRIT PETITION NOS.9394 AND 13176 OF 2006 COMMON ORDER: These two writ petitions arise out of the same cause of action. Hence, they are amenable to disposal by way of this common order. Writ Petition No.9394 of 2006 is filed by the Praja Seva Samithi, Katevaram Village, Tenali Mandal, Guntur District, assailing the action of respondents 1 to 3 in interfering with the construction of the compound wall around the burial ground situated in the Village and seeking a consequential direction restraining them from doing so. Writ Petition No.13176 of 2006 is filed by 108 Villagers of Katevaram Village, Tenali Mandal, Guntur District, assailing Resolution No.141 dated 11.02.2006 passed by the Gram Panchayat, Katevaram Village, on the ground that it is unconstitutional and contrary to the provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 (for brevity, ‘the Act of 1994’). By the said resolution, the Gram Panchayat granted permission to the Praja Seva Samithi, Katevaram Village, for construction of the compound wall around the burial ground in the Village. As per the stand taken by the revenue officials in their counters filed in these writ petitions, the Village map and survey record pertaining to Survey No.317/1 prepared in the year 1892 reflects that the northern portion of the tank area in the said survey number was used as a burial ground. The total area of the land in the said survey number is Ac.5.27 cents. An extent of Ac.0.70 cents on the northern side of the tank, being higher in level and beyond the water spread area, was stated to be in usage as a Hindu burial ground since ages. It is an admitted fact that human habitation exists on the western side of the tank area separated by a road. It is stated that vast extents of land in Survey Nos.302, 303, 304A, 304B, 307 and 308 of Katevaram Village were acquired and house site pattas were granted to weaker sections between the years 1963 and 1993. The Gram Panchayat, Katevaram Village, passed a resolution permitting the Praja Seva Samithi, Katevaram Village, the petitioner in W.P.No.9394 of 2006, to undertake construction of a compound wall around this burial ground. This resolution was supported by 7 out of the 12 members of the Gram Panchayat. According to the Gram Panchayat, in the same meeting another resolution was passed rejecting the proposal to allow a passage across the burial ground for ingress and egress. W.P.No.9394 of 2006 is filed by the Praja Seva Samithi, Katevaram Village, seeking to implement the resolution dated 11.02.2006 in respect of the construction of the compound wall without hindrance. W.P.No.13176 of 2006 is filed seeking to stall the same by posing a challenge to the resolution of the Gram Panchayat. Sri B.Devanand, learned counsel for the petitioners in Writ Petition No.13176 of 2006, contended that the impugned resolution is in violation of Sections 89 and 91 of the Act of 1994. The learned Government Pleader for Panchayat Raj appearing for the authorities and Sri V.S.R.Anjaneyulu, learned counsel for the Praja Seva Samithi, Katevaram Village, the fifth respondent in W.P.No.13176 of 2006 and the petitioner in W.P.No.9394 of 2006, submitted that W.P. No.13176 of 2006 was not maintainable as the petitioners seek to challenge a resolution passed by the Gram Panchayat, without first exhausting the remedy available to them under the Act of 1994. In this regard, reliance is placed upon the order dated 15.04.2010 passed by this Court in W.P.No.8217 of 2010. In the said case also, a challenge was posed to a Gram Panchayat resolution. This Court, keeping in view the provisions of Section 246 of the Act of 1994 dealing with the powers of the Government to cancel or suspend a resolution of a Gram Panchayat on various grounds, opined that this Court could not issue a mandamus cancelling a resolution in exercise of writ jurisdiction and that a person aggrieved by such resolution has to pursue his remedy under Section 246 of the Act of 1994. In that view of the matter, W.P.No.13176 of 2006 filed against Resolution No.141 dated 11.02.2006 passed by the Gram Panchayat, Katevaram Village, must fail on the ground of maintainability and is accordingly dismissed. It is left open to the petitioners therein to take recourse to the statutory remedy available to them in accordance with law, if they are still aggrieved by the resolution passed by the Gram Panchayat, Katevaram Village. In the light of the counters filed by the revenue officials and the Gram Panchayat supporting the case of the Praja Seva Samithi, Katevaram Village, it is clear that there is no interference or obstruction caused by these officials to the construction of the compound wall around the burial ground. That being so, no further orders are required in W.P.No.9394 of 2006 which is accordingly closed. There shall be no order as to costs. ____________________ SANJAY KUMAR, J. 10TH FEBRUARY, 2011. VGSR/PGS