HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE R. SUBHASH REDDY WRIT PETITION No.13994 of 2009 Date: 06.12.2010 Between : Kondu Venkata Subba Reddy. …….Petitioner And The District Collector (L.A), Kadapa District & others. ….Respondents HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE R. SUBHASH REDDY WRIT PETITION No.13994 of 2009 ORDER : Heard learned counsel for petitioner and also the learned Government Pleader for Land Acquisition. This writ petition is filed seeking for directions by way of Mandamus, declaring the action of respondent No.2 in not paying the exgratia amount determined at Rs.10,66,265/- for the petitioner’s land admeasuring Ac.4.00 gts., covered by Survey No.434/1 of Thammballagondi village of Atloor Mandal in Kadapa District, as illegal and arbitrary, and to direct the respondents to pay the said amount. The land admeasuring Ac.4.00 gts. covered by Sy.No.434/1, situated at Thammballagondi village of Atloor Mandal in Kadapa District, was originally Government land and it was assigned to one Sangati Subbaiah S/o.Gangaiah of Lingalakunta H/o.Thamballagondi, with DKT No.427/90, on 10th of August 1981. The said assignee has obtained loan amount from the Kamalakuru Primary Agricultural Co- operative Credit Society and could not repay the same. The Credit Society and the District Co-operative Central Bank, Kadapa, have obtained an award against the said assignee and brought the land for public auction in 2002, for realizing the loan amount. In the said open auction, the petitioner has purchased the land on 22.04.2002, for an amount of Rs.59,000/- in E.P.No.2732/2001-02, and the said sale was confirmed on 09.07.202 by the Special Deputy Registrar, District Co-operative Central Bank, Kadapa, in favour of the petitioner. Consequently, the pattadar passbooks and title deeds were also issued to the petitioner on the basis of the sale certificate, in the year 2006. The aforesaid piece of land was acquired along with some other lands for public purpose, namely, Kalivikodi project and exgratia proposals were submitted by the Revenue Divisional Officer, Rajampet for the land and the trees located therein. Respondents have determined the exgratia amount at Rs.10,66,265/-, but withheld payment of the same on the ground that the said land is an assigned land, and as the same is not alienable, the petitioner is not entitled to receive the same. At that stage, this writ petition is filed. It is the case of the petitioner that as much as he has purchased the land in the open auction conducted in execution proceedings, the exemption under Section 6 of A.P. Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfers) Act, 1977 will also enure to him. The learned Counsel has relied on a Division Bench Judgment of this Court in the case of Sub-Registrar, Srikalahasti Vs. K.Guravaiah[1], for which, I am also a party, by which, the order of a learned Single Judge is confirmed, wherein, it was held that when an assigned land is put to sale by a Bank, in pursuance of a mortgage, it loses its character of assigned land and exemption available under Section 6 of the A.P. Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfers) Act, 1977, continues to the purchasers in such sale. Counter affidavit is filed by the Revenue Divisional Officer, Rajampet. In the counter, while giving the facts in detail, it is stated that as much as the land in question is an assigned land, which was mortgaged to the Primary Agricultural Co-operative Credit Society, Kamalakuru, the said Society has no right to sell the same. It is further stated that the proposals submitted by the Revenue Divisional Officer, Rajampet, for payment of exgratia, were approved by the Special Collector (GNSS), Kadapa, on 01.07.2008, and a cheque for Rs.10,66,265/-, was also prepared. It is further stated that while issuing the cheques by the officials, it came to their knowledge that the land in Sy.No.434/1 is DKT land, which was assigned to S.Subbaiah, as such, payment of exgratia to the petitioner was stopped. It is further stated that sale of land in public auction by the Society itself is null and void and the petitioner was informed to that effect by an endorsement, dated 01.11.2008, in Reg.H/276/2008. When the averments in the counter affidavit are looked at, it is clear that though the land in question was originally assigned to a landless poor person, the petitioner has become its owner, by virtue of his purchase in the open auction conducted in execution proceedings, pursuant to an award obtained by a Co-operative Credit Society against the original assignee. Section 6 of the A.P. Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfers) Act, 1977, exempts from the definition of ‘assigned lands’, the lands, which are mortgaged to the State or Central Government, local authority or Co-operative Society, a scheduled bank or State Financial Institution owned or controlled by the State or Central Government as may be notified by the Government in this behalf. The very question, namely, when the land held by the Society was sold in execution of the award, whether that exemption will enure to the benefit of the purchaser, was examined by this Court and a learned Single Judge of this Court, while considering the provisions of the A.P. Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfers) Act, 1977, particularly Section 6 of the said Act, held that once the assigned lands mortgaged in favour of a Co-operative Society were exempted, the other consequential steps taken for foreclosure of the same, also stand exempted, and that if an assigned land is put to sale in pursuance of a mortgage, it loses its character of assigned land and exemption granted under Section 6 continues to the auction purchaser. The aforesaid ratio decided by a learned Single Judge is confirmed by a Division Bench of this Court in the aforesaid judgment (1 supra). In this case, inasmuch as it is not in dispute that the petitioner has become the owner of the property by virtue of purchase in public auction, which is approved by the competent authority, and as the said land is acquired for public purpose, namely, Kalivikodi project, the petitioner is entitled for exgratia amount of Rs.10,66,265/-, which is already fixed by the respondents. From a perusal of the counter, it is evident that while issuing the cheques, having come to know that the land in question was originally a Government land and it was assigned to a landless poor by issuing DKT patta, respondents have withheld the payment of said amount to the petitioner. In view of the judgment referred above, and as much as it is not in dispute that the petitioner is a bonafide purchaser in the public auction conducted in execution proceedings, he is entitled for exgratia amount of Rs.10,66,265/-, which is arrived at for his land and trees existing therein. For the aforesaid reasons, this writ petition is allowed with a direction to respondents 1 and 2 to pay the exgratia amount of Rs.10,66,265/-, to the petitioner, as expeditiously as possible, preferably within a period of eight weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. No order as to costs. ______________________ R. SUBHASH REDDY, J 6th December 2010 ajr [1] 2009(2) ALD 250 (DB)