IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) THURSDAY, THE THIRD DAY OF JULY TWO THOUSAND AND EIGHT PRESENT THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE C.V.NAGARJUNA REDDY WRIT PETITION NO : 22597 of 2003 Between: Vedireswaram Cooperative Collective Farming Society, Vedireswaram, Ravulapalem Mandal, E.G.District. ..... PETITIONER AND 1 The District Collector, East Godavari District, Kakinada. 2 The Sub-Collector/R.D.O., Rajahmundry, E.G.District. 3 The Mandal Revenue Officer, Alamuru Mandal, Alamuru, E.G. District. .....RESPONDENTS Counsel for the Petitioner: MR.G.KRISHNA MURTHY Counsel for Respondents 1 to 3: GP FOR REVENUE Counsel for Respondents 4 to 6: MR A.GOPALAKRISHNA CHARYULU Counsel for the Respondent The Court made the following : O R D E R: At the interlocutory stage, the writ petition is taken up for hearing and disposal with the consent of the learned counsel for the parties. This writ petition is filed by a Society registered under the Andhra Pradesh Cooperative Societies Act, 1964 and claims to have 232 members on its rolls for a writ of Mandamus to declare the inaction of the respondents in not granting pattas to the extent of Acs.150.00 cents in Lanka No.177 of Alamuru Village & Mandal, East Godavari District to its members as arbitrary, illegal and unconstitutional besides being contrary to G.O.Ms.No.970, Revenue (Q) Department dated 25-08-1976 and G.O.Ms.No.485, Revenue (Q) Department dated 30-04-1977. This writ petition is pending since 27-10-2003 and an order of status quo granted on 07-01-2004 is in force. Respondents 4 to 6 who got themselves impleaded in the writ petition filed a vacate stay petition, wherein they have claimed that the land in respect of which pattas are claimed by the petitioner Society are in possession of members of their Societies and that they are eligible for being considered. It is also pleaded that a civil suit bearing O.S.No.38 of 2004 was filed in the Court of the learned Junior Civil Judge, Alamuru by them and a temporary injunction was granted in I.A.No.109 of 2004 in the said suit on 07-04- 2004, wherein a finding was rendered that the petitioner Society failed to produce any documentary evidence to show that the land in Survey No.496/1 is the same land as covered by Lanka No.177. A perusal of the record shows that the petitioner Society earlier filed W.P.No.2205 of 1986 for a similar relief as claimed in this writ petition and this Court, without going into the merits of the case, directed the District Collector, East Godavari District, Kakinada, to enquire into the claim of the petitioner Society personally and examine whether the 141 members said to have been enrolled as the members of the Society were duly admitted as per Rules and are eligible for assignment and take a decision depending upon the conclusion of the Collector. In the counter-affidavit filed by the Mandal Revenue Officer, Alamuru Mandal, East Godavari District, it is stated that 76 members of the petitioner Society were granted assignment to an extent of Acs.65.60 cents of lanka land in Lanka No.177 of Alamuru Village in the year 1970. He denied the claim of the petitioner that Acs.150.00 cents of lanka land is accreted adjacent to the existing lanka land, which was assigned, and he denied possession of the members of the petitioner Society of the said land. The petitioner’s claim for assignment of the land to the remaining members in terms of G.O.Ms.No.970 dated 25-08-1976 is denied on the ground that they are not ‘Sivai Jamadars’. It is also stated that in pursuance of the directions given by this Court in order dated 16-12-1988 in Writ Petition No.2205 of 1986, at the instance of the District Collector, the Mandal Revenue Officer submitted his remarks on 29-01-2004 wherein it was stated that there is no further lanka land available in the vicinity and that the remaining members of the petitioner Society who are not ‘Sivai Jamadars’ are not entitled for assignment. The Mandal Revenue Officer, however, has not stated whether the District Collector, as directed by this Court, has passed any order on the said report or not. At the hearing, the learned Assistant Government Pleader for Assignments reported no instructions on this aspect. Whether there is accretion of further land to the land which was already assigned to the members of the petitioner Society or not and whether the land over which the petitioner is making a claim is in Lanka No.177 or the same is in Survey No.496/1 of Alamuru Revenue Village over which the impleaded respondents, namely; respondents 4 to 6 have been making a claim cannot be decided in this writ petition, because adjudication of these disputed facts requires examination of record, which is expected to be in the custody of the District Revenue Authorities. Therefore, without going into the merits of the rival claims of the petitioner and respondents 4 to 6 Societies, this writ petition is disposed of with a direction to respondent No.1 to decide the dispute between the petitioner and respondents 4 to 6. If it is found that the members of the petitioner Society are entitled to further assignments in terms of G.O.Ms.Nos.970 dated 25-08-1976 and 485 dated 30-04-1977, respondent No.1 shall take appropriate steps to grant assignments. Respondent No.1 shall after giving an opportunity of personal hearing to the petitioner and respondents 4 to 6 Societies, shall pass a reasoned order within a period of three months from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. Till the passing of orders by respondent No.1, the parties shall maintain status quo existing as on today with regard to the possession of the lands in dispute. As a sequel to disposal of main petition, WVMP No.1677 of 2008 is disposed of as infructuous. C.V.NAGARJUNA REDDY,J Dated 3rd July, 2008 vrn