IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) FRIDAY, THE TWENTY EIGHTH DAY OF NOVEMBER TWO THOUSAND AND EIGHT PRESENT THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE VILAS V. AFZULPURKAR WRIT PETITION NO : 36695 of 1998 Between: 1 K.Gowra Reddy S/o Raj Reddy R/o Champapet (Village) Saroornagar (Mandal) R.R.District 2 K.Madhusudhan Reddy S/o Late yadiredy R/o Champapet (Village) Saroornagar (Mandal) R.R.District ..... PETITIONER(S) AND 1 The Collector, R.R.District Hyderabad 2 The Revenue Divisional Officer, East Divisiona , Hyderabad R.R.District 3 The Mandal Reveue Officer, Saroornagar (M) R.R.District 4 The Land Reforms Tribunal (Additional Revenue Divisional Officer) Hyderabad R.R.District .....RESPONDENT(S) 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 to issue a Writ of Mandamus or any other appropriate writ or writs order or direction , declaring the order dt. 22/07/97 and 2/03/96 passed in CC.No.E2476, 2477, 2478/75 on the file of the 4th respondent to the extent of Computing the lands in Sy.Nos.51,52, and 53 Totally Admeasuring Ac.3.81 cents situated at Sultanvalva (V) Saroranagar (M) R.R District as excess lands as illegal and arbitrary by further declaring the action of the respondents in seeking to deprive the lands of the petitioner in Sy.No.51, 52, and 53 Totally Admeasuring Ac.3.81 cents Situated at Sultanvala (V) Saroornagar (M) R.R.District , as otherwise than in due process of law as illegal by further directing the respondents not to interfere with the possession of the petitioners over the above said lands; award costs and pass Counsel for the Petitioners: MR.K.RAGHUVEER REDDY Counsel for the Respondents: GP FOR REVENUE The Court made the following : THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE VILAS V. AFZULPURKAR W.P. No. 36695 of 1998 ORDER 1. The petitioners challenge the proceedings of the Land Reforms Tribunal, Ranga Reddy district in C.C. No. E/2476, 2477 and 2478/75, dated 2.3.1996. 2. The petitioners are not parties to the aforesaid proceedings before the Land Reforms Tribunal. The grievance of the petitioners is that by virtue of the order under challenge their lands in S.Nos. 51, 52 and 53, situated at Sultanvalva village, Saroornagar Mandal, Ranga Reddy district are sought to be proceeded against and taken towards surrender with respect to declarations filed by Khaza Shakir Hussain and two others. 3. The brief facts of the case are that the petitioners are occupiers of lands in S.Nos. 51, 52 and 53, admeasuring Ac.0-65 cents, Ac.1-88 cents and Ac.1-28 cents respectively situated at Sultanvalva village, Saroornagar Mandal, Ranga Reddy district. The said lands are inam lands and late Ameena Begum was the Inamdar. Since the petitioners who are in possession of the said land as on the notified date i.e., 1.11.1973 under the Andhra Pradesh (Telengana Area) Abolition of Inams Act, the petitioners were granted occupancy right certificates with respect to several lands including the lands which are subject matter of this writ petition. A copy of the certificate dated 29.10.1988 is produced along with the material papers. The petitioners have also filed a declaration under the A.P. Land Reforms (Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings) Act, 1973 vide CC No. 2326/E/75 before the Land Reforms Tribunal, Ranga Reddy district and vide orders dated 9.2.1977 they were declared non-surplus holders and the aforesaid three survey numbers were part of the land declared by them. It is alleged that one Khaja Shakir Hussain, Khaja Nasir Hussain and Razia Sultana, who are unconcerned with the petitioners’ land, filed a declaration under the A.P. Land Reforms (Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings) Act, 1973 declaring vast extent of land in several villages including the land in question and thereafter the said declarants had not appeared nor pursued the matter. Further the Land Reforms Tribunal has proceeded to compute a substantial extent of land in their holdings and declared them as surplus landholders to the extent of 17.9766 standard holding. During the surrender proceedings also, the declarants were not available and did not participate and ultimately the Mandal Revenue Officer selected the lands for surrender towards excess land. Based on the above, under the impugned order dated 2.3.1996 the Land Reforms Tribunal, Ranga Reddy district provisionally selected the excess land for surrender in each of the villages which includes the land in question from Sultanvalva village. The petitioners, after coming to know of the same that their lands are likely to be taken possession of by the Government, have filed the present writ petition and obtained interim direction not to dispossess them from the aforesaid land vide order dated 31.12.1998 in WPMP No. 45224 of 1998. 4. I have heard learned counsel for the petitioners Sri K. Raghuveera Reddy and learned Government Pleader for Revenue. 5. The fact that the petitioners were granted occupancy right certificates under the Andhra Pradesh (Telengana Area) Abolition of Inams Act, as referred to above, is not in controversy. Even the determination order of the Land Reforms Tribunal, Ranga Reddy district in case of above said declarants also records that the Revenue Divisional Officer has furnished a list of occupancy right certificate holders to the Tribunal. However, it is evident that the lands covered by such occupancy right certificate holders as well as protected tenants under the Tenancy Act have not been excluded. The Tribunal has proceeded to determine the entire holding as that of the three declarants Khaza Shakir Hussain and two others in the absence of any participation by the said declarants and in the absence of any details forth coming from Revenue Divisional Officer. The occupancy rights of the petitioners having been not in controversy, the lands which are subject matter of this writ petition cannot be said to be the lands held by the above said three declarants whose declaration was finalized and regarding which the present surrender proceedings are sought to be taken. Once these lands are held to be the lands belonging to the petitioners themselves, and when they are declared non- surplus holders in their own declaration under the A.P. Land Reforms (Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings) Act, 1973 as mentioned above, the same land cannot be computed in the holding of anybody else in the surrender proceedings of other three declarants Khaza Shakir Hussain and two others. 6. It is also brought to my notice by the learned counsel for the petitioners that in the same order, dated 22.7.1994 while computing the holding of the above said three declarants i.e., Khaja Shakir Hussain and two others, apart from the petitioners’ land bearing S.Nos. 51 to 53, concerned herein, the Land Reforms Tribunal also included other lands bearing Sy.Nos. 39 to 42 and 46 belonging to Eliminate Anji Reddy and two others as if those lands belonged to the above said three declarants. The said Eliminate Anji Reddy and others have approached the Land Reforms Tribunal, Ranga Reddy district vide CC Nos. 2476, 2477 and 2478/75 wherein the Land Reforms Tribunal accepted their title over the aforesaid survey numbers as having been covered by occupancy right certificate granted in their favour and excluded the aforesaid survey numbers from the holding of the declarants Khaja Shakir Hussain and two others. The order of the Land Reforms Tribunal, dated 24.6.2005, as aforesaid, is produced before this Court. The case of the petitioners, in fact, stands identically covered, as the petitioners have also got occupancy right certificates in their favour in respect of the land bearing S.Nos. 51 to 53. In the circumstances, therefore, the action of the respondents as contained in their proceedings dated 2.3.1996 so far as it concerns the petitioners’ land bearing Sy.Nos. 51 to 53 in Sultanvalva village, Saroornagar Mandal, Ranga Reddy district cannot be sustained and any action of the respondents in taking surrender of the aforesaid lands is clearly unauthorized and without jurisdiction. 7. The writ petition is accordingly allowed as prayed for. However, no order as to costs. Dt. 28.11.2008 ________________________ VILAS V. AFZULPURKAR, J KR ..... REGISTRAR // TRUE COPY // SECTION OFFICER To 1 The Collector, R.R.District Hyderabad 2 The Revenue Divisional Officer, East Divisiona , Hyderabad R.R.District 3 The Mandal Reveue Officer, Saroornagar (M) R.R.District 4 The Land Reforms Tribunal (Additional Revenue Divisional Officer) Hyderabad R.R.District 5. 2 CCs to GP for Revenue, 6. 2 CD copies Form-NIC-OGS/WP{KCS}