IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) TUESDAY, THE TWENTY EIGHTH DAY OF APRIL TWO THOUSAND AND NINE PRESENT THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE GODA RAGHURAM WRIT PETITION NO : 24515 of 2008 Between: Tarakarama Nagar Peda Mahila Sankshema Sangam, Registration No.353/2008, Tarakarama Nagar, Karakambadi Village, Renigunta Mandal, Chittoor District, rep. by its President P. Parimala, W/o. P. Giri, age 38 Yrs. R/o. Flat No.5956, Tarakarama Nagar, Karakambadi Village, Renigunta Mandal, Chittoor District. ..... PETITIONER AND 1 The State of Andhra Pradesh, rep. by its Principal Secretary Revenue Department, Secretariat, Saifabad, Hyderabad. 2 The District Collector, Chittoor, Chittoor District. 3 The Tahsildar, Renigunta Mandal, Chittoor District. 4 The Tahsildar, Tirupathi Urban Mandal, Chittoor District. 5 A.P. Housing Corporation, rep. by its Divisional Engineer, Tirupati, Chittoor District. 6 M. Venkataramana S/o. Not known to the petitioner, Tirupati Assembly Constituency, Tirupati, Chittoor 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 an appropriate writ, order or direction more particularly one in the nature of writ of mandamus declaring the action of the respondents in evicting 2, 718 beneficiaries from their patta lands, granted by the Government, in which they are residing by erecting huts and constructing pucca houses byraising personal loans, without issuing notices, without cancelling the patta certificates and without conducting any enquiry whatsoever, as arbitrary, illegal, politically motivated, tainted with malafides, based on extraneous considerations, without jurisdiction and contrary to the principles of natural justice, apart from violative of the fundamental rights and Constitutional Rights guaranteed under Articles 14, 21 and 300-A of the Constitution of India and enjoyment of the lands in Sy.Nos.2, 127/2, 138, 139 , 140, 691, 694, 696 and 705 etc. of (Tarakarama Nagar) Karakambadi Village, Renugunta Mandal, Chittoor District, in so far as the 2,718 beneficiaries and pass Counsel for the Petitioner:MR.R.CHANDRA REDDY Counsel for the Respondent No.: GP FOR REVENUE The Court made the following : Oral order: Tarakarama Nagar Peda Mahila Sankshema Sangam, a registered society, has filed this writ petition alleging that the respondents are evicting 2718 beneficiaries from their patta lands granted by the Government and which are in force, without notice or opportunity, without any enquiry and illegally. According to the petitioner, 6200 house site pattas were granted to the beneficiaries belonging to the weaker sections including Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes, in an extent of Ac. 0-02 cents each in Sy.Nos. 2, 127/2, 138, 139, 140, 691, 694,696 and 705 and other survey numbers in Karakambadi Village, Renigunta Mandal, Chittoor District, in the month of February, 2004. According to the petitioners all the beneficiaries constructed thatched huts and tiled houses and have been residing therein since the assignment to them. While so, according to the petitioners, the 4th respondent identified 2718 of the 6200 beneficiaries as ineligible persons who were unlawfully granted pattas. However, without taking any lawful steps for cancellation of the pattas and for eviction of the residents, the respondents are alleged to be proceeding to evict the members of the petitioner’s association numbering about 2718. Hence the writ petition. In November, 2008, the 2nd respondent has filed a counter- affidavit. To the extent relevant and material, the counter states that on verification of the house-site pattas granted in February, 2004, a massive verification programme was undertaken from 10-8-2006 to 20-8-2006 under a team consisting of Revenue and Municipal officials. After thorough verification, 3367 pattas were found genuine and eligible and other 2718 beneficiaries have neither attended for the enquiry or re-verification in spite of wide publicity nor produced any evidence of their entitlement for grant of patttas. In the circumstances, the 4th respondent in the report dated 25-2-2007 recommended for cancellation of 2718 pattas so as to enable grant of house-site pattas on cancellation, to eligible beneficiaries. Thereafter physical verification was also conducted and it was found that 2718 pattas are lying vacant without any constructions. The revenue officials also learnt that some of the ineligible beneficiaries have sold away their house-site plots to third parties and some of them had obtained house-site pattas by adopting fraudulent methods and misrepresenting the relevant facts. In the circumstances the counter states, the answering respondent issued proceedings dated 28-2-2007 cancelling 2718 pattas and these orders were published in all the wards of Tirupati Town by beat of tom tom and also put on the notice board of the 4th respondent. The counter further states that after cancellation and resumption of the 2718 house-site plots, the same were re-assigned to eligible beneficiaries of Tirupati Urban and Renigunta Mandal. The counter further states that there are about 18,364 homeless people belonging to “below the poverty line” category in Tirupathi Town and therefore, ineligible allottees cannot be permitted to hold on to this property. The other allegations in the writ petition are also denied. The counter-affidavit also sets out the procedure followed for cancellation of house-site pattas to 2718 ineligible beneficiaries. There is no affidavit by the petitioner in rebuttal of the assertions in the counter-affidavit filed in November, 2008. In the circumstances, the averments in the affidavit can be taken as un-refuted. In the facts and circumstances above, there are no merits. The writ petition is dismissed. No costs. ________________________ GODA RAGHURAM, J 28th April, 2009. GRR