THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE SANJAY KUMAR WRIT PETITION NO.4244 OF 2011 DATED 25TH FEBRUARY, 2011 BETWEEN R.Rameeza Bee and another …Petitioners And State of Andhra Pradesh, Rep. by its Principal Secretary, Revenue Department, Secretariat, Hyderabad and others. …Respondents THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE SANJAY KUMAR WRIT PETITION NO.4244 OF 2011 O R D E R The grievance of the petitioners is with regard to the action of the revenue authorities in including their land situated in Sy. No.404/2 of Dinne Devarapadu Village, Kurnool Mandal, Kurnool District, in the list of prohibited lands under the provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfers) Act, 1977 and restraining the registration authorities from entertaining any document in respect of the said land for the purpose of registration. The petitioners claim to be the absolute owners and possessors of an extent of Ac.5.10 cents of land in Sy.No.404/2 of Dinne Devarapadu Village, Kurnool Mandal, Kurnool District. It is their case that this land does not partake the nature of assigned land but was throughout a patta land enjoyed by their forefathers from times immemorial. While so, when the petitioners being desirous of alienating their land approached the Joint Sub-Registrar-I, Kurnool, the fourth respondent, they were informed that their land was included in the list of assigned lands of Dinne Devarapadu Village and consequently, the registration authorities could not entertain any document for registration in respect of the said land. Disputing that their land was assigned land at any point of time, the petitioners filed the present writ petition assailing the action of the respondents in including their land in the list of assigned lands and prohibiting registration of documents in respect thereof. The material filed along with the writ petition shows that the Joint Sub-Registrar-I, Kurnool, supplied to the petitioners’ counsel a list of prohibited properties of Dinne Devarapadu Village, wherein Sy.No.404/2 admeasuring Ac.5.10 cents was shown to be assigned land. However, no details are forthcoming in the said list with regard to the date of the assignment. Pertinent to note, the land in Sy.No.404/1 is also mentioned in the said list as an assigned land. This Court had occasion to consider the validity of the inclusion of Sy.No.404/1 of Dinne Devarapadu Village in the said list in BOYA NAGANNA V/s. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH, REP. BY ITS PRINCIPAL SECRETARY, REVENUE DEPARTMENT, SECRETARIAT, HYDERABAD[1]. The order dated 09.12.2010 passed therein shows that the respondent authorities claimed that the land in Sy.No.404/1 was classified as Government A.W. in the Resettlement Register and it was accordingly included in the list of prohibited properties. This Court however did not accept such a plea and held that a mere entry in the Resettlement Register would not constitute proof of title and the registration authorities could not therefore refuse registration on the basis of such a claim. The litigation in relation to Sy.No.404/1 of Dinne Devarapadu Village establishes that the list of prohibited properties not only includes assigned lands but also lands claimed to be Government lands, being classified as assessed waste lands in the revenue records. In the present case, there is no evidence that the land in Sy.No.404/2 is assigned land. If its inclusion in the list of prohibited properties is based on the claim that it is Government land, the order of this Court in Writ Petition No.23703 of 2010 would be squarely applicable and it would not be open to the revenue authorities to base such claim upon a mere entry in the revenue records. In so far as the Joint Sub-Registrar-I, Kurnool, is concerned, unless there is a prohibition put in place by the Government by way of a notification under Section 22-A(2) of the Registration Act, 1908 detailing the lands covered by Section 22-A(1)(e) thereof in respect of which registration is prohibited, it would not be open to him to refuse to entertain the petitioners’ documents on the basis of its mere inclusion in a list of prohibited properties furnished by the revenue authorities. Needless to state, if it is the case of the Government that the subject land belongs to it, it would always be open to it to assert and prove its title before the appropriate forum in accordance with law. The Writ Petition is accordingly disposed of declaring the action of the respondents in including the petitioners’ land situated in Sy.No.404/2 of Dinne Devarapadu Village, Kurnool Mandal, Kurnool District, in the list of prohibited properties as illegal. Consequently, the Joint Sub-Registrar-I, Kurnool, shall not refuse to register the documents in respect of the land in Sy.No.404/2 of Dinne Devarapadu Village, Kurnool Mandal, Kurnool District, on the basis of the inclusion of the said survey number in the list of prohibited properties. In the circumstances, no order as to costs. ---------------------------- SANJAY KUMAR, J. 25TH FEBRUARY, 2011. PGS/VGSR [1] W.P.No.23703 of 2010 dt.09.12.2010