THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE N.V. RAMANA WRIT PETITION No.20365 of 2010 ORDER: Petitioners claim that they are in occupation of the subject lands of the 2nd respondent institution, in an extent of Ac.4.00 in Sy.No.47/2, Ac.4.90 cents in Sy.No.45/1 and 0.94 cents in Sy.No.47/2 respectively situated at Chavatapalem Village, Venkatachalam Mandal, SPSR Nellore District, as cultivating tenants, and are paying maktha regularly for the same. They state that they filed applications before the 1st respondent- Assistant Commissioner of Endowments, SPSR Nellore, seeking to declare them as landless poor persons, and that their Advocate was representing the matters before the 1st respondent. The 1st respondent, having adjourned the matters from time to time, promised their Advocate to intimate the next date of hearing after 10.05.2010, but he did not do so and instead of issuing notice indicating the next date of hearing, he surprisingly passed the impugned orders dated 21.07.2010, which were served upon them on 09.08.2010, rejecting their applications, on the ground that they did not attend the enquiry in spite of notices issued to them. Aggrieved thereby, they filed appeals before the Regional Joint Commissioner at Tirupati, but they were refused to be received by his staff, stating that he was on camp along with the Office Superintendent, and on the other hand, the 2nd respondent issued auction notice dated 09.08.2010, proposing to auction the leasehold rights of the subject lands for three years i.e. from 2010-2011 to 2012-2013 and fixing the date of auction as 21.08.2010. Hence, they filed the present writ petition. This Court, on 17.08.2010, granted interim stay of the auction proposed to be conducted under the auction notice dated 09.08.2010, and the said order was subsequently extended until further orders. Thereafter, the 1st respondent filed a vacate stay petition seeking to vacate the said interim order of stay and in the counter- affidavit filed in support of the said petition, he supported the impugned orders, stating that in spite of receipt of notices dated 15.04.2010, 23.04.2010 and 01.05.2010 issued by him, requiring the petitioners to attend before him with documentary evidence on 22.04.2010, 30.04.2010 and 06.08.2010, the petitioners did not attend the enquiry on any of those dates. When the matter came up for consideration on 21.09.2010, this Court directed the learned Government Pleader for Endowments to produce the relevant record, so as to ascertain whether the petitioners were really served with notices as indicated in the impugned orders dated 21.07.2010. However, today, after verifying the record, it is admitted by the learned Government Pleader for Endowments appearing for the 1st respondent, that no notice was issued to the petitioners before passing the impugned orders dated 21.07.2010. In view of the above admission of the learned Government Pleader for Endowments, the impugned orders dated 21.07.2010 passed by the 1st respondent, being issued without notice to the petitioners and without hearing them, cannot be sustained. Accordingly, the impugned orders dated 21.07.210 as also the consequential auction notice dated 09.08.2010 are set aside and the 1st respondent is directed to conduct fresh enquiry on the applications filed by the petitioners, for their determination as landless poor persons, and pass appropriate orders, as per law, after issuing notice to the petitioners. The writ petition is allowed to the extent indicated above. No order as to costs. __________________ JUSTICE N.V. RAMANA 4th October, 2010 IBL