STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH Vs. T.SURYACHANDRA RAO

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted.

(2.) The State of Andhra Pradesh and the Mandal Revenue Officer (in short the Revenue Officer) Peddapuram, East Godavari call in question legality of the judgment rendered by a learned single Judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court. By the impugned order the High Court held that the Land Reforms Appellate Tribunal, East Godavari, Kakinada (in short "the Appellate Tribunal") and the Land Reforms Tribunal, Kakinada (in short the "Tribunal") were not justified in holding that the respondents had fraudulently taken advantage by suppression of facts; thereby taking benefit under the Andhra Pradesh Land Reforms (Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings) Act, 1973, (in short the Act).

(3.) Basic features of the case which need to be noted are as under: The respondent as declarant submitted a declaration as regards determination of his ceiling limit of land under the Act. The Appellate Tribunal passed an order dated 16-11-1978 determining the ceiling limit of the declarant to be surplus and declared 0.4388 S.H. land to be in excess of the ceiling limit on the notified date. Thereafter, certain lands were surrendered and surrender was accepted by order dated 8-5-1991 by the Additional Revenue Divisional Officer, Land Reforms Kakinada. Subsequently, it was noticed that the land which was surrendered had already been acquired in proceedings under the Land Acquisition Act, 1898 (in short the L.A. Act). Therefore, a notice was issued on 8-2-1995 proposing to consider declaration of alternative lands as surplus in lieu of the lands which were earlier surrendered. The Tribunal passed order in this regard after verifying the records of the land acquisition proceedings. An appeal was carried to the Appellate Tribunal and the same was dismissed. A revision was carried under Section 21 of the Act before the High Court, which by the impugned order held that it was for the Tribunal to have considered the correctness of the declaration made by the declarant. After having accepted the land to be surrendered, it was not open to the Tribunal to vary the order. It was held that even though power was available to the Tribunal to reopen the matter and pass necessary orders when fraud was practiced, in the instant case the Tribunal having accepted the matter after enquiry, it was not open to take a different view.