STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH Vs. ABDUL KHUDDUS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is preferred against a judgment and order dated 13th of October, 1998 of the High Court of Judicature for Andhra Pradesh at Hyderabad in W.P. No. 6452 of 1995, whereby the Division Bench of the High Court had allowed the Writ Petition filed by the respondents and set aside the order dated 9th of June, 1994 passed by the Special Court under the Andhra Pradesh Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 1982 at Hyderabad (for short "the Special Court").

(2.) The only question that needs to be decided in this appeal is, "Can the High Court, in the exercise of its jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution, set aside a finding of fact arrived at by the Special Court, under the Andhra Pradesh Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 1982 (for short "the Act") when such finding of fact of the Special Court was made on consideration of the evidence on record and could not be said to be perverse or arbitrary. -

(3.) Briefly stated, the facts leading to the filing of this appeal are that the appellant, the State of Andhra Pradesh, filed an application under the Act against the respondents in the Special Court alleging, inter alia, that the 1st respondent was in occupation of 470 sq. yards of land in Ward No. 5, Block No. 1, Vijaywada out of which 220 sq. yards situated in N.T.S. No. 26 correlated to old N.T.S. No. 17/1-A/1-A of Vijaywada town (for short the "Schedule Land") was by way of illegal encroachment. The appellant further complained that the 2nd and 3rd respondents, being the heirs and legal representatives of the original respondent No. 2, were in occupation of 540 sq. yards of land, out of which 190 sq. yards also situated in N.T.S. No. 26 correlated to old N.T.S. No. 17/1-A/1-A of Vijaywada town (for short "the schedule land") was by way of illegal encroachment. Accordingly, the State of Andhra Pradesh, the appellant, had prayed for a declaration that the respondents were land grabbers within the meaning of the Act and that the appellant was the owner of the Schedule Land.