RENTALA LACHALAH Vs. CHIMMAPUDI SUBRAHMANYAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal by special leave, from a judgment in a batch of civil revision petitions decided by the Andhra Pradesh High Court in September, 1962.

(2.) The facts necessary for the disposal of this appeal are as follows. One Ramalingayya died in the year 1941 possessed of considerable properties including the lands which formed the subject matter of the above mentioned civil revision petitions. Before his death he had adopted the petitioner before the High Court one Chimmapudi Subrahmanyam, the respondent before this Court. He came into possession of the properties of his adoptive father after the latter's death. Ramalingayya's widow, however raised a dispute about the factum and validity of the adoption and claimed the properties as the heir of her husband. Subramanyam filed a suit in the court of the District Munsif, Khammam for a declaration that he was the adopted son of Ramalingayya. Pending the disposal of the suit, however Ramalingayya's widow, who was the 4th respondent in C. R. P. No. 36 of 1952 before the High Court claimed to have her name registered in the register maintained under the Hyderabad Land Revenue Act of 1317 F. by virtue of the provisions of S. 59 of that Act. The land revenue authorities registered the widow Kaveramma as pattedar and dispossessed the adopted son of all the lands petting Kaveramma in possession thereof'. The adopted son, amended his plaint by including a prayer for possession. During the pendency of the suit, the widow Kaveramma was prohibited by an order of injunction from dealing with the lands in any way. This was sometime in the year 1944. The suit of the adopted son was decreed by the trial court on March 24, 1951 both with regard to the declaration of the right of adoption and succession as also possession over the lands mentioned in the schedule to the plaint. Thereafter, sometime in the year 1952 (the exact date does not appear from the records before us) Kaveramma leased the lands which were the subject matter of the civil revision petitions to the appellants before this Court. This is borne out by the judgment of the District Collector, Khammam dated March 19, 1959 and the petition for special leave to this Court dated October 18, 1962. Kaveramma preferred an appeal from the decree passed against her and this was dismissed by the High Court in 1954. The adopted son put the decree in execution and got delivery of possession through the court in August 1954. It appears that very soon thereafter' in September 1954 the appellants surrendered possession of the lands to him and executed a deed in respect thereof. Notwithstanding that, about a year afterwards, they filed a petition on October 7, 1955 for possession of the lands alleging that they had been in possession for "the last six years in the capacity of tenants". Their allegation further was that the adopted son and his mother had dispossessed them from the suit lands and they therefore prayed for being put hack into possession. This claim was preferred under S. 32 (1) of the Hyderabad Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act' 1950. The Tahsildar made an order in favour of the appellants in July 1958 which was upheld in appeal to the Collector in March, 1959. This led to the revision applications before the Andhra Pradesh High Court. The High Court allowed the Civil Revision Petitions and this has led to the appeal.

(3.) Under S. 32 (1) of the Hyderabad Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, l950 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Act') "a tenant or an agricultural labourer or artisan entitled to possession of any land or dwelling house under any of the provisions of this Act may apply to the Tahsildar in writing in the prescribed form for such possession." "Tenant" has been defined in S. 2 (v) of the Act as meaning an asami shikmi who holds lands on lease and includes a person who is deemed to be a tenant under the provisions of the Act. The relevant portion of S. 5 of the Act provides as follows:-