D VENKATESHA GOWDA Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner in this Writ Petition has challenged the legality and correctness of the orders (Annexure-C and D) passed by the Special Deputy Commissioner, Kolar District, Kolar and the Karnataka Appellate Tribunal, respondents 3 and 2 respectively.

(2.) The matter arises in this way: Sy.No.218 to the extent of 10 acres was a Government land. That land came to be granted in favour of the petitioner by the Tahsildar, Chintamani as per Annexure-A. By a perusal of Annexure-A it is seen that the land in question came to be granted for a specific purpose viz., for planting 200 honge and 200 tamarind trees, subject to certain other conditions laid down in the Certificate (Annexure-A). I will refer to the conditions later.

(3.) The Deputy Commissioner, Kolar by an order dated 20-10-1979 (copy not produced), cancelled the grant of the Tahsildar made in favour of the petitioner mainly on the ground that there was breach of the condition of the grant in that the petitioner failed to raise the trees within a period of two years as stipulated in Condition No. 3 of Annexure-A. Aggrieved by the said order, the matter was taken up before the Karnataka Appellate Tribunal in Appeal No.536 of 1979. The Tribunal allowed the appeal, set aside the order of the Deputy Commissioner and remitted the matter for reconsideration on the ground that the petitioner was not given proper opportunity of being heard before passing the order impugned therein. Pursuant to the said order, the Deputy Commissioner reconsidered the matter a fresh and passed the order impugned herein at Annexure-C. by which he held that the petitioner failed to raise the trees within two years as stipulated in Condition No. 3 of Hakdari Certificate (Annexure-A), that though the land was cultivable and there were a number of landless Harijan applicants for grant of this land, their case could not be considered on account of the permission granted to the petitioner to take up plantation and that the petitioner grantee had sufficient land owned by him in the adjoining Survey No. 258.