RAMAPPA ALIAS RAMAIAH Vs. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) WRIT petitions by two grantees who were granted an extent of 3 acres of land each in Old Sy.No.13 of H.Rangapura Village, Kasaba Hobli, Tarikere Taluk in terms of a grant order No.LND.DARU (SC) 28/68-69 dated 14.7.1971 passed by the Tahsildar, Tarikere Taluk (copy produced as Annexure A to the petition), which had been followed-up by issuing a saguvali chit dated 27.03.1972 and the lands having been granted to such persons in darkasth proceedings as persons belonging to scheduled caste community. But they having lost the lands whether by hook or crook or bona fide or out of sheer ignorance whatever it is, having parted possession of the land in favour of one Kalleshappa immediately thereafter, who is turn appears to have mortgaged the subject lands in favour of Canara Bank as security to a loan raised by him in the Bank and which had been sold by the Bank for enforcement of the loan in an auction sale held by the Court in the year 1984, the 3rd respondent herein having purchased the subject lands and thereafter though was in possession and enjoyment, at the instance of the writ petitioners, the Asst. Commissioner, Tarikere Sub-Division after holding an enquiry under Section 5 of the Karnataka Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prohibition of Transfer of Certain Lands) Act, 1978, (for short ?the Act?) having invalidated the sale deed executed in favour of the 3rd respondent through the Court Auction sale and having directed resumption of the land to the State and restoration to the original grantee as per two orders both dated 9.01.2009 (copies produced as Annexures E & F to the petition) and in further appeal to the Deputy Commissioner under Section 5-A of the Act, the Deputy Commissioner having set aside the orders passed by the Asst. Commissioner in terms of his two orders both dated 7.12.2009 (copies produced as Annexures-G and H to the petition) and having rejected the application of the writ petitioners, the present writ petition to get over the orders of the Deputy Commissioner and to achieve their object of recovering the lands that had been granted in the year 1972 which perhaps they had lost in the immediate vicinity etc.

(2.) WRIT petitions have been admitted for examination. Respondents had been served with notices while the State ? Statutory Authorities are represented by the learned AGA ? Sri R. Omkumar, Sri. Prasanna, learned counsel appears for the contesting 3rd respondent ? the purchaser in the auction sale.

(3.) WHILE it is contended on behalf of the petitioners that the orders of the Deputy Commissioner is bad in law; that he should not have interfered with the orders passed by the Asst. Commissioner, particularly, having regard to the object of the Act, the Asst. Commissioner having passed correct orders in terms of the provisions of Section 4 of the Act, the Deputy Commissioner by mis-application of the law in this regard purporting to apply the ratio of the decision of this Court in SMT H.S.LAKSHMAMMA Vs. SRI K.K. AHAMMED KUTTY AND OTHERS reported in 2008(3) KCCR 2114; held that the facts of the said case has to be applied to decide the appeals even when that decision has no bearing to the facts of the present cases; that the orders passed by the Deputy Commissioner be set aside and the orders of the Asst. Commissioner restored.