TULASI NARAYAN PRADHAN Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA, THE SPECIAL DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, THE TAHSILDAR AND THE DEPUTY CONSERVATOR OF FOREST

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN all these writ petitions, writ petitioners claim to be either original grantees of different extent of land in Sy. No. 67 situated at Bhutanahalli Village, Jigani Hobli, Anekal Taluk from the year 1960 onwards are persons who have purchased from the original grantees or as legal heirs have questioned the legality of the order dated 1.4.2010 which is common in the orders impugned in all these writ petitions, but in different cases passed by the Deputy Commissioner, Bangalore District, Bangalore, exercising his revisional jurisdiction under section 136[3] of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964 [for short 'the Act']. The subject matter of writ petition No. 21943/2010 is an extent of 2 acres 10 guntas of land in Sy. No. 67/P38 situated at Bhutanahalli Village, Jigani Hobli, Anekal Taluk and the change of revenue entries in respect of this extent of land as per MR. No. 16/1996 -97 and that ever since he is in possession and enjoyment of the property. It is the case of this writ petitioner that land was originally granted in favour of one Abbaiah in the year 1960 and that it had been purchased from his sons, namely, Anjanappa, Govinda and Krishna.

(2.) WRIT petitioner had been issued with a show cause notice dated 10.11.2008 [copy at Annexure -D] by the Deputy Commissioner, Bangalore Urban District, calling upon the petitioner as to why revenue entries should not be cancelled and made in favour of the Government, exercising his power under section 136[3] of the Act. Petitioner claims to have filed his objection by producing xerox copy of saguvali chit, but that was all rejected by the Deputy Commissioner and under the impugned order dated 1.4.2010, the Deputy Commissioner noticed that the subject land formed part of total extent of 410 acres 21 guntas in Sy. No. 67 of Bhutanahalli Village, was Government land classified as 'gomal' and that an extent of 156 acres 3 guntas had been disposed of as per the report of the Tahsildar. The proceedings had been initiated on the report of the Tahsildar and on complaint by forest department that the entire extent of 525 acres in Sy. No. 67 of Bhutanahalli Village, Jigani Hobli, Anekal Taluk along with smaller extent in Sy. Nos. 68, 69 and 70 and total extent of 539 acres 27 guntas of land had been declared as minor forest under the name of Bhuthanahalli Minor Forest in Anekal Taluk as per Government Notification No. G6416 -Ft. 27 -33 -35 Dated 17.3.1934 under section 35 of the Mysore Forest Regulations [XI of 1900] for the purpose of rules for the management of minor forests issued with Government Notification No. G -12673 -82 -Ft. 185 -24 -7 dated 11.4.1929 and this was the specific stand of the Forest Department and they petitioning the revenue department, action had been initiated as per the report of the Tahsildar by the Deputy Commissioner in exercise of his suo motu revisional jurisdiction for change of revenue entries and for correction of the same. The Deputy Commissioner rejected the stand of the petitioner that it was a grant of the year 1960; that he is bonafide purchaser from the original grantee or his legal heirs; that no rights enured to such persons when the land is forest land; that the grant itself appears to be bogus grant as it was not supported by any supporting document from the revenue records and therefore rejected all contentions and directed the Tahsildar to change the revenue entries to bring it to the name of the Government and also directed the Tahsildar to ensure that subject land is preserved land as free from all encumbrances since it is a Government property.

(3.) LIKEWISE , the subject matter of writ petition Nos. 19240 -19243 of 2010 by four different persons, two of whom claim as heirs of original grantee i.e., petitioner Nos. 1 and 3 and petitioner Nos. 2 and 4 claiming either as Purchasers from the grantee or from the subsequent purchaser or from the purchaser of the original grantee in turn etc., are also different parcels of land in the very survey number 67 of Bhuthanahalli Village.