HANUMANTHAPPA SANNAPPA MYADENERI Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this writ petition, the petitioner has prayed for grant of a writ of mandamus restraining the respondents from interfering with the petitioner's right to quarry/mine and dispose of the granite found in the land mentioned in the schedule to this Writ Petition, namely, the piece of land bearing Sy. No. 98 with an area of 4 acres and 38 guntas situate in Village Arasanakeri Village in Irakalagada Hobli, Koppal Taluk, Raichur District.

(2.) The petitioner in this writ petition has asserted that he is an agriculturist and that the revenue entries stand in his name relating to his ownership of the land Sy. No. 98 to an extent of 4 acres and 38 guntas.

(3.) The learned Counsel for the petitioner placed reliance on Annexure A to this writ petition, namely, the copy of the revenue records. The entry in column 10 per se indicates the source of possession of the land by the petitioner as read and explained by the learned Counsel for the petitioner, that the land had been granted to the petitioner in the year 1978-79, by the Tahsildar, Koppal Taluk which per se shows that the land originally belonged to the Government and had been granted by or on behalf of the Government by the Tahsildar and whatever the right the petitioner has got on that land, it is on the basis of the grant made by the Tahsildar on behalf of the Government and it is contended by the petitioner that in view of the earlier Full Bench decision of this Court in the case of State of Karnataka v Dundamada Shetty, he is entitled to excavate the granite and other minerals of the land and the Government or Government authorities have got no right to interfere with his excavating of the granite or transporting of the same, thereby, the learned Counsel for the petitioner placed before this Court that decision as just now mentioned. I have applied my mind to the contentions of the learned Counsel for the petitioner. Before I proceed further, it would be just and appropriate to quote Section 70 of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, which reads as under: