BASAPPA S/O CHANNABASAPPA (SINCE DECEASED BY HIS LRS C B RATHNAMMA W/O K B SIDDAPPA) Vs. A K THIPPANNA S/O RANGAPPA, MAJOR; A K CHANDRAPPA S/O GIRIYAPPA, MAJOR; DEPUTY COMMISSIONER AND ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER DAVANAGERE SUB DIVISION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Writ petition in the third round before this Court at the instance of the purchaser of a piece of agricultural land measuring 2 acres in Survey No. 29/1 of Belliganudu village, Channagiri Taluk of Davangere district, who had purchased the land in question in an auction sale conducted by the bank in whose favour the land had been mortgaged for securing a loan raised by the owner of the land at that time. The petitioner purchased the land in such court auction sale in terms of the sale transaction dated 24-11-1987. It is the validity of this transaction and the preceding transaction of sale in the year 1966 effected by the original grantee one Rangappa in whose favour this land had been granted in terms of the grant order dated 13-12-1961 under the Mysore Land Revenue Code and as a person belonging to scheduled caste with certain conditions, that were invalidated by the Assistant Commissioner and affirmed in appeal by the Deputy Commissioner in terms of the orders dated 22-5-2000 and 22-5-2000, copies of which are produced at Annexure-B and D respectively, passed by these authorities, that are questioned in this writ petition.

(2.) Even before this, while the Assistant Commissioner had once allowed the application of the respondents 1 and 2 in terms of his order dated 5-1-1990 and had invalidated the very transactions, that order came to be set aside by the Deputy Commissioner in appeal preferred by the very petitioner, in terms of order dated 11-5-1996, whereupon the present respondents 1 and 2 had carried the matter to this Court by filing a writ petition in WP No. 1254 of 1998 [copy at Annexure-A] and the matter had been remanded to the Assistant Commissioner with certain observations etc., and it is thereafter, the present orders came to be passed by the Assistant Commissioner and affirmed in appeal by the Deputy Commissioner.

(3.) The findings by the authorities are that that the land in question is a granted land in favour of said Rangappa, a person belonging to scheduled caste community in terms of the grant order dated 13-12-1961, followed by saguvali chit dated 30-3-1962 and with a condition that the land should not be alienated for a period of fifteen years and this condition had been violated by the first sale of the year 1966; that the transaction clearly attracts the provisions of Sec. 4(1) of the Karnataka Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes (Prohibition of Transfer of Certain Lands) Act, 1978 [for short, the Act] and therefore the subsequent transaction such as mortgage In favour of the bank, sale by the bank in auction sale in favour of the petitioner are all necessarily voided and if so, the land has to be resumed to the State and to restitute to the legal heirs of the original grantee. It is to get over such findings and orders, the present writ petition.