K C BASAVEGOWDA Vs. SESHAPPA SETTY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Because common questions of law and facts arise for consideration in these two appeals, they are disposed of by this common judgment.

(2.) Regular Second Appeal No.1043 of 1975 arises out of suit OS.110/ 1973 on the file of the Munsiff, Chickmagalur. RSA. 1050 of 1975 arises out of suit OS.143 of 1973 on the file of the said Court. An extent of 5 acres 11 guntas of land bearing Sy No.467 of Kuruvangi village was acquired by the State Govt for the purpose of village extension of Kuruvangi village under the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act. The said land belongs to the deity Sree Anjaneyaswamy, situated in the said village. The Land Acquisition Officer passed an awaid under the provisions of the Act and at his instance the Revenue Inspector, under a mahazar drawn up by him on 25-2-1973, took possession of the land in question and handed it over to the Village Panchayat. The Village Panchayat converted the suit land into sites for the purpose of distribution amongst persons who had no houses in the village. Sometime thereafter, Seshappa the Respt in these two appeals instituted OS.110/73 for an injunction restraining the grantees of the village sites from interfering with his possession. His case was that, he was in possession of the suit land in the capacity of the Archak of the deity Sree Anjaneyaswamy on the date of the suit and that he had not been dispossessed by the process of law. The Kuruvangi Village Panchayat, which has jurisdiction over the village in question, instituted OS.143 of 1973 for an injunction restraining Seshappa Shetty, the plaintiff in the other suit and some others from interfering with its possession of the land in question.

(3.) It was contended by Seshappa Shetty and the other defendants in OS. No.143 of 1973 that the authorities functioning under the Land Acquisition Act had not dispossessed the deity of the land in question and that therefore the said Seshappa Shetty was entitled to remain in possession, notwithstanding the fact that the land in question had been acquired and an award had been passed. The trial Court accepted the case of the Village Panchayat and decreed the suit OS.No.143 of 1973. Consequently, OS.No. 110 of 1973 was dismissed. Against the decrees passed by the trial Court, two appeals were filed before the Civil Judge in Regular Appeals Nos.15 and 16 of 1975. The learned Civil Judge reversed the decrees passed by the trial Court and decreed the suit OS.No.110 of 1973 and dismissed the suit Oy.Mo.143 of 1973. These two appeals are filed against the decrees passed by the lower appellate Court.