NAGELLA VENKATARAMANA REDDY Vs. SPECIAL DEPUTY COMMISSIONER REVENUE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this Writ Petition, in which the petitioner has questioned the legality of the order of the Assistant Commissioner, Hospet Sub-Division, Hospet, by which he declared the sale of certain agricultural lands in favour of the petitioner as invalid in view of Section 4 or the Karnataka Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. (Prohibition of Transfer of Certain Lands) Act, 1978 (The Act' for short), which order has been confirmed in appeal by the Special Deputy Commissioner (Revenue). Bellary District, the following important question of law, which also arises in large number of similar cases, arise for consideration : "Whether under the provisions of the Act any power is conferred on the Assistant Commissioner or the Deputy Commissioner to make an assessment of the cost of improvements claimed to have been effected by the purchaser on the land, the sale of which 15 declared invalid by Section 4 of the Act, and to secure the payment of the cost of improvements effected by the purchaser concerned before taking possession or causing redelivery of the land to the original grantee ?"

(2.) The petition has come up for preliminary hearing. The Government Advocate is directed to take notice. The learned Counsel for the petitioner and the earned High Court Government Pleader, made their submissions in support of their respective contentions.

(3.) The facts of the case, in brief, are as follows : 4 acres 2 cents of land in Sy. No. 2 of Muddapura village in Hospet Taluk, Biliary District, was Granted to the 4th respondent on 19-3-1962. According to paragraph 41(4)(i) of the Madras Board Standing Orders, the land so granted to the fourth respondent, who was a member of Scheduled Caste, could not be alienated before the expiry of 10 years from the date of grant. Even as the said condition was in force, the fourth respondent mortgaged the laud granted to him in favour of the petitioner in the year 1966. Subsequently, he sold the same land to the petitioner for valuable consideration under a registered sale deed dated 18-3-1968. The Legislature of this State, having noticed large number of alienations by members belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes of the lands granted to them as a matter of concession and for their upliftment,in violation of the conditions the grant, enacted the Act, which came into force from 1-1-1978. Section 4 of the Act declared that notwithstanding anything in any law or contract or agreement to the contrary, the transfer of lands granted in favour of members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, in contravention of the terms of grant shall be null and void. Section 5 of the Act conferred power on the Assistant Commissioner of the revenue sub-division concerned either suo moto or on the application of the person who had sold the granted land in contravention of the terms of the grant, to pass an order Declaring the sale as invalid and to secure redelivery of possession of the land to the original grantee, and in case the original grantee or his successors are not existing, to resume the land to the Government and to grant the same to any other person belonging to Scheduled Castes and Tribes. The constitutional validity of the provisions of the Act was challenged before this Court unsuccessfully. The decision of this Court upholding the constitutional validity of the provisions of the Act was confirmed by the Supreme Court in the case of Manchegowda v. State of Karnataka, ILR 1984(2) KAR 1= 1984(2) KLJ 1.