R HONAPPA Vs. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER SHIMOGA DISTRICT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner when he was not employed requested the Land grant Committee to grant 4 acres of land in S. No. 21 of Malalli village, sagar Taluk. The Committee considering the request of the petitioner, by its resolution dated 20. 11. 1976, recommended to grant 4 acres of land in S. No. 21 of Malalli village, Sagar Taluk, Shimoga. Though the recommendation is of the year 1976, the land was not at all granted to the petitioner.

(2.) THEREAFTER, the petitioner secured a job as a telephone operator in the same village. 25 years later, the petitioner requested the Tahsildar to grant the above said land based on the recommendation of the Committee dated 20th November 1976. The request of the petitioner came to be rejected by the Tahsildar as per the endorsement dated 24. 4. 2001 on the ground that after the recommendation, the lands were treated as Class-C and D and the same has been transferred to the Forest department by cancelling the dharkasth records and the tahsildar has further held that the petitioner is not entitled for grant of land since he is a Central Government employee in the Post and telegraph Department and that he is a sufficient land-holder and not entitled for the grant.

(3.) THIS endorsement was questioned by the petitioner by filing an appeal before the Assistant Commissioner, Sagar Sub Division in RA. 53/2001-2002 which appeal was allowed on 20th December 2003 by the Assistant Commissioner, directing the Tahsildar to issue saguvali chit in favour of the petitioner in respect of 4 acres of land in sy. No. 21 of Malalli village Sagar Taluk, Shimoga on the ground that the Committee has passed a resolution recommending to grant of 4 acres of land to the petitioner and that the same was not finalised due to missing of records. Therefore, the Assistant Commissioner held that the decision of the Committee could not be reconsidered by the tahsildar. Against the orders of the Assistant Commissioner, Sagar, some of the villagers filed an appeal before the Deputy Commissioner, shimoga in RA. No. 5/2003-2004 and that the appeal filed by the villagers came to be partly allowed and this order is called in question in this writ petition.