VEERAYYA Vs. ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS writ petition is by a person who had filed an application under section 77a of the Karnataka Land Reforms Act, 1960 [for short 'the Act'] before the Assistant Commissioner and was successful in that effort in respect of 5 acres of land in Sy. No. 111/2 of Sulibhavi village, Hungund Taluk, but was deprived of this benefit by the karnataka Appellate Tribunal in terms of its order dated 7-3-2005 passed in Appeal No. 683/2002 at the instance of respondents 2 to 5 who had claimed to be landlords of the land in question and who had contended that the petitioner was not a tenant at all.

(2.) THE Tribunal in coming to such conclusion relied upon earlier proceedings before the Munsiff court, Hungund, in OS No. 6/1975 which though was a suit inter se amongst the respondents 2 to 5 and their predecessors, the petitioner was, nevertheless, a party as a defendant to the suit and one of the issues in the suit was as to whether the petitioner was a tenant in respect of the subject land. The civil court had referred this issue for determination to the Land Tribunal in terms of section 133 of the Act and the Land Tribunal had opined that the petitioner was not a tenant.

(3.) THE civil court took note of this finding of the land tribunal and concluded the proceeding in OS No. 6/1975 in terms of its Judgment.