CHIKKA KULLEGOWDA Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) A division bench of this court has referred the following question for decision of the full bench:- "whether the conditions prescribed for grant of lands under Rule 43-g of Mysore land revenue (Amendment) rules, 1960 are applicable to grant of lands under rule 43-j of the rules?

(2.) THE facts of these cases are briefly as under: portions of sy. No. 160 of menasikyathanahalli village and sy. No. 96 of heggur village of t. Narasipur taluk, Mysore district, were temporarily leased to certain persons belonging to scheduled castes/scheduled tribes before the commencement of the Mysore land revenue (Amendment) rules, 1960. Subsequently, those lands were granted to the respective lessees or their legal heirs under Rule 43-j of the said rules at a price of Rs. 500a per acre. By official memorandum dated 7/12-3-1968, the assistant commissioner, t. Narasipur division, confirmed the grants in favour of the occupants, subject to payment of Rs. 500/- per acre and requested the tahsildar to issue permanent saguvali chit to the occupants. No conditions were imposed in the said memorandum confirming the grants in favour of the occupants. In pursuance of it, the tahsildar issued permanent saguvali chits to the occupants in the year 1968 in the form entitled "grant certificate" acknowledging receipt of the occupancy price and stipulating the terms and conditions subject to which the saguvali chit was issued. In all these certificates, the tahsildar has added in hand, a term that the land granted shall not be alienated for a period of fifteen years. But the grantees sold the granted lands to the appellants herein immediately after the issue of saguvali chits, i. e. , within a few months.

(3.) THE Karnataka scheduled castes and scheduled tribes (prohibition of transfer of certain lands) Act, 1978 ('the p. t. c. l. act' for short) came into force on 1-1-1979. In proceedings commenced under Section 5 of the Act, on the applications made by the grantees/their legal heirs, the assistant commissioner declared the alienations in favour of appellants were null and void on the ground that they contravened the term of grant prohibiting alienation within 15 yoars; and consequently directed resumption of the lands and restitution to the grantees/their legal heirs. The said orders were confirmed in appeal by the deputy commissioner. The purchasers challenged the said orders by filing writ petitions and a learned single judge of this court, by his order dated 10-12-1991, upheld the orders of the authorities chikka kullegowda v state of Karnataka. Feeling aggrieved, the purchasers preferred appeals from which this reference arises.