VANKA VENKANNA Vs. SPECIAL DEPUTY COLLECTOR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Assailing the order passed by the 2nd respondent-Agent to the Government (District Collector), Khammam in C.M.A.NO. 17/97 dt. 13-1-2000, the present writ petition is filed.

(2.) According to the petitioner, he is the owner and possessor of land situated in S.No. 45 to an extent of Ac. 5-00 at Venkatapuram village (Nugur) of Khammam District having purchased the same from the third respondent by way of simple sale deed dt. 20-9-1960. At the time of purchase, the respondent No. 3 belongs to Nayaka community and is not a tribe. It is only in the year 1976, the President of India amended the Presidential Order, 1950 notifying Nayaka community as Scheduled Tribe. Venkatapuram village (Nugur) of Venkatapuram Mandal, Khammam District is one of the Scheduled areas notified by the President of India under 5th Schedule of Constitution. A.P.Scheduled Areas Land Transfer Regulation, 1959 (for short 'Land Transfer Regulation No. 1/59) came into force with effect from 4-3-59 in the scheduled areas of the Districts of East Godavari, West Godavari, Visakhapatnam and Srikakulam. By Land Transfer Regulation No. 2/63, the said Land Transfer Regulation No. 1/59 has been extended to the scheduled areas in the Districts of Adilabad, Warangal, Khammam and Mahabubnagar with effect from 1-12-1963. Though the petitioner is in possession of the property since 1960 a complaint was filed in 1982 by the third respondent before the first respondent stating that the transfer of immovable property is contrary to Regulation 3 (1) (a) of Land Transfer Regulation No. 1/59 as amended by Amending Act No. 1/70. The first respondent who conducted an enquiry on the said complaint in Case No. 243/84/ VNGR dt. 8-1-85 held that the transaction took place prior to enforcement of Land Transfer Regulation No. 1/59 in the Khammam District, hence sale is not hit by the provisions of Land Transfer Regulation No. 1/59 and the proceedings were withdrawn. After long lapse of 121/2 years the third respondent filed an appeal in C.M.A.No. 17/97 before the second respondent-Agent to the Government at Khammam along with an application to condone the delay in preferring the appeal. The said appeal was allowed by the second respondent on 9-1-98 even without giving an opportunity before condoning the delay. Questioning the same, the petitioner earlier filed W.P.No. 13561/98 before this Court and this" Court allowed the same on 28-12-1998 by setting aside the order passed by the second respondent in C.M.A. No. 17/97 dt. 9-1-98 with a direction to take up the matter for de novo enquiry and before passing any order on the application seeking condonation of delay in filing the appeal, the petitioner should be heard and he should be given an opportunity to defend the matter. After remand, the second respondent allowed the appeal filed by the third respondent and declared the alleged sale deed dt. 20-9-60 as null and void under Land Transfer Regulation No. 1/59. Hence, the present writ petition.

(3.) It is stated in the writ petition that Land Transfer Regulation 1/59 came into force in Telangana Area in the year 1963, the sale which took place prior to the coming into force of the said Regulation cannot be declared as null and void in view of the Full Bench judgment of this Court in G. Narasa Reddy vs. Collector, Adilabad. On the date when the sale took place, the third respondent is not a tribe and he belongs to non-tribal, for the first time she was declared as tribe in the year 1976. The appellate authority has not adverted to the said fact while allowing the appeal.