STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH Vs. SPECIAL TRIBUNAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS writ petition has been filed to declare the action of the Special tribunal (District Judge) Warangal in entertaining the pet ition in LGC no. 36 of 1989 filed under Section 7-A (1) of the Andhra Pradesh Land grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 1982 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act')as illegal, without jurisdiction and contrary to the provision and scheme of the Act and for issuance of consequential direction not to proceed with the said case.

(2.) THE respondents herein had filed the said Land Grabbing Case invoking sub-section (1) of Section 7-A of the Act. Their case is that their ancestors M/s. late Balaji, Bandulal, Veeraiah, Gangoji and raheem were the owners and possessors of Acs. 9. 00 of land bearing survey No. 436 (old) corresponding to new Survey No. 206 situated at nakkalagutta, Hanamakonda of Warangal district. It is their case that the said land was purchased by their ancestors by a registered sale deed dated 6-3-1966 from one Hameed Pasha for a consideration of rs. 15,000/- and ever since the same, had been in possession of the said land. Apart from the above land, it is the case of respondents 1 to 7 and 24 and 25 that their ancestors namely Balaji and Raheem had purchased another piece of land of Acs. 4. 33 gts. in Survey No. 437 (old) corresponding to new Survey No. 207 situated at Hanumkonda of warangal district, under the agreement of sale dated 16-8-1970 from same Hameed Pasha for a consideration of Rs. 10,000/- and had obtained possession of the said land and had been in possession pursuant thereto. It is also their case that out of the said land, acs. 3. 00 is under illegal and unauthorised possession of the petitioners herein consequent to their grabbing the said land with full knowledge and information that the said land belongs to respondents. The respondents had filed declarations before the Special Officer under urban Land Ceiling, Warangal as contemplated under Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976 and an order has been passed on 18-2-1982 by the said authority and the same has been filed along with other documents including the sale deed as also Pahani patriks right from the year 1954 onwards.

(3.) WE are not here to discuss the merits of the claim of the respondents. The matter is at the threshold and we are called upon to decide as to whether the said Tribunal under the Act possesses jurisdiction to entertain a case of land grabbing against the government. According to the writ petitioners, who are the governmental authorities, the Act is not at all applicable for invocation against the Government and the Act is intended and has been enacted only for the purpose of ousting the land grabbers on the Government land and that the Government can never be a land grabber and even assuming that a claim is made that the Government is in possession of the land belonging to a private person, no proceedings under the Act can be initiated against the Government and it is only the common law court, which has got jurisdiction.