KOTHA GUSAI NAIDU Vs. VICE CHAIRMAN AND MANAGING DIRECTOR VISAKHAPATNAM URBAN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY VIZAG

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners who are nine in number claim to be absolute owners and possessors of small extents of house sites situated and comprised in Sy. Nos. 24/9 and 24/20, of Madhavadharam, Visakhapatnam, since a long time. They alleged that, having purchased the house-sites in question for a valuable consideration from the original owners under registered sale deeds during the period 1983 and 1989, are in possession thereof since then. They also allege that they were given permission under Section 26 of the Urban Land (Ceiling & Regulation) Act, 1976 (for short 'the Act'), for purchasing the land in question. It is alleged that on 1-11-1995, the officials of the 1st respondent-Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority (for short 'the VUDA'), came over to their sites and tried to dispossess them high-handedly, and therefore, they filed the present writ petition seeking a writ of mandamus declaring the action of the respondents in trying to dispossess them from the house-sites comprised in the above survey numbers, as illegal and arbitrary.

(2.) On 9-11-1995, while admitting the writ petition, this Court granted interim directions in W.P.M.P. No. 31038 of 1995, directing the respondents not to dispossess the petitioners from the land in question. This Court that no further construction shall be made by the petitioners in the said land. The 1st respondent filed an application in W.V.M.P. No. 2764 of 2001, accompanied by a counter-affidavit seeking to vacate the interim orders granted by this Court on 9-11-1995. Though W.V.M.P. is listed before me, with the consent of the learned counsel for both the parties, the writ petition itself was heard finally.

(3.) The 2nd respondent-Special Officer, Urban Land Ceiling, Visakhapatnam, in his counter-affidavit stated that one Smt. M. Arundathi Jyothi filed a copy of the Notification issued under Section 20(1) of the Act relating to Sy. No. 24/9, part of Madhavadhara, and clearance under Section 26 of the Act was given for selling the land admeasuring 145 Sq.yds. in favour of M/s. S. Jeevan Kumar, M. Indavadana, M. Prabhavathi, M. Sugna, K. Gunsinaidu, B. Parvatheswara Rao and V. Kalavathi. The petitioners purchased the property from Smt. Arundathi, Jyothi comprised in Sy. No. 24/9, but they have occupied land in Sy. No. 24/10A relating to one Smt. R. Janakamma, declarant in C.C. No. 3032 of 1976 (Declarant under the Act). The vendors, therefore, misled the petitioners. The surplus land in Sy. No. 24/10A vested in the Government by reason of declaration under Section 10(3) of the Act, which was published in the Gazette on 5-3-1986. The excess land of 2547 Sq.mts. in Sy. No. 24/10A was handed over to the 1st respondent-VUDA on 20-7-1994, pending further orders from the State Level Allotment Committee, Government of Andhra Pradesh. The petitioners are not in occupation of the land in question. The property sold to them by the vendors is different from the one that is covered by the Clearance Certificate given under Section 26 of the Act.