KUNATI SUBBAIAH Vs. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Writ Petition has been filed by the petitioners under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking the following relief:

(2.) The case of the petitioners, in brief, is that a joint patta was granted in the name of grandfather of the 1stpetitioner and the ancestors of the other petitioners in the Estate Dittam account vide patta No.2 and as per the said joint patta the first petitioner's grandfather, and ancestors of other petitioners were granted joint patta vide S.R.No.432/ 15(1)/60/ PN/KHT, dtd. 31/8/1961 under Sec. 15(1) of the Estate Abolition Act, 1948 to an extent of Ac.600-00 cents in Old Survey No.1, R.S.No.1P of Ramanujapalle village of Srikalahasthi Mandal of Chittoor District and the petitioners are the surviving legal representatives of the pattadars of the said lands. It is the further case of the petitioners that, inspite of allotment of the land, though the petitioners made several efforts, the revenue authorities did not carry out necessary mutations and subsequent amendments in the connected revenue records and the said land is classified as 'Adavi Poramboke' in revenue records as if reflected in the proceedings of the Additional Assistant Settlement Officer and the proceedings though became final, remained unimplemented in the revenue records. The 1stpetitioner and ancestors of other petitioners made several oral representations to the 6th respondent-Tahsildar, Srikalahasthi to issue pattadar passbooks and patta Certificates/Title deeds in their names but they went in vain and the 5threspondent-Joint Collector also had not initiated any action on the representations so submitted by the petitioners. The 1stpetitioner's grandfather and ancestors of the other petitioners have been in continuous possession and enjoyment of the subject land even prior to the order issued by the Additional Assistant Settlement Officer, Chittoor as is evidenced from the deposition of the village karanam before the Additional Assistant Settlement Officer, Chittoor and the same is also reflected in the order issued vide SR.No.432/15(1)/60/ PN/KHT, dtd. 31/8/1961 and the petitioners have also paid cist until abolition of land revenue for dry lands. It is the further case of the petitioners that the 1st petitioner's grandfather and ancestors of other petitioners were granted Ryotwari pattas for the subject lands and they have been in continuous possession and enjoyment of the said lands, however, their names have not been mutated in the revenue records and despite representation made to the 5threspondent on 9/4/2012 for issuance of pattadar passbooks, the authorities failed to issue the same till date. The petitioners learnt that the respondents are contemplating steps to allot the said land to third parties, while keeping the representation of the 1stpetitioner pending, contrary to the provisions of Sec. 4 of the Estate Abolition Act,1948. The petitioners strongly apprehend that the respondent authorities, may meddle with and tamper the records, as they are custodians of records, as such, it is just and essential that the said record be called for so as to know the factual status. It is the further case of the petitioners that questioning the inaction of the respondents in issuing pattadar pass books, they filed W.P.No.11192 of 2012 and this Court was pleased to dispose of the said writ petition granting liberty to the petitioners to submit an application in Form VI(A) under the A.P. Rights of Land and Pattadar Passbooks Act before the 6threspondent and the 6threspondent shall take steps within a period of three months from the date of receiving the application and if it emerges that the petitioners cannot be issued pattadar passbooks and Title deeds, the reasons thereof shall be communicated to them within the same time. In pursuance thereof, the 1stpetitioner approached the 6threspondent and submitted all the relevant material and the 6threspondent rejected the request for the grant of pattadar passbook and Title deed without applying his mind. Aggrieved thereby, the 1st petitioner preferred appeal before the Chief Commissioner of Land Administration, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh and the said authority has been pleased to pass an order dtd. 25/7/2013, holding that settlement patta granted to ancestors of the 1stpetitioner under Sec. 15(1) of the Estates Abolition Act has become final and the Tahsildar has only stated that since the lands have been notified as Reserve Forest under Sec. 4 of A.P.Forest Act, 1967 and hence the said patta cannot be implemented and since patta was granted in 1961, whereas the lands were notified as Reserve Forest in the year 1969 and the grant of patta created rights in the grantee from the date on which the notification taking over the Estate takes effect and the Joint Collector is directed to examine this issue. As the orders passed by CCLA dtd. 25/7/2013 have not been implemented, the petitioners filed W.P.No.31828 of 2018 and this Court vide orders dtd. 10/10/2018 directed the 5threspondent to take steps for implementation of orders of the Commissioner of Appeal, dtd. 25/7/2013. It is the further case of the petitioners that after a gap of five (05) years, the 5threspondent passed impugned orders on 9/9/2019 rejecting the claim of the petitioners holding that all the documentary evidences submitted by the petitioners are fabricated and created documents including the attested copy of orders of the Additional Assistant Settlement Officer passed in S.R.No.432/15/1(1)/60PN/KHT, dtd. 31/8/1961 and that the land in Survey No.1 of Ramanujapalle is classified as 'Adavi' and the same is vested with Forest Department. The petitioners submit that the 5threspondent even after confirming the genuineness of the documents in question and the same are part of the record, has not taken the same into consideration and passed the orders under challenge without applying the mind nor has looked into the documents which have been corresponded with the 4threspondent i.e. the District Judge, Nellore and the 3rdrespondent. The order of the 5threspondent is arbitrary, illegal and unjust and the 5threspondent has not taken into consideration the observations made by the Commissioner of Land Administration. Hence, the said orders of the 5threspondent are impugned in this writ petition.

(3.) The 1strespondent filed counter affidavit denying the averments of the writ affidavit inter alia contending that, originally the land in Survey No.1 measuring an extent of Ac.903-63 cents of Ramanujapalli village is registered as 'Adavi' in the Fair Adangal. The 6threspondent-Tahsildar has issued an endorsement stating that the land is 'Reserve Forest' and the S.R.file No.432/15(1)/60/PN/ KHT, dtd. 31/12/1961 is a non-existing one and this file was not received from the defunct Settlement Officer, Nellore after the disbandment. It is further stated that during 2007, under IV Phase Assignment programme, an extent of Ac.151-00 of land in Survey No.1 of Ramanujapalli village was granted as DKT pattas to 92 beneficiaries, including to persons belonging to the families of the writ petitioners and if at all they were having ryotwari patta granted in their favour in the year 1961, they would not have agreed for the grant of assignment in their names and this proves beyond doubt that the file referred to above is a fabricated and created one with an intention to grab the large extent of government land. Similarly, SR No.330/11(1)/64/SKHT, dtd. 30/11/1966 and SR No.661/ 15(1)/60/PN/KHT, dtd. 18/12/1961 were also created files for the same land and they are being contested before this Court by District Administration to declare the land as government land. In pursuance of the orders of this Court dtd. 9/10/2012 in W.P.No.11192 of 2012, the 6threspondent has issued endorsement in D.Dis.No.380/2012 that the land measuring an extent of 903.63 cents is notified as 'Gollapalle Reserve Forest' and the Settlement Officer has no jurisdiction to grant Ryotwari patta and therefore, the request of the petitioner for grant of pattadar passbook and title deed for the claimed lands was rejected. The 5threspondent-Joint Collector, Chittoor has issued the impugned proceedings by scanning the material available on record and having found that the purported orders of the Settlement Officer passed on 31/8/1961 is a fabricated, bogus and created document, since the same was not filed by the petitioners before the Forest Settlement Officer, Nellore when he conducted enquiry on 31/10/1981 and the said order contains so many defects and no such file was handed over to the Collector's Office, Chittoor. It is further stated that the Forest Settlement Officer, Nellore published notification in District Gazette dtd. 19/12/1969 calling for objections for including of 12,200 acres in Gollapalli Forest Block and in response to the said proclamation, some of the writ petitioners appeared before the Forest Settlement Officer on 30/10/1981 and filed written statement requesting to set apart an extent of Ac.600-00 from the 'Reserve Forest' for communal needs viz., green manure and lay a cart track for the purpose of villagers and accordingly, the Forest Settlement Officer, Nellore had passed orders in RC/A2/2434/69, dtd. 9/3/1982 for exclusion of the areas in Sy.No.1, but the said orders were not implemented so far and thereafter DKT pattas for an extent of Ac.151- 00 in Survey No.1 of the village were also granted to 92 beneficiaries in 2007, but they were not permitted by the Forest Department to enter into the lands and there have been forest and revenue boundaries disputes with regard to this land. Later, the Government issued Memo No.14957/For-I/88-2 clarifying that as the lands in question are classified in Government records as forest, it is necessary to obtain the permission of the Government of India as per the provisions of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1982 for excluding them from Forest Block and for the purpose of using forest land for non-forestry purpose, the procedure prescribed in the Forest (Conservation) Act, for deservation has to be followed and the above orders were communicated to the District Collector Chittoor for cancellation of the DKT pattas. It is further stated that since the subject land is classified as 'Adavi' and the petitioners have no right and possession over the land and the forest department never allowed the petitioners to enter into the lands in question and as the settlement order No.432/15(1)/60PN/KHT, dtd. 31/8/1961 is a non-existing one, the 5th respondent-Joint Collector has passed the impugned orders after thoroughly examining the record in right perspective and thus the impugned orders do not require any interference of this Court. Hence, prayed to dismiss the writ petition.