TUTUPALLI RAMALINGA SASTRY Vs. REVENUE DIVISIONAL OFFICER TENALI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Eight petitioners filed Writ Petition No. 915 of 1961 to call for the records in Inam Appeal No. 2 of 1961 on the file of the Revenue Divisional Officer, Tenali, and to quash that order by a writ of certiorari. The same eight petitioners filed Writ Petition No. 1115 of 1962 praying for a similar writ regarding the order of the same Revenud Divisional Officer in Inam Appeal No. 14 of 1961.

(2.) The relevant facts are as follows :- The Tahsildar for Inams, Tenali, started a suo motu enquiry under section 3 of the Andhra Pradesh (Andhra Area) Inams (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari) Act (XXXVII of 1956), hereafter referred to for convenience as the Act, He issued notices under section 3 (2) of the Act regarding the lands concerned in the present writ petitions, namely, Survey Nos. 584, 564 and 565 in the -village of of Yedlapalli in Tenali taluk. He duly published the notice under section 3 (2) of the Act. Notices were served on all the eight petitioners. None of them put in a claim regarding any of the lands. Ultimately, the Tahsildar decided the three points under section 3 (1). On item (iii) of section 3 (1), he found that the inam lands were held by Sri Yogananda Lakshminarasimhaswami Vari temple, Yedlapalli, who is the third respondent in this writ petition. He did not send individual notices to the various petitioners by registered post. But he served notices personally on respondents 4, 5 and 6. Subsequently, the Inam Tahsildar held enquiry under section 7 of the Act in the matter of granting ryotwari pattas. The first petitioner attempted to take part in that enquiry on 4th December, 1960 when the matter was posted for hearing. But the Tahsildar told the first petitioner that it was not open to him and the other petitioners in this writ petition to claim patta because he (Tahsildar) had already conducted an enquiry under section 3 and held that the land belonged to the institution. The Tahsildar granted a patta to the institution by an order dated 22nd December, 1960. The first petitioner preferred an appeal Inam Appeal No. 2 of 1961 before the Revenue Divisional Officer, Tenali. The latter passed an order. He stated as follows :-

(3.) This order was pronounced on 5th June, 1961. Subsequently, on 21st August, 1961, an appeal memo, purporting to be filed by the eight petitioners was filed against the order of the Inams Deputy Tahsildar, dated 11th August, 1959 which had been passed under section 3 of the Act. The appeal memo, was signed by only petitioners 1, 2, 3, 6 and 7. The Revenue Divisional Officer passed order dated 16th January, 1962 dismissing the appeal as time-barred. In his order he mentioned as follows :-