T SURYA RAO Vs. GOVT OF A P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners in all these writ petitions are tenants or occupiers of certain lands. In these writ petitions, the petitioners have called in question the order of the Government, passed in exercise of its power under Sec. 80 of the A.P.Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Act, 1987 (for short' the Act'). The common questions of fact and that of law arise for consideration in this batch of writ petitions. Therefore, they are clubbed and heard together and they are being disposed of by this common judgment.

(2.) There is no dispute between the parties that the petitioners are the tenants or atleast occupiers of the lands in question. There is also no dispute between the parties that the lands in question come under the purview of the Act. The Government by the impugned orders has accorded permission for the sale of the lands in favour of Social Welfare Department for the purpose of making house sites for the weaker sections of the society.

(3.) Sri K.V.Satyanarayana, learned counsel appearing for the petitioners in some of these writ petitions and who led the arguments contended that the permission granted by the Government is void ab initio inasmuch as the second respondent did not go through the procedure envisaged under Clause (b) of sub-sec.1 of Sec. 80 of the Act. In the counter filed by the official respondents, it is contended that the provisions of Sec.80 of the Act are not mandatory and even otherwise the provisions under Sec.80 of the Act is exempted under Sec. 154 of the Act. At this stage itself it is relevant to note that no order of the Government made under Sec. 154 of the Act of granting exemption from the operation of the provisions of Sec. 80 of the Act is made available to the Court. Sub-sec. 1 of Sec. 80 of the Act reads as under: "