JALAGAM SITARAMA RAO Vs. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These two transfer C. M. Ps. under S. 24 of the Civil P. C. are for the transfer of the suits from the Agency Court to a Civil Court. Tr. C.lM. P. No. 5301/77 is filed for transfer of the suit, O. S. No. 5/77 on the file of the Agent to Government at Khammam to the Court of the Subordinate Judge at Khammam. Tr. C. M. P. No. 7231/77 is for the transfer of O. S. No. 8/76 on the file of the Agent to the State Government (District Collector), Warangal to the file of the Subordinate Judges Court or District Judges Court at Warangal.

(2.) Both the suits are filed against the State of Andhra Pradesh represented by the District Collector who is also designated as the Agent to the Government in the respective areas. For the disposal of these petitions, it is enough to state the facts in Tr. C. M. P. No. 5301/77. That suit is filed for an injunction against the Government and in particular against the Agent to the Government restraining him from interfering with the possession of the petitioner over the lands situated in an agency area. The Agent is impleaded as a party-defendant in the suit. The transfer of the suit is sought on the ground that in the suit certain allegations are made against the Agent himself and that the action of the Agent in seeking of the powers conferred on him under the Scheduled District Act and the Agency Rules made thereunder, read with the provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Scheduled Areas Land Transfer Regulation, 1959 furnishes the cause of action for the suit. The plaintiff-petitioner apprehends that justice would not be done and it is therefore inexpedient that the suit should be tried by the Agent. 2-A. A preliminary objection to the maintainability of the petition under S. 24 of the Civil P. C. is raised by the learned Government pleader appearing for the respondent in these two petitions.

(3.) It may be stated at the outset that on the facts of these cases in particular the respondent has not opposed the transfer of the suits from the file of the particular Agency Court. The respondent opposes only on the ground that the High Court cannot invoke its jurisdiction under S. 24 C. P. C. to transfer a suit from an Agency court. The Government contends that C. P. C. does not apply to Agency Area or Agency Courts and that in any event the transfer of suit pending in an Agency Court could be made only to another Agency Court but not to a Civil Court. On the other hand the petitioner contends that the Civil P. C. is in force in the territory in which the suits are filed and the power vested in the High Court under S. 24 C. P. C. is not curtailed in any manner by the Scheduled Districts Act or the Agency Rules made thereunder so as to prohibit the transfer of a suit pending in an Agency Court to a Civil Court. It is therefore necessary to examine firstly whether the Code of Civil Procedure is in force in the territory in which the Agency Court in which the present suits have been filed is situate, and secondly if there is anything in the Code of Civil Procedure or the Scheduled District Act, the Agency Rules made thereunder or the Andhra Pradesh Schedule Areas Land Transfer Regulation, which curtails the power vested in the High Court under S. 24 C. P. C. either expressly or by necessary implication to transfer a suit pending in the Agency Court to a Civil Court.