BADDI SUBBA RAO Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner filed his declaration under section 8 of the Andhra Pradesh Land Reforms (Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings) Act, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act') in respect of his holding. He has a wife, two minor undivided sons and two unmarried minor daughters. The petitioner's wife, Sathi- raju also filed a declaration in respect of her lands which she got under the provision of a will. Their two minor sons also filed two separate declarations with regard to their respective shares in the joint family properties.

(2.) The Verification Officer while verifying the declaration filed by the petitioner found that separate declarations were filed by the wife and the two minor sons of the petitioner and by clubbing all the four declarations sent his verification report on the basis that the petitioner, his wife, his two minor sons and two unmarried daughters constitute a "family unit" as defined under section 3 (/) of the Act. On the basis of that report, the Land Reforms Tribunal, Kakinada, clubbed all the lands shown by the petitioner, his wife and their two minor sons in their declarations and determined the "holding" of the family unit and found that the family unit is holding an extent of land equivalent to 2.1653 standard holdings. As provided under section 4 of the Act, the "ceiling area" which a "family unit" consisting of six members is an extent of land equivalent to 1.2000 standard holdings. Accordingly the Land Reforms Tribunal found that the family unit is holding land of an extent equivalent to 0.9653 standard holdings in excess of the ceiling area.

(3.) Against the order of the Land Reforms Tribunal, the present petitioner preferred an appeal to the Land Reforms Appellate Tribunal, East Godavari at Rajahmundry. It was argued before the Appellate Tribunal and the same argument is repeated here that each person who holds land must be taken as an individual and the term 'person' includes an individual and as provided under section 8 (1) of the Act every person has to file a declaration and in the case of every Individual who owns land the ceiling area is an extent of land equivalent to one standard holding and only in cases where an individual keeps any property in the name of his spouse or minor children then only the spouse or the minor children become members of the family unit and then only Explanation to section 4 of the Act is applicable for aggregating the lands held by all the members of the family unit for fixing the ceiling area. If no land belonging to such individual is kept in the name of his spouse or minor children, Explanation to section 4 cannot be applied and then the spouse and the minor children if they held their own lands, they have to be treated as separate individuals under the Act and their lands cannot be clubbed with any other land belonging to others for the purpose of fixing the ceiling area. These arguments were not found favour with the Appellate Tribunal and accordingly the appeal was dismissed by it. Thereafter the petitioner has come to this Court by way of this revision.