9911796707
TMI Blog2008 (11) TMI 707X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nardhan Reddy, (4) Shri T. Mohan Reddy, (5) Shri T. Satyanarayana Reddy are the sons of Late Shri T. Papi Reddy. According to them, the said Late Shri T. Papi Reddy was a protected tenant from (1) Late Shri Khaja Shakhir Hussain, (2) Shri Khaja Nasir Hussain, (3) Smt. Razia Sultana W/o Mir Sadath Ali. It is the case of the respondents, as seen from their Counter affidavit that at the commencement of A.P. (Telangana Area) Tenancy Agricultural Lands Act, 1950 (hereinafter called the Tenancy Act for short) and more precisely, on 10.6.1950, their father Late Shri T. Papi Reddy was deemed to be the protected tenant of the land, admeasuring 123 Acres 17 guntas, bearing Survey Nos. 18 to 24 (old), i.e., new Survey Nos. 24 to 30 and 39 of Meerpet Revenue Village, Saroornagar Mandal, Rangareddy District, Andhra Pradesh. This land belonged to Late Shri Khaja Shakhir Hussain and others, who were the Jagirdars of that Village. Their father Late Shri Papi Reddy entered into an agreement on 25.2.1956 with Late Shri Khaja Shakhir Hussain and others for transfer of land holders interest in the said land to the tenants Late Shri T. Papi Reddy himself and the present respondents. The respondent ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... yana Reddy 1143/E/75 14.8.1975 A-5 3. So far so good. The respondents claimed that they continued to be in possession of the lands, since none of them had held more land than the ceiling area prescribed by the Ceiling Act. The orders passed in their case, shown in the Table above were also not appealed against by the State Government and had become final. While the matters in case of the respondents stood thus, a further development took place as follows. 4. On 22.7.1994, an order came to be passed by the Tribunal, purporting to hold the lands in Survey Nos. 24 to 30 and 39 in the holdings of Late Shri Khaja Shakhir Hussain and others (land holders) and it was declared in that order that the land holders therein were surplus holders. The respondents pointed out that this order was completely oblivious of the six orders passed in case of Late Shri T. Papi Reddy and themselves, shown in the Table nor did they (Late Shri T. Papi Reddy and the respondents herein) join as parties to the proceedings. It was further pointed out that on 6.2.1996, a public notice was issued by the Tribunal, Ranga Reddy District, calling for th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e of Andhra Pradesh and the reply thereto by Shri P. P. Rao, Learned Senior Counsel, appearing for the respondents, it will be better to see the findings given by the Learned Single Judge of the High Court. The High Court, firstly found that the Appellate Tribunal had allowed the appeals to the extent of 33 acres 12 guntas, in respect of which the ownership Certificates were granted under Section 38-E of the Tenancy Act, in support of which the respondents had filed Exhibit A-2. The High Court also found that the Appellate Tribunal had dismissed the appeal in respect of 96 acres 12 guntas on the ground that these lands were covered by Section 38-B of the Tenancy Act. The respondents had filed the Certificates - Exhibit A-1. The High Court noted that the Appellate Tribunal had taken a view that in pursuance of the Agreement dated 22.5.1956, the land holders could not have purchased the lands, as there was no permission under Section 47 and 48 of the Tenancy Act for such sales. However, the High Court proceeded on the ground that the lands were covered under Section 38-B of the Tenancy Act. The question before it was as to whether such lands held by a protected tenant and covered und ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ould not be included in the ceiling area of the land holder and could not be put for distribution, treating it to be the surplus land. The Civil Revision was allowed with these observations. 6. Shri R. Sundaravardan, Learned Senior Counsel, appearing on behalf of the appellant State of Andhra Pradesh assailed the judgment, firstly, on the ground that Late Shri T. Papi Reddy, father of the respondents herein, himself could not be a protected tenant and thereby, even the respondents, who were his sons could not have become the protected tenants in law. The Learned Senior Counsel argued that since the very basis of the claim of the respondents is without any substance, the further claim of the separate possession in their capacity as the protected tenants has no basis. The Learned Senior Counsel for this argument, relied on the plea raised by the respondents that there was an Agreement of Purchase between Late Shri T. Papi Reddy and the Jagirdars (landlords) in respect of 123 acres and 17 guntas of land contained in Survey Nos. 24 to 30 and 39. The Learned Senior Counsel pointed out that ever since the said Agreement was executed, the possession of Late Shri T. Papi Reddy, as also ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... back, at the time when the impugned orders (dated 14.08.1975 and 27.10.1975) were passed. It was pointed out that no orders in respect of these lands could have been passed unless the respondents were noticed by the Tribunal, and further, the Counsel pointed out that the respondents had the Certificates issued under Section 38-B, which rendered the orders passed by the Tribunal in case of the original land holders, without jurisdiction. The Learned Senior Counsel further contended that there was no question of the land in possession of a protected tenant being declared as surplus land, which was liable to be surrendered. It was pointed out by the Learned Senior Counsel that the Certificates granted in favour of the respondents under Section 38-B of the Tenancy Act remained valid and in the present case, so remained valid, since they were not challenged, and at the same time, the Tribunal, under the Ceiling Act, had no jurisdiction to declare the said Certificate as illegal. The Learned Senior Counsel invited our attention to the provisions of the Tenancy Act to suggest that the tenancy rights were heritable rights. Our attention was also invited to Section 13(1) of the Ceiling Act ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ee; (iv) as a tenant; (v) who is in possession by virtue of a mortgage by conditional sale or through part performance of a contract for the sale of land or otherwise; or in one or more of such capacities, and the expressions to hold land shall be construed accordingly. Term Owner is defined in Section 3(n) as under: 3(n) owner includes a person by whom or in whose favour a trust is created; but does not include a limited owner; and in the case of any land not held under ryotwari settlement, a person who is or would be entitled to the grant of a ryotwari patta or to the registration as an occupant in respect of such land under any law for the time being in force providing for the conversion of such land into ryotwari tenure and where there is no such law, any person holding such land immediately before the specified date otherwise than in any one of the capacities in items (ii) to (v) Clause (i); but does not include a limited owner. (Emphasis supplied). Term Person is defined in Section 3(o) as under: 3(o) person includes an individual, a family unit, a trustee, a company, a firm, a society or an association of individuals, whether incorpora ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d cannot be surrendered, and whether the surrender declared by the land holder is to be surrendered or not, has to be decided by the Tribunal. Sub-Section 5 specifically provides that it would be open to the Tribunal to refuse or accept the surrender of any land, which has been converted into non-agricultural land and is rendered incapable for being used for agricultural purposes. Under Section 13, a special provision is made for the protected tenants. The Section provides that where the holding of any owner includes any land held by a protected tenant, the Tribunal shall, in the first instance, determine whether such land or part thereof has been transferred to the protected tenant under Section 38-E of the Tenancy Act, and if such transfer is made, such land shall be excluded from the holding of the owner and included in the holding of such tenant. Sections 15 and 16 speaks about the amount payable in lieu of that land to the land holder. Section 20 speaks about the appeal and Section 21 about the revision against the orders passed by the Tribunal. This is the broad picture of the provisions of the Ceiling Act. 10. Let us, now, have look on some of the relevant provisions of t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ldar under this Section for the purpose of satisfying himself as to the legality or propriety of such certificate or as to the regularity of such proceedings and pass such order in relation thereto as he may think fit. On this legal backdrop, it will be now for us, to consider the contentions raised by the Learned Counsel. 12. The first and foremost contention raised by Shri Sundaravardan, Learned Senior Counsel, appearing on behalf of the appellants was that since on 25.2.1956, an Agreement was executed by the original land holders in favour of Late Shri T. Papi Reddy, whereby, he agreed to sell the land in question, Late Shri T. Papi Reddy, himself had rescinded his status as a protected tenant and thereafter, remained in possession only as an intended purchaser under the Agreement and that is where all his rights came to an end. The said Agreement is on the record. It is an unregistered document and suggests that the concerned land, admeasuring 90 acres of land, was agreed to be sold for ₹ 2,592/-. This is the Agreement between Late Shri Khaja Shakhir Hussain and Late Shri T. Papi Reddy, the father of the respondents. On this, the Learned Counsel pointed out that if thi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s. The orders of similar nature were passed in case of all the five respondents herein, so also, the orders were passed in Late Shri T. Papi Reddy s case. Undoubtedly, in all the orders related to the sons, the Tribunal did mention that the declarant had not produced any proof as to how the declarant is not so far entitled to share in the lands of his father Late Shri T. Papi Reddy. However, realizing that even if that share is included, since the land in possession of the declarant son does not exceed the ceiling limit, the matters were left at that, and it was concluded that the individual sons did not hold land in excess of the ceiling area. 15. We have also seen the order passed in the case of Late Shri T. Papi Reddy himself. Undoubtedly, Late Shri T. Papi Reddy also had shown that he had purchased the land measuring 87 acres 33 cents as a protected tenant and had shown that he had only 1/6th share in that, and the remaining land was held by his major sons. He claimed the status of a protected tenant in respect of the other land in Survey Nos. 24 and 25, measuring 33 acres 14 cents and claimed 1/6th share in the remaining land. The Tahsildar in his Report had shown that the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ning that there was a nucleus with the Joint Family and the said Joint Family property did produce income, out of which the concerned 123 acres 7 guntas of land came to be purchased, so as to become a Joint Family property and it is, therefore, that the said lands were treated to be the Joint Hindu Family property and were partitioned in the year 1956, which partition was evidenced in the mutation of these lands, also in the Revenue records. The Tribunal, however, found that though mutation of ancestral land was effected, the purchased lands were not yet mutated and they still remained in the name of land holder Late Shri T. Papi Reddy, however, the land revenue was being paid by Late Shri T. Papi Reddy and his sons separately. The Tribunal then referred to the evidence of Shri K. Bhujang Reddy, Shri Vanga Bikshapathi Reddy and Shri Challa Linga Reddy. These three witnesses supported the theory of partition in the year 1956, and also deposed that Late Shri T. Papi Reddy and sons were divided, and living separately and cultivating their properties (lands) accordingly. The Patwari was also examined, who claimed that he had no information about the division of lands between Late Shri ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ad acquired the property of 123 acres 17 guntas out of income of the Joint Hindu Family and thus, the whole property became a joint property, so as to open for partition and accordingly, the partition was not only effected, but, acted upon also by the separate cultivations of all the six members. On this strong background, it will be futile to say that Late Shri T. Papi Reddy or his sons, the present respondents herein, were not the protected tenants. They were not only treated as the protected tenants, but their individual cases were also dealt with by the Tribunal, which held that individually, they did not hold any land more than the ceiling area. All these orders right from 1975 till today, i.e., for 33 years, have remained unchallenged. 17. Shri Sundaravardan then took us to Section 13 of the Ceiling Act and pointed out that only the land covered under Section 38-E of the Tenancy Act, was to be excluded and, therefore, such exemption will not be available for the land covered under Section 38-B, and as such, the said land was liable to be included in the holding of the land holders. It is true that Section 13 of the Ceiling Act suggests that the land covered under Section 3 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ot have been made available for been declared as surplus land, holding it to be within the holding of the land holder. 18. As if all this is not sufficient, there is Certificate on record dt. 13.4.1983. In that Certificate dt. 13.4.1983, the Revenue Divisional Officer had certified that the five respondents are the protected tenants of the land specified in the order, which belonged to Late Shri Khaja Shakhir Hussain, Shri Khaja Nasir Hussain and Smt. Razia Sultana, the land holders herein. It also suggests that these land holders had relinquished all their rights of the lands described in favour of the five respondents under Section 38-B of the Tenancy Act and the five respondents, with effect from that date, shall be the owners of that land described. Needless to mention that there is a complete description of the lands of Survey Nos. 24 to 30 and 39. We have seen the Certificate ourselves in the prescribed form and we are satisfied that the Certificates have been given after the due enquiry. The three land holders, namely, Late Shri Khaja Shakhir Hussain, Shri Khaja Nasir Hussain and Smt. Razia Sultana have also given their declarations, which were verified by the Tahsildar, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... dated, when we see that the respondents herein, were never the parties to the ceiling proceedings. 21. A decision was relied on by Shri Sundaravardan, reported in 2000 (9) SCC 339 R. Kanthimathi Anr. Vs. Beatrice Xavier (Mrs.). In our opinion, the said decision which relates to the rent control matter and thus, the house tenancy, would have no application. Another decision relied on by Shri Sundaravardan, reported in 2006(4) SCC 214 N. Srinivasa Rao Vs. Special Court under the A.P. Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act and Others, also has no relevance. The Learned Senior Counsel tried to rely on this decision only to show that if the transfer of agricultural land was in violation of Section 47 and 49, such prosecution would be void. In the concerned case, this prosecution was held to be void in the light of the circumstances that the transfer in this case was made by a protected tenant as an agriculturist or a non-agriculturist, which was prohibited by the Tenancy Act. We do not see any relevance of this case. Shri Sundaravardan contended that the prosecution on 25.2.1956 was a void prosecution. Even if, we agree with that proposition, the question remains that ultimately, responde ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ny fraud against any authority, nor did they ever suppress any relevant fact from any authority. They openly came out with a case regarding Agreement executed on 25.2.1956, thereafter, they openly propounded a theory of partition, which theory was accepted by the Tribunal in ceiling matter in their case, as well as, in the case of their father Late Shri T. Papi Reddy and ultimately, they obtained the Certificate under Section 38-B, way back in 1983. Today, 25 years have elapsed after those Certificates have been granted. We do not see any impropriety in the said proceedings, which would justify a suo moto action on the part of the Collector. 23. This Court has considered the nature of that power in the case of Ibrahimpatnam Taluk Vyavasaya Coolie Sangham Vs. K. Suresh Reddy and Others (cited supra) and observed in para 9:- 9. ...... Use of the words at any time in sub-Section (4) of Section 50-B of the Act only indicates that no specific period of limitation is prescribed within which the suo moto power could be exercised reckoning or starting from a particular date advisedly and contextually. Exercise of suo moto power depended on facts and circumstances of each case. In ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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