The Government apparently accepted that order of the Commissioner as numberfurther steps were taken by it to companyrect or set aside that order.
Under the Forest Act, a person who transports forest produce is required to obtain transit permit.
The first witness was one of the Pattedars and the second was the Tehsildar of the Jagir Jatprole for the period November, 1937 to September, 1949, They also filed supplementary setwar, Exhibit A l. During the period 1954 to 1958, permission was granted to the Pattedars by the Government for cutting forest wood permission letters were filed as Exhibits A 2 to A 9 These documents show the exercise of right as owner over the suit lands.
In view of the dispute between the two departments of the Government with regard to the title to the lands in question, the Government of Andhra Pradesh issued orders on 17th August, 1979 directing the Commissioner of Survey, Settlement and Land Record to make an enquiry under Section 166 B of the Land Revenue Act and to pass a speaking order after hearing the parties companycerned.
282 under Section 29 of the Andhra Pradesh Telengana Area Forest Act, 1355 Fasli for short, the Forest Act was issued on December 4, 1950.
The District Collector, after companyducting the necessary enquiry and on a joint inspection in which the Land Record Assistant and the Forest Range Officer participated and in which working plan was produced showing the area as the patta of the late Jagirdar, passed an order on April 25, 1966 directing rectification of the settlement record.
2084 of 1978 before the High Court of Andhra Pradesh.
This gave rise to filing of a declaratory suit by the Pattedars and ordering further enquiry into the matter by the Government of Andhra Pradesh.
The High Court quashed the recital in the impugned order of the Government that the said lands belonged to the Government but in other respects maintained the same by partly allowing the writ petition on February 21, 1979.
The first was issued on January 31, 1975 proposing to acquire 410 acres out of the land in Survey No.
The mistake was alleged to be that the name of the Khatedar was number shown against the said Survey numbers which where shown as Mahasura protected .
It was for the first time mat the Forest Department appeared to have taken the plea that the lands in question were forest lands and the Chief Conservator of Forest Appellant No.
168 in Malachintapalli village for Srisailam Project.
11 of Asadpur village and land measuring 45.20 acres out of Survey No.
Pursuant to the said order of the Government, the Commissioner companyducted an enquiry, heard both the parties and opined that the order of the Collector, passed under Section 87 of the Land Revenue Act, was companyrect and did number call for any interference there with.
8580 of 1994 expressed that the lands in question were forest land and doubted they were patta lands of the Pattedars.
It appears that a numberification under Section 30 of the Forest Act was also issued but that numberification is number on record.
168 however, the finalisation of the Survey was done in 1962.
2003 2 SCR 180 The Judgment of the Court was delivered by SYED SHAH MOHAMMED QUADRI, J. These two appeals are from the companymon judgment of a Division Bench of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh in writ Petition C No.
In the year 1953, re survey of the erstwhile Jagir was companyducted.
Under that Regulation, all Jagirs, including the Jatprole Jagir, stood abolished from that date and their administration stood vested in the State.
168 of Malachinthapalli village measuring acres 9000 companytinued to remained in the possession of the Raja as his patta lands.
1 in Civil Appeal No.
On may 2, 1972, the Tehsildar replied that the lands in question were patta lands and assessed to land revenue there was numberhing on record to show that they were taken over along with the Jagir and other forest area under the supervision of the Government.
It is worth numbericing that the tehsildar of those villages recommended granting of transit permits showing the lands as patta lands.
Exhibits A 27 to A 44 are receipts for payment of land revenue in respect of the land in Malachintapalli village.
The Pattedars filed an application under Section 87 of the Andhra Pradesh Telengana Area Land Revenue Act, 1317 Fasli For short, the land Revenue Act to rectify the mistake numbered in the settlement record pursuant to the said re survey.
To establish their claim, the Pattedars produced two witnesses.
168 of Malachintapalli village in Kollapur Taluk, Mahboobnagar District be declared as the patta lands of the plaintiffs and they be awarded companypensation for the said lands, which was submerged in the Srisailam Project.
The afore mentioned Writ Petition C No.
Soon thereafter, Notification No.
A letter No.
The said order was assailed by the Pattedars in Writ Petition C No.
However, the lands companyprised in Survey No.11 of Asadpur village measuring acres 1523 and Survey No.
The respondents plaintiff claimed in the suit that the land measuring 748.24 acres out of Survey No.
D. Dis.
Two numberifications were issued under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894.
Though in the past, the Pattedars were transporting forest produce on obtaining transit permit, it was , however, denied to them on their application made on October 14, 1966.
3414 of 1983 and Appeal No.
As against its evidence number an iota of evidence was placed on record by the Government to establish that the lands were taken over at the time of abolition of the Jagirs or that they form part of the forest area and or otherwise vested in the Government.
Raja S.V. Jagannadha Rao was the last Jagirdar.
The appellants denied that the suit land was patta land and home farm land of the pattedars.
2291 of 1986, before the High Court of Andhra Pradesh.
The trial companyrt, after companyducting trial and on companysideration of the evidence on record, decreed the suit with companyts, insofar as the reliefs of declaration of title and rendition of accounts but declined the relief of award of companypensation damages by judgement and decree dated March 25, 1985.
It was pleaded that they were forest lands of the State.
The doubt expressed by the Chief Conservator of Forest in regard to the nature of the said lands let to a further probe into the matter as to whether the lands companyprised in the aforementioned survey numbers were treated as part of Jagir at the time of taking over the jagir or whether they were treated as patta lands of the Raja.
The lands in question, namely, Survey No.
The appeals arise the same facts and one set of the parties is companymon.
However, the Government of Andhra Pradesh issued orders cancelling the said numberifications issued under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 and withdrawing from the acquisition, on the ground that the said lands were Government lands, on February 16, 1978.
2291 of 1986 were heard together and dismissed by a Division Bench of the High Court by a companymon judgement on April 21, 1989, which is the subject matter of challenge in the appeals before us.
The pahani patrika for the period 1972 1973 and 1983 1984 were also filed as Exhibit A 53 to A 55 but they may number be really relevant because they relate to the period after the dispute had arisen between the parties.
Exhibit A 10 was filed to prove that in the village map, the suit lands were shown as patta lands.
Based on the said order, the Director of Settlement rectified the records and issued a supplementary set war on May 11, 1966.
To prove that prior to the abolition of Jagirs, the suit lands were under the companytrol of the last Jagirdar, Exhibits A 46 to A 50 were filed which relate to the period 1312 Fasli to 1328 Fasli and show the expenditure incurred by the last Jagirdar in respect of the suit lands.
Those receipts related to Asadpur village.
Aggrieved by the judgement and decree of the learned Subordinate Judge, the defendants the Land Acquisition Officer, Mahboobnagar District and the Government of Andhra Pradesh represented by the Collector, Mahboobnagar filed Appeal No.
and his father and were being enjoyed as grazing land for their cattle and for cattle breeding farm.
2291 of 1986 dated 24th January, 1989.
While the enquiry was pending, the Pattedars filed the suit O.S. No.
However, the doubt in the mind of the Chief Conservator of Forest still persisted and he filed Writ Petition C No.
40 old was assigned Survey number 11 and Survey No.
After the accession of the Nizams State of Hyderabad with the Union of India, the Andhra Pradesh Abolition of Jagirs Regulations, 1358 Fasli hereinafter referred to as the Regulations came into force on September 20, 1949.
In view of the queries made by the Chief Conservator of Forest, the Collector, Mahboobnagar District formulated as many as five questions and directed the Tehsildar to furnish replies thereto.
In support of the plea for payment of the land revenue after the abolition of Jagir from 1951 to 1974, Exhibits A l1 to A 26 were filed.
That order was passed by the Commissioner on December 5, 1981.
73 of 1979, which was re numbered as O.S. 7 of 1984 in the companyrt of the learned Subordinate Judge, Wanaparthy, Mahboobnagar District, for a declaration of title, recovery of companypensation for the lands in question and for rendition of accounts.
The plaintiffs had been paying land revenue in respect of those lands since the abolition of Jagir in 1949.
The said lands were claimed to be ancestral patta lands and companystituted private Home Farm land of Plaintiff No.
The numberification enumerated fourteen villages companyprising of an extent of 93.030 acres of Kollapur taluk Mahboohangar District, which was named as Kollapur range.
J/2706/72 dated 21st October, 1972 from the R.D.O. addressed to the Collector discloses that from the accounts maintained for the period prior to the re survey in the year 1953, rectification of the record and issuance of supplementary setwar, it was proved that the lands in question were the personal property of the late Raja.
241 old was assigned Survey No.
While so, the Government of Andhra Pradesh proposed to acquire the lands in question which were likely to be submerged upon companypletion of the Srisailam Project.
It is the case of the pattedars that when the State took over the Jagir, the Forest Department of the State took under its companytrol the forest land, measuring acres 1,20,824.
The subject matter of litigation is an extent of acres 2423,37 in Jatprole Jagir, Kollapur Taluk, Mahboobnagar District in the erstwhile the Nizams State of Hyderabad.
3414 of 1982 and Appeal Suit No.
3 and 4 are his legal representative hereinafter referred to as the Pattedars.
Further, on January 16, 1974, a letter was addressed by the Director of Settlement to the Chief Conservator of Forest that the lands in question were in possession of the respondents prior to the abolition of Jagirs and that the matter did number require any further examination as the rectification of record was made under Section 87 of the Land Revenue Act.
There is a reference to the report of the D.O. dated 31st October, 1975, which was made on inspection and after making local enquiries, stating that the lands were in possession of the Pattedars as private patta land.
Respondent Nos.
3414 of 1982 in the High Court of Andhra Pradesh challenging the order of the Commissioner of Survey, Settlement and Land Record dated December 5, 1981.
11 in Asadpur village and the second was issued on November 4, 1976 proposing to acquire an extent of 45 acres and 20 guntas of land in Survey No.
