Andhra Pradesh High Court - Amravati
Daravathu Praveen Naik vs The State Of Andhra Pradesh on 4 May, 2022
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HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE G. RAMAKRISHNA PRASAD
WRIT PETITION No.13743 OF 2019
ORDER:-
The writ petitioner has purchased agricultural land admeasuring Acres 4.13 cents in Survey No.163 of Chintampally Village, Chintalapudi Mandal, West Godavari District by participating in open auction conducted by District Central Co- operative Bank, Eluru in 2011. The averments in the writ petition indicate that originally this land was assigned by the Government to one Smt. Bhukya Bhadramma, who had mortgaged the said land to Primary Agriculture Co-operative Society, Sitanagaram.
2. On account of default by the original assignee namely Smt. Bhukya Bhadramma, the Bank brought the land for sale by way of public auction for the purpose of recovery of dues on account of default made by the borrower.
3. The writ petitioner contends that in that process, he had participated in the auction and purchased the same dated 28.07.2011.
4. The petitioner states that after purchase, when he had attempted to sell away this land on account of financial problems, the Sub-Registrar, Chintalapudi Mandal, West Godavari District, refused to register this land in favour of prospective vendee of this petitioner by stating that the land is Government land. When the writ petitioner approached this Court, this Court directed the Sub- Registrar to receive and process the document that may be 2 presented by the petitioner without treating the land as Government land.
5. The petitioner contends that when he had approached the 3rd respondent herein for mutation and for issuance of pattadar passbook, to the utter surprise of the petitioner, the 3rd respondent informed him that the pattadar passbooks are not issued to the auctioned land. He also states that Mee-Seva Centre, when approached, informed the petitioner that they were instructed not to receive applications for mutation in respect of the auctioned lands with an advice to verify whether such land is there in the prohibited properties list supplied to the Registrar's Office.
6. Upon verification, the petitioner learnt that the land purchased by him in open auction in 2011, is an assigned land, which is mentioned in the prohibited list of properties and that the competent authority is a District Collector to delist the property purchased by the petitioner.
7. He has brought it to the notice of this Court, that the law is well settled in The Sub-Registrar, Srikalahasti Vs. K.Guravayya1 that once the land mortgaged through Co-operative Society or nationalised Bank, sold in open auction conducted by Co-operative Societies or Nationalized Banks for recovery of dues, the said land shall lose its status of 'assignment'.
1 W.A.No.950 of 2007 dated 30.12.2008 3
8. It is unfortunate that despite the fact that the law in this regard has been well settled that when the once the assigned land is sold away in a public auction, the natural consequence of it would be that such land would lose its status as assigned land way back in the year 2008. It appears that this is due to either lack of knowledge on the part of the authorities or on account of apathy towards the citizens, that the parties are made to run from pillar to post without relief.
9. Sri Sathish, learned counsel for the official respondents has fairly submitted that the law is well settled in this regard and neither the registration authorities could refuse to register the auctioned land nor would the revenue authorities can refuse to issue pattadar passbooks to an assigned land in favour of the auction purchaser of the assigned land.
10. With these observations, this Court deems it appropriate that the present writ petition should be allowed. The writ petition is allowed with the following directions:
(i) The 2nd respondent is directed to de-notify the land which is purchased by the writ petitioner in auction dated 28.07.2011 of an extent of Acres 4.13 cents in Survey No.163 of Chintampally Village, Chintalapudi Mandal, West Godavari District.
(ii) The 3rd respondent is also directed to issue pattadar passbook in respect of the land in extent of Acres 4.13 cents 4 in Survey No.163 of Chintampally Village, Chintalapudi Mandal, West Godavari District within a period of two (02) weeks on the application submitted by the petitioner.
(iii) Instructions shall also be given to respective Mee-Seva Centre that they shall not refuse to accept application in respect of this Scheduled land.
11. List the writ petition on 07.07.2022, for compliance.
As a sequel, miscellaneous petitions, if any, pending shall stand closed.
_______________________ G. RAMAKRISHNA PRASAD, J Dt: 04.05.2022 PGT 5 HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE G. RAMAKRISHNA PRASAD WRIT PETITION No.13743 OF 2019 Date: 04.05.2022 PGT