Telangana High Court
Mrs. Padmachar vs State Of Telangana on 19 December, 2024
THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE C. V. BHASKAR REDDY
WRIT PETITION No.32154 OF 2024
ORDER:
This Writ Petition, under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, is filed by the petitioners seeking the following relief:
"....to issue an appropriate order, writ or direction more particularly one in the nature of writ of Mandamus a) declaring the proceedings issued by respondent Nos.1 to 4 under the ULC Act viz. under Section 8(4) of the Act dated 13/09/2006 under Section 10(1) of the Act, under Section 10 (3) and 10(5) and under Section 10(6) of the Act in respect of the land bearing survey No.57 admeasuring Ac.1.20 guntas situated in Guttalabegumpet village, Serilingampally Mandal, Ranga Reddy district, as illegal, arbitrary, without jurisdiction, being on a dead person and without notice or opportunity and without following due process of law under the Act 33 of 1976 and consequently set aside the same holding that the land bearing survey No.57 admeasuring Ac.1.00 guntas situated in Guttalabegumpet village, Serilingampally Mandal, Ranga Reddy district is not covered under the provisions of the ULC Act and b) Direct the respondents, including the District Registrar, Ranga Reddy district and the Tahsildar, Serilingampally mandal, to delete the petitioners' land bearing survey No.57 admeasuring Ac.1.00 gts situated in Guttalabegumpet village, Serilingampally Mandal, Ranga Reddy district from the prohibitory list in the records maintained by the Department under the Registration Act, 1908 and under the RoR Act, as it is not a surplus land as per the provisions of the ULC Act, and consequently direct the respondents to entertain the documents submitted by the petitioners for registration in accordance with law in the interest of justice and pass such other order......."
2. It is the case of the petitioners that petitioner No.1 is the owner and possessor of the land admeasuring Ac.1.00 guntas in Sy.No.57 situated at Guttalabegumpet Village, Serilingampally Mandal, Ranga Reddy District. It is further stated that the said land was classified 2 CVBR, J W.P.No.32154 of 2024 as patta land in the name of Lt.Col. C.E.Cox, S/o William Cox. It is further stated that the said land was sold to one A.Nagaiah, who was the tenant, under an unregistered sale deed dated 09.03.1963 and the same was validated under the provisions of Section 50B of the Hyderabad Tenancy and Agriculture Land Act, 1950 vide proceedings in File No.A4/6012/1966, dated 09.08.1967. It is also stated that after the Urban Land Ceiling Act (for short, 'the Act') came into force, the said A.Nagaiah obtained a certificate from the competent authority to the effect that the scheduled agricultural land is not covered under Urban Land Ceiling Limits and the same is being used for agricultural purpose and the same is not attracted vide Section 2(o) of the Act 33 of 1976 vide ULC File No.D Dis. No.E2/91/80, dated 02.04.1980. Thereafter, the husband of the petitioner No.1 purchased the said land under a registered sale deed No.1189 of 1980, dated 24.04.1980 and mutated his name in the revenue records after following the due procedure under the ROR Act vide proceedings No.B/342/1989 of the MRO Serilingampally, dated 07.04.1989.
3. It is further case of the petitioners that after purchasing the said land, they constructed a small room for watchman and obtained electricity service connection No.100417601. It is also stated that after the death of original pattadar Lt.Col. C.E.Cox, the ULC 3 CVBR, J W.P.No.32154 of 2024 authorities suo motu initiated proceedings vide File No.F1/2577/2006, dated 13.09.2006 and computed the lands forming part of various survey numbers including the subject land in Sy.No.57. It is stated that before suo motu initiating the proceedings, the petitioners and their predecessors in interest purchased the property through registered sale deeds. The case of the petitioners is that the ULC authorities without issuing any notice to the persons whose interests are affected, suo motu initiated proceedings against the dead person vide File No.F1/2577/2006, dated 13.09.2006. It is further stated that questioning the said notification, W.P.No.25388 of 2012 came to be filed on the file of this Court and this Court vide order dated 16.12.2015 has set aside the said proceedings.
4. Sri E.Madhan Mohan Rao, learned Senior Counsel appearing for the petitioners, submits that the ULC authority is not having any power or authority to suo motu reopen the file under ULC Act and more particularly without issuing any notice to the interested persons. It is also stated by the learned Senior Counsel that computing the land in the name of the original pattadar and more particularly against the dead person is void and illegal and the same is not in accordance with the ULC Act. It is also submitted that even as on the date of issuance of Notification under Section 10(6) of the Act, the petitioners are in possession of the subject land by virtue of 4 CVBR, J W.P.No.32154 of 2024 purchasing the said land under registered sale deed dated 24.04.1980 and the said property was assessed in the name of the petitioners for paying property tax.
5. Learned Senior Counsel further submits that any proceedings issued against the dead person is invalid and non est and void ab initio. Therefore, as the proceedings initiated vide File No.F1/2577/2006, dated 13.09.2006 have already been set aside, which also includes the land claimed by the petitioners, the present writ petition be allowed in terms of the order passed by this Court on 16.12.2015.
6. Learned Government Pleader for Assignment appearing for the official respondents has not disputed that the proceedings issued suo motu vide File No.F1/2577/2006, dated 13.09.2006 is the subject matter of the Writ Petition No.25388 of 2012 and this Court has allowed the same by setting aside the said proceedings.
7. Following the law laid down by this Court in W.P.No.25388 of 2012, this Writ Petition is allowed and the impugned notification to the extent of petitioner's land in Sy.No.57 admeasuring Ac.1.00 guntas is set aside and the respondents are directed to delete the said property from the list of prohibited properties, if there is no appeal filed by the State and there is no stay orders operating on the very subject matter of the property, within a period of twelve (12) 5 CVBR, J W.P.No.32154 of 2024 weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. There shall be no order as to costs.
Miscellaneous petitions, if any, pending shall stand closed.
___________________________ C.V. BHASKAR REDDY, J Date: 19.12.2024 ssp