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5. The case of the petitioners is that the lands in question bearing S.No. 52 measuring 28-01 acres and S.No. 53 measuring 15-37 acres of Balasamudra village of Pavagada Taluk are gomal lands and they have been reserved as gomal; that there is a 'gokatte' in S.No. 52; that as per the provisions contained in the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Act'), gomal land cannot at all be granted to anyone and it has to kept for grazing of village cattle and if any person is in unauthorised occupation of the said land, he has to be summarily evicted. The further case of the petitioners is that the circular issued by the State Government is not only violative of the provisions of the Act governing the lands reserved for special purpose including gomal and is also violative of the provisions contained in Section 94 of the Act. Of course, it is also their contention that the circular is violative of Article 14 of the Constitution and that question will arise only if the circular is held to be well-within the powers of the State Government.

11. I shall now consider whether the subject covered by the circular is covered by a statute.

12. It is relevant to notice that the Act provides for reservation of lands for specific purposes including gomal and preserving the land for certain purposes and for disposal of Government land in accordance with the Rules framed by the State Government under the Act and for eviction of unauthorised occupants of Government land. Section 71 of the Act specifically provides for assigning of lands for special purposes and when assigned, shall not be otherwise used without the sanction of the Deputy Commissioner. It is under Section 71, land is reserved for gomal and for other special purposes. Section 72 of the Act confers the right of grazing on free pasturage lands to the cattle of the village or villages to which such lands belong or have been assigned.

13. As far as the lands reserved for gomal are concerned, they stand on a special footing in as much as they stand vested in the Mandal Panchayats. In this regard, it is necessary to notice that Section 46 of the Karnataka Village Panchayats and Local Boards Act, 1959 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Village Panchayats Act') conferred power on the State Government to issue a notification providing for transfer of management, maintenance of forests adjacent to the Panchayat Village and make over to the Panchayat the management to waste lands, pasture lands, or vacant lands belonging to the Government situated within the village and also for the management and cultivation of common lands including gomal lands etc. Section 49 of the Village Panchayats Act empowered the State Government to issue a Notification subject to such conditions and restrictions as it may think fit to impose, vesting open sites, vacant lands, public roads, streets, wells, river buds, tanks, and trees or any other property in the Village Panchayat. In exercise of the power under Section 46(1) and 49(1) of the Village Panchayats Act, the State Government issued a Notification bearing No. DRL 30 VAD 61 dated 27-12-1961 vesting open sites in the Goathana area common lands and other properties including gomal lands in the Village Panchayats. The relevant portion of the said Notification reads thus:

The Deputy Commissioner or any other Revenue Officer delegated with the power under Section 94 of the Act is entitled to and is duty-bound under law to initiate a proceeding for eviction of unauthorised occupants of Government land including the land reserved for gomal. Thus the use of the gomal land and management, and control and eviction of unauthorised occupants of gomal lands are covered by the Act and the Rules framed thereunder. Therefore, the State Government in the purported exercise of its executive power cannot by issuing a circular of the nature in question interfere with the exercise of power under the Act by the Authorities to evict the unauthorised occupants.