Pattanaik, J. - (1.) This appeal by the State of Andhra Pradesh is directed against the impugned Judgment of the Division Bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court dated 4-11-93 in Writ Appeal No. 511 of 1993. The Division Bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court has come to the conclusion that the rights accrued in favour of the respondents to receive interim payments under Section 39 of the Andhra Pradesh Estates (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari) Act, 1948, which has already become final, the earlier Judgments of the High Court, not being assailed, the decision of the Supreme Court in the Venkatagiri's case, would not take away that right and, therefore, the respondents would be entitled to receive interim payments in accordance with the judgments in their favour.
(2.) A brief facts are that the two estates called Vuyyur and Meduru, were notified under the provisions of the Estates Abolition Act, 1948 and the State Government took over the two estates. The compensation due for the estates was notified on 20-6-1961. The State Government realising its mistake in notifying the two estates together, issued two separate notifications under the Estates Abolition Act, on 1-10-1963 and compensation for the two estates were determined separately, one on 21-11-64 for Meduru and another on 5-4-1966 for Vuyyur. The State Government issued an administrative instruction in G. O. Ms. No. 645 dated 28-5-66, indicating the procedure for determining the final compensation. Section 39 of the Act indicates the manner in which the compensation is to be determined. The scheme of the aforesaid provision is that the Director shall determine the compensation under sub-section (1) of Section 39 and a person aggrieved could put-forth his grievances to the Director, in the matter of proposed determination of the basic annual sum and also the total compensation payable. The Director is required to determine the compensation payable under sub-section (1) of Section 39, after giving the applicant an opportunity of making his representation, either in writing or orally. The order passed under sub-section (1) of Section 39 on being communicated to the concerned landholder as well as to any other applicant, the person aggrieved within three months could approach the Board of Revenue by filing an appeal, as provided under sub-section (5) of Section 39. Sub-section (6) of Section 39 confers suo motu powers on the Board, who in its discretion at any time call for and examine the record of any order passed by the Director. The Board of Revenue is thus entitled to modify or cancel the order passed by the Director under sub-section (1). Sub-section (2) of Section 50, casts an obligation on the Government to make interim payments every fasli year to the principal landholder and to other persons referred to in Section 44, sub-section (1) for the period, after the notification issued for vesting the estate and before the compensation is determined under Section 39 and deposited under Section 41. On 6-11-1970, Ordinance 6 of 1970 was promulgated to restrict the interim payments payable to the estate-holder till the determination by the Director of Settlement. The aforesaid Ordinance was replaced by Act 3 of 1971 on 16-1-1971, amending Sections 41, 44, 50 and 54 of the Estates Abolition Act, with retrospective effect. It may be stated that Section 41, prior to its amendment by Act 3/1971 read thus : "41(1). The Government shall deposit in the office of the Tribunal, the compensation in respect of each estate as finally determined under Section 39, in such form and manner, and at such time or times and in one or more instalments, as may be prescribed by rules made under Section 40." Under the amended provision, the expression "as finally determined under Section 39" was substituted by the expression "determined by the Director under Section 39". A writ petition was filed in the Andhra Pradesh High Court by Raja of Venkatagiri, questioning the validity of the ordinance as well as the amendment Act and by Judgment dated 22-9-1971, the High Court declared that Act 3/1971 to the extent it extinguished the vested right of the estate holders to receive interim compensation till the date of commencement of the Act was ultra vires of Article 31(2) and not protected by Article 31-A or 31-B. It further held that interim payments were payable up to the date of the ordinance but not thereafter. Thus the amended Act was held to be valid prospectively. The present respondents along with several others filed writ petitions before the Andhra Pradesh High Court, seeking interim payments, which were registered as Writ Petition Nos. 3293 and 3294 of 1975. A learned Single Judge of the High Court disposed of the two writ petitions by judgment dated 17-6-1977 and following the earlier judgment in Venkatagiri's case, issued a writ of mandamus to make interim payments to the respondents herein in accordance with law laid down in Venkatagiri's case. Against this direction of the learned Single Judge, the State Government filed an application for leave to appeal under Article 133(a) and (b) of the Constitution, but the same on being dismissed, the State Government did not approach the Supreme Court and allowed the matter to rest therein. Notwithstanding the finality attached to the order of the learned single Judge in favour of the respondents, the same not being complied with, a fresh writ petition was filed, which was registered as Writ Petition No. 730 of 1978, praying therein that the earlier order be commanded to be implemented by a writ of mandamus. That application was disposed of on 28-3-1978 and the Court issued the direction to implement the earlier order dated 7-6-1977 within one month from the date of the order. The Judgment of the Andhra Pradesh High Court in Venkatagiri's case had been assailed in the Supreme Court in Civil Appeal Nos. 398 and 1385 of 1972. Those two appeals were disposed of by order dated 6-2-1986. In this Court the counsel appearing for the respondents, who were the original writ petitioners before the High Court consented to the Judgments and orders of the High Court under appeal being set aside, leaving it open to the landholders and others to get the compensation and interim payments in accordance with the amended provisions of the Andhra Pradesh (Andhra Area) Estates (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari) Act, 1948. The Court also itself expressed its opinion and held that the amendments made to the Act are constitutionally valid and the view expressed in the writ petition No. 496 of 1965 is erroneous. The Court, therefore, set aside the judgments and orders passed by the Andhra Pradesh High Court, leaving the question of computation of interim payments payable to the respondents therein open, to be decided by the authorities concerned in accordance with law and the orders passed by the Director. The Court hastened to add that the interim payments payable under the Act ends with the date of the original determination made by the Director under Section 39(1) thereof before the filing of the appeal, if any, and of the deposit of the amount so determined. On 3-7-1986, the State of Andhra Pradesh in the Department of Revenue (J) issued a memorandum, Memo No. 609/J-2/81-27, stating therein that the land-holders of Vuyyur and Meduru estates cannot contend that the decision of the Supreme Court in Venkatagiri's case, does not bind them merely because appeals were not filed against the judgment in their favour and the law declared by the Supreme Court is binding on the landholders whether they were parties to the judgment or not. The authorities concerned were directed to act in accordance with the judgment of the Supreme Court in Venkatagiri's case. The respondents herein filed a writ petition, which was registered as Writ Petition No. 16737 of 1990, claiming interim payments from 1-7-64 to 31-11-1970 and to implement the earlier order in their favour passed by the High Court. The learned single Judge by Judgment dated 30th of January, 1993, dismissed the writ petition on the ground that the very basis namely the judgment in Venkatagiri's case, having been set aside by the Supreme Court, the earlier decision in favour of the respondents would not constitute an enforceable right and as such a writ of mandamus cannot be issued. The respondents however assailed the aforesaid judgment of the learned Single Judge in writ appeal No. 511 of 1993 and the said writ appeal having been allowed, the present appeal has been preferred by the State Government by grant of special leave.
(3.) When this appeal had been listed before a Bench of two learned Judges of this Court on 7-2-2002, the Court felt that the decision of this Court in the case of M/s. Shenoy and Co. and Ors. vs. Commercial Tax Officer, Circle II, Bangalore and Ors., on which the counsel for the State relied upon and the decision of this Court in the case of Authorised Officer (Land Reforms) vs. M. M. Krishnamurthy Chetty, (1998) 9 SCC 138, on which Mr. Rao for the respondents relied upon, perhaps run counter to each other and as such to resolve the said conflict, the appeal should be decided by a Bench of three learned Judges, and that is how the appeal has been placed before us.;