DIRECTOR OF SETTLEMENTS A P Vs. M R APPARAO

JUDGEMENT

(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 :

(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.