VEMULAPALLI CHINA KONDAYYA Vs. DISTRICT COLLECTOR WEST GODAVARI DISTRICT ELURU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Over the fast few decades, the Government has been assigning Government lands to landless poor persons, with the object of improving their economic lot. Certain Rules have been framed by the Government from time to time, governing such assignment. It is unnecessary for the present purposes to refer to them in any detail, except to mention that most often these Rules and the pattas granted thereunder contained a condition of non-alienability. While the assigned land was heritable, it was made non-transferable. The idea was to ensure that the assignees continue to derive benefits from the lands assigned to them. If the money lenders or other ryots in the village were allowed to take advantage of the helplessness and misery of these landless poor persons, it was assumed, they would take away the land, thus reducing the assignees to their original status of landless poor. But, the Government appears to have found in practice that the said condition of non-alienability has been honoured more in breach. A large extent of land assigned to the landless poor found its way into possession of better placed ryots and money-lenders, thus defeating the very object behind the assignment which was almost universaly free. When action was taken for resuming or restoring the land to the original assignees the transferees raised several legal objection, delaying and defeating those efforts. Accordingly, it appears, the Legislature of Andhra Pradesh found it advisable to make a law, prohibiting transfer of such assigned lands. In the first instance, an Ordinance called the "Andhra Pradesh Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfers) Ordinance" was issued in 1977, which was later replaced by an Act, called "Andhra Pradesh Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfers) Act" being Act, No. 9 of 1977. The statement of objects and reasons appended to the Bill discloses the reasons behind, and the objects sought to be achieved by, the enactment. It reads:

(2.) A brief reference to the provisions of the enactment would be appropriate at this stage. The expression "assigned lands" is defined by Clause (1) in Section 2 of the Act It means

(3.) The expression "landless poor person" is defined by Clause (3). It means