BONAGIRI VEERABHADRA RAO Vs. BOARD OF REVENUE ANDHRA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These two appeals arise out of a common judgment of our learned brother, Mr. Justice Basi Reddy, in two connected writ petitions. The lands covered by the writ petitions, which are of a total extent of Ac. 42-78 cents, are situated in the village of Komaragiri in the erstwhile Pithapuram estate.

(2.) The Assistant Settlement Officer, Kakinada, suo motu initiated proceedings under section 11 (a) of the Andhra Pradesh (Andhra Area) Estates (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari) Act XXVI of 1948 (hereinafter referred to as the Abolition Act). Before that Officer, the 6th respondent, one Devarakonda Subbamma, objected to the grant of a ryotwari patta in favour of the appellants. There the appellants, filed a statement contending inter alia that the lands in dispute were part of a tank which was abandoned and that by reason of an assignment made by the landholder, they had acquired occupancy rights and that they were, therefore, entitled to a ryotwari patta. The Assistant Settlement Officer held that the lands in question were tank-bed lands, but that they had been assigned by the landholder long prior to the year 1908. He directed the grant of a ryotwari patta to the appellants subject to the condition that they would raise only dry crops during the second crop season and do not in any way obstruct the supply of water to the lands under the ayacut of the tank. Against the order of the Assistant Settlement Officer, the appellants as well as the Government filed revisions before the Settlement Officer, Masulipatam, the former contending that the condition should be deleted and the Government objecting to the grant of even the conditional patta. The Settlement Officer, Masulipatam, found that the lands in dispute formed the bed of a tank, known as "Raju Cheruvu." He held that no ryotwari patta could be granted to the appellants. The Director of Settlements confirmed the order of the Settlement Officer. On a further revision being filed by the appellants, the Board of Revenue set aside the orders of the Subordinate Tribunals and remanded the matter to the Settlement Officer with a direction that he should record a finding whether the lands in question were ryoti or non-ryoti prior to their assignment by the landholder in the year 1902. After remand, the Settlement Officer held an enquiry and on a consideration of the evidence, both oral and documentary, found that the disputed lands are tank-bed lands within the meaning of section 3(16) (a) of the Estates Land Act and that the appellants are not entitled to a ryotwari patta under section 11 (a) of the Abolition Act. The Director of Settlements agreed with the finding reached by the Settlement Officer. The Board of Revenue confirmed the finding recorded by the Director of Settlements. The appellants then invoked the jurisdiction of this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution to quash the orders of the Board of Revenue and the Subordinate Tribunals. By his judgment, dated the 19th of April, 1963, Mr. Justice Basi Reddy dismissed the writ petitions. Aggrieved by the judgment of the learned Judge, the appellants have preferred these appeals.

(3.) The arguments before us have ranged over a wide ground, but the ultimate issue in controversy between the parties lies within a narrow compass. It is contended by Mr. D. Suryaprakasa Rao, learned Counsel for the appellants that the lands in dispute did not form part of a tank-bed till the year 1942, that the tank itself came into existence at or about that time, the landholder having raised bunds on the three sides of what is now known as the " Raju Cheruvu " and that the tribunals which dealt with, the matter overlooked important pieces of evidence. The learned Counsel for the appellants and the respondents have given us what, according to them, is the real purport of the documents. The Subordinate Tribunals have considered the nature of these documents and they have reached, and in our opinion rightly, the conclusion that the land in dispute were part of the bed of the tank even before the enactment of the Madras Estates Land Act.