THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE A.V.SESHA SAI WRIT PETITION No.9313 of 2004 Dated 22nd January, 2014 Between:
Krishnapatnam Chandra Sekhar, S/o Radhakrishnaiah, aged about 45 years, Occ: Agriculture, R/o Chittedu Village, Kota Mandal, Nellore District.
And The Assistant Commissioner of Endowments, Nellore, Nellore District and another.
…Petitioner … Respondents THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE A.V.SESHA SAI WRIT PETITION No.9313 of 2004
O R D E R:
This writ petition, under Article 226 of the Constitution of India is filed, questioning the notice of auction dated 07.04.2004 issued by the second respondent herein.
2. Heard Sri G.Madhusudhan Reddy, learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Government Pleader for Endowments and Sri G.Venugopal Rao, learned counsel for the second respondent.
3. As per the petitioner herein, it is his case that he is a small farmer and has been the tenant of the second respondent for the past more than 18 years and that the second respondent is the owner of the land admeasuring Ac.3.44 cents situated at Chittedu Village, Kota Mandal, Nellore District. It is the further case of the petitioner herein that the respondent authorities issued notice dated 14.05.2003 in Form-I directing the petitioner to handover vacant possession of the said land within thirty days, and that on a representation made by the petitioner, the respondent authorities issued notice intimating the petitioner that the enquiry would be conducted on 28.07.2003 for determination of the status of the petitioner herein as the landless poor person as per the provisions of Section 82 of the Endowments Act 30 of 1987. As per the petitioner herein, he appeared before the respondent authorities on 28.07.2003 in response to the said notice and the respondent authorities did not conduct any enquiry on 28.07.2003 and informed that the next date of enquiry would be intimated to him and there is no enquiry till date.
As per the petitioner herein, the second respondent issued the impugned auction notice dated 07.04.2004 to the petitioner proposing to lease out the land by way of a public auction. In the present writ petition, the grievance of the petitioner herein is that his claim for status of landless poor person is pending enquiry before the authorities, as such, the second respondent cannot proceed further with the auction of the leasehold rights. It is the further case of the petitioner herein that he also made a representation on 21.04.2004 to the Assistant Commissioner of Endowments, Nellore and the Executive Officer of the second respondent/Sri Kodandarama Swamy Temple.
4. This Court, while admitting the writ petition on 23.05.2004 in WPMP.No.11950/2004, passed the following order:
“Let the auction go on and the same cannot be finalised until further orders.
However, the petitioner shall not be evicted until further orders.”
5. The respondents herein have not filed any counter affidavit denying the averments made in the affidavit filed in support of the petition. As per the petitioner herein, he made a representation before the authorities for declaring him as landless poor person and the same is pending before the Assistant Commissioner of Endowments, Nellore. In fact, the Assistant Commissioner of Endowments vide enquiry notice in Rc.No.A2/1581/2003 intimated the petitioner that the enquiry would be held on 28.07.2003 at 11.00 A.M and as per the petitioner herein no enquiry was held on the said date nor thereafter.
6. In these circumstances, this Court deems it appropriate to dispose of the present writ petition by directing the respondents herein not to evict the petitioner herein pending consideration of his claim that he is a landless poor person.
7. For the aforesaid reasons, the writ petition is disposed of directing the respondents not to evict the petitioner herein, pending consideration of enquiry initiated in pursuance of the enquiry notice in Rc.No.A2/1581/2003 issued by the Assistant Commissioner of Endowments, Nellore. As a sequel, miscellaneous petitions, if any, shall stand closed. No order as to costs.
A.V.SESHA SAI,J Date: 22-01-2014 grk THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE A.V.SESHA SAI
WRIT PETITION No.9313 of 2004
Dated 22nd January, 2014 grk