IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 13TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2017 BEFORE THE HON’BLE MR.JUSTICE S.N.SATYANARAYANA WRIT PETITION No.3158 OF 2010 (KLR-REG) BETWEEN:
SRI. D.V. PRADEEP KUMAR S/O VENKATAPPA AGED 34 YEARS, AGRICULTURIST, R/O NO.158, PARWATAPURA ROAD, MARALUBAGILU, DEVANAHALLI TOWN, BENGALURU RURAL DISTRICT.
... PETITIONER (By Sri V.K.NARAYANA SWAMY, ADVOCATE) AND:
1. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER BENGALURU RURAL DISTRICT. BENGALURU.
2. THE ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER DODDABALLAPUR SUB-DIVISION, BENGALURU.
3. THE TAHSILDAR DEVANAHALLI TALUK, DEVANAHALLI.
4. M.MUNIRAJU FATHER NAME NOT KNOWN TO PETITIONER MAJOR, RESIDING AT MARALUBAGILU, DEVANAHALLI TOWN.
... RESPONDENTS (By Sri KIRAN KUMAR.T.L., AGA FOR R1 TO R3;
Sri LAXMINARAYANA.N.HEGDE, ADVOCATE FOR R4) THIS WRIT PETITION IS FILED UNDER ARTICLE 226 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA PRAYING TO QUASH THE IMPUGNED ORDER OF THE ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER DODDABALLAPUR SUB-DIVISION, BENGALURU IN CASE NO.RUC/A/15/2005-06, DATED 03.03.2007 VIDE ANNEXURE-G AND THE ORDERS OF THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER IN APPEAL NO. LND/RA/15/2007-08 DATED 26.09.2009 VIDE ANNEXURE-H.
THIS W.P. COMING ON FOR HEARING, THIS DAY, THE COURT MADE THE FOLLOWING:
O R D E R The petitioner herein who is the sole respondent in case No.RUC/A/15/2005-06 on the file of the second respondent – Assistant Commissioner, Doddaballapura Sub-Division, Bengaluru and appellant in appeal No.LND/RA/15/ 2007-08 on the file of the first respondent – Deputy Commissioner, Bengaluru Rural District has come up in this writ petition impugning the order passed by the Assistant Commissioner in cancelling the grant of 25 guntas of land made in his favour by the Tahsildar, Devanahalli Taluk, in Sy.No.3 of Guttahalli Village, Kasaba Hobli, Devanahalli Taluk by his order dated 04.03.2004 pursuant to the Resolution dated 16.02.2004 of Akrama- Sakrama Committee, the cancellation of which is confirmed by the Deputy Commissioner in an appeal filed by the petitioner herein is under challenge in this writ petition.
2. Admittedly, the land which is granted in favour of the petitioner on 16.02.2004 by Akrama-Sakrama Regularization Committee by its Resolution dated 18.02.2004 is in Sy.No.3 of Guttahalli Village, Kasaba Hobli, Devanahalli Taluk, which measures in all 3 acres 26 guntas and referred to as “rocky area” (bande kharab) in revenue records, which is not in dispute. The application, which is filed by the petitioner herein is in seeking regularization of his alleged un-authorized cultivation of an extent of 25 guntas in the said land. The proceedings are initiated on 16.02.2004 and Resolution is passed on 18.02.2004 by the said Committee granting 25 guntas in the aforesaid survey number to the petitioner. Pursuant to that, it is stated saguvali chit is also issued.
3. Thereafter an appeal is filed by a resident of same village bringing to the notice of the Assistant Commissioner, Doddaballapura that the land bearing Sy.No.3 of Guttahalli Village is already reserved for public purpose by order of the Deputy Commissioner dated 05.03.2004 and that the said land is referred to as “rocky out crop bande kharab” in revenue records, which is not a cultivable land and that there is already a statutory provision under Rule 108(i) of the Rules, 1979 for granting of such land in favour of any other persons, which is not looked into. It is further stated that though the land is situated within 3.5 Kilometers from the town limit of Devanahalli Taluk, the same is not looked into by the Akrama-Sakrama Committee and in the said petition, several personal allegations are also made against the petitioner in contending that he is not an agriculturist in first place and that he is a permanent resident of Banashankari, Bengaluru and is a Senior Officer in Electricity Board of the State and as such, the grant in his favour does not fall under the scheme of the Government under the category of grant to “the landless agriculturists to own agricultural land.”
4. In this background, an enquiry is initiated by the Assistant Commissioner, Doddaballapura, who on going through the material available on record, being convinced about the grounds urged in the appeal filed by the resident of the said Village, has passed an order on 03.03.2007 by allowing the said appeal. While doing so, recalling the Resolution dated 18.02.2004 where the grant of 25 guntas of land in Sy.No.3 of Guttahalli Village pursuant to Resolution of Akrama-Sakrama Regularization Committee dated 16.02.2004 is recalled and the issuance of saguvali chit subsequently is cancelled. Being aggrieved by the same, petitioner herein has preferred an appeal before the first respondent, Deputy Commissioner in LND.RA.15/2007-08. The Deputy Commissioner, on re- appreciation of the material available on record has dismissed the appeal filed by the petitioner by order dated 26.09.2009, which is under challenge in this writ petition.
5. In the present petition, the learned Government Advocate appearing for Respondents No.1 to 3 filed statement of objections along with several documents bringing to the notice of this Court, the actual extent of the land as seen in Karnataka Revision Settlement Akhaarband (Uthaaru) wherein the total extent of land in Sy.No.3 of Guttahalli Village, Kasaba Hobli, Devanahalli Taluk, Bengaluru Rural District is shown as 3 acres 26 guntas and the same is shown as “B-kharab”, which cannot be utilized for arable purpose and another document, namely, RTC for year 2017-18 is furnished wherein in column No.9 of RTC, the land bearing Sy.No.3 of Guttahalli Village is shown as reserved for public purpose vide order of the Deputy Commissioner dated 05.03.2004 and when it comes to encumbrances in RTC at column No.11, it is shown that 40 feet wide road is reserved in the said property which is reflected in the cultivators column.
6. With aforesaid records it is clearly seen that the entire 3 acres 26 guntas in Sy.No.3 is kharab bande (rocky out crop). In addition to that, he has also produced the kharda copy of Sy.No.3. All these documents would clearly indicate that the land bearing Sy.No.3 of Guttahalli Village, Kasaba Hobli, Devanahalli Taluk is not an aerable land. It is a bande kharab land, full of rocky out crop. It is also supported by Annexure – ‘F’ which is produced by the petitioner wherein he has tried to rely upon that only a portion of Sy.No.3 in Annexure – ‘F’ is subject to the order of Deputy Commissioner dated 05.03.2004 in reserving it for public purpose. At Para No.3, it would read that the land bearing Sy.No.3 measuring 3 acres 26 guntas of Guttahalli Village is kharab bande; land bearing Sy.No.4 measuring 4 acre 4 guntas is Government hillock (kharab); land bearing Sy.No.122 measuring 1 acre 33 guntas is Government burial ground; land bearing Sy.No.9 measuring 5 acre 3 guntas is sarkaari beelu (vacant land) and land bearing Sy.No.157 measuring 1 acre 30 guntas is Government kallu bande; and according to the Deputy Commissioner, all these lands are the lands fallen under ‘B-kharab’ category and as such, they are reserved for public purpose. In the very same order, in the next para, he would say, an extent of 40 feet wide road is also reserved in the land bearing Sy.No.3.
7. In the said sketch, there is a reference of grant made in favour of the petitioner. When the order of the Deputy Commissioner clearly discloses that the entire extent of 3 acres 26 guntas in Sy.No.3 is kharab bande, which is also confirmed by Karnataka Revision Settlement Aakharband (Uthaaru), this Court is unable to understand how Akrama-Sakrama Regularization Committee would consider the application of petitioner for regularization of his so-called cultivation of 25 guntas in the said land, which does not stand to reason. It is very clear that the land grant is blatantly in contravention of Rule 108(i) of Land Revenue Rules, 1966, which is not at all looked into by the Committee.
8. In any event, when the same was subject matter of appeal before the Assistant Commissioner, he has looked into the records available and on proper verification has felt that the entire process of grant in favour of the petitioner is nothing but an abuse of the process of law and as such, he has cancelled the so-called grant made in favour of the petitioner and consequently, resumed the land to the Government, which is rightly confirmed by the Deputy Commissioner, on re-appreciation of the material on record.
9. In this background, this Court is of the opinion that no grounds are made out to entertain the petition filed by the alleged grantee of 25 guntas of land in Sy.No.3 of Guttahalli Village and accordingly, this writ petition is dismissed.
Sd/- JUDGE dh