IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 25TH DAY OF OCTOBER, 2017 BEFORE THE HON’BLE MR.JUSTICE S.N.SATYANARAYANA WRIT PETITION NO. 23796 OF 2017 (LR-RES) BETWEEN:
SRI LAKSHMINARAYANA HOLLA S/O LATE VASUDEVA HOLLA AGED ABOUT 88 YEARS OCC: AGRICULTURE AND RETIRED SERVICE R/AT MOODAHADU VILLAGE EDABETTU POST UDUPI TALUK AND DISTRICT-576 001.
...PETITIONER (By Sri PRASANNA.V.R., ADVOCATE) AND:
1. THE STATE OF KARNATAKA REP.BY ITS SECRETARY DEPT.OF REVENUE M.S.BUILDING BENGALURU-560 001.
2. THE LAND TRIBUNAL REP. BY ITS CHAIRMAN UDUPI TALUK UDUPI - 576 101.
3. SMT RAMANI POOJARTHY W/O LATE BASAVA POOJARY, AGE:MAJOR.
4. SRI SHASHANKA S/O LATE BASAVA POOJARY AGE : MAJOR 5. Ms.CHITRA D/O LATE BASAVA POOJARY AGE : MAJOR 6. Ms.NETHRAVATHI D/O LATE BASAVA POOJARY AGE : MAJOR RESPONDENTS NO.3 TO 6 ARE ALL RESIDING AT SHREE SHAKTHI NILAYA PANDESHWARA VILLAGE UDUPI TALUK AND DISTRICT-576 001 7. SMT SEVERINE PAIS W/O LATE JOHNY PAIS AGE : MAJOR.
8. JETAURZ RODRIGUES W/O SILVESTOR FERNANDEZ AGE : MAJOR RESPONDENTS No.7 AND 8 ARE BOTH RESIDING AT GUNDMI VILLAGE UDUPI TALUK AND DISTRICT-576 001.
... RESPONDENTS (By Sri S.S.MAHENDRA, AGA FOR R1 & R2;
Sri PANDURANGA NAYAK, ADVOCATE FOR C/R-3) THIS WRIT PETITION IS FILED UNDER ARTICLES 226 AND 227 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA PRAYING TO QUASH THE ORDER DATED 24.03.2017 PASSED BY RESPONDENT NO.2 LAND TRIBUNAL VIDE ANNEXURE-A.
THIS PETITION COMING ON FOR PRELIMINARY HEARING, THIS DAY, THE COURT MADE THE FOLLOWING:
ORDER The petitioner herein is impugning the order dated 24.03.2017 passed in No.LRY-12-226-TRI- 2641/1979-80 on the file of Land Tribunal, Udupi. Admittedly, the aforesaid proceedings was initiated by the petitioner herein seeking occupancy rights in respect of the land bearing Sy.No.24/1B measuring 01 acre 18 cents of Pandeshwara Village, Udupi Taluk and District wherein an application in Form No.7 was filed by him on 27.06.1976 vide Annexure – ‘B’. Initially, enquiry was conducted and the said application came to be allowed by order dated 22.10.1981 granting occupancy rights in respect of the aforesaid land in favour of the petitioner, which was subject matter of writ petition before this Court in W.P.No.26980 of 1996 (KLRA) (Old W.P.No.2991 of 1987), which came to be allowed by judgment dated 03.08.2005 wherein Co-ordinate Bench of this Court set aside the order passed by the Land Tribunal dated 22.10.1981 and remanded the matter back to the Land Tribunal for re-consideration. In the remanded matter, after considering the additional evidence, the Tribunal proceeded to hold that the land in question is not a tenancy land, it is a Kushki/Punja land. It was never given for cultivation by the land owners in favour of the petitioners in as much as there being no tenancy rights created in the form of ghenichit. Therefore, question of considering the prayer of petitioner for occupancy right does not arise and accordingly, by order dated 24.03.2017 dismissed his application in Form No.7. Being aggrieved by the same, the petitioner has come up in this writ petition.
2. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner as well the learned Additional Government Advocate for Respondents No.1 and 2 and contesting Respondent No.3.
3. On going through the material available on record, it is clearly seen that the land in question is a Kushki/Punja land and admittedly, there is no document produced by the petitioner before the Land Tribunal to establish that tenancy right was created in his favour in respect of the subject land as on the cut off date 01.03.1974. Further, it is observed that there are no documents to substantiate either his possession, cultivation or enjoyment of the said land as a tenant as on the cut off date 1.03.1974, which appears to be just and proper in the present circumstances. Therefore, this Court finds that no justifiable grounds are made to interfere with the impugned order dated 24.03.2017 passed in No.LRY-12-226-TRI-2641/1979-80 by the Land Tribunal, Udupi and accordingly, the same is hereby dismissed.
Sd/- JUDGE dh