IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 2ND DAY OF APRIL 2019 BEFORE THE HON’BLE MR.JUSTICE S.N.SATYANARAYANA WRIT PETITION NO.18621/2012(LR) BETWEEN SRI RAMEGOWDA S/O LATE JAVAREGOWDA AGED ABOUT 59 YEARS OCC: AGRICULTURE R/AT PALAHALLI VILLAGE BELAGOLA HOBLI SRIRANGAPATNA TALUK MANDYA DISTRICT ... PETITIONER (BY SRI P.T.MURALIDHARA, ADVOCATE) AND 1. THE STATE OF KARNATAKA REPRESENTED BY ITS PRINCIPAL SECRETARY REVENUE DEPARTMENT M.S. BUILDINGS VIDHANA VEEDHI ROAD BANGALORE-560 001 2. THE ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OFFICE OF ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER FOR LAND REFORMS SRIRANGAPATNA SRIRANGAPATNA TALUK MANDYA DISTRICT 3. SMT. KATHERINIAMMA SINCE DECEASED BY HER LR (a) SRI ANTHONY RAJ S/O LATE SHANTHAPPA AGED ABOUT 45 YEARS OCC: AGRICULTURE R/AT HAROBELE VILLAGE UYYAMBALLI HOBLI KANAKAPURA TALUK BANGALORE RURAL DISTRICT ... RESPONDENTS (BY SRI B.S.BUDIHAL, HIGH COURT GOVERNMENT PLEADER FOR RESPONDENT NOs.1 AND 2, R3(a) IS SERVED BUT UNREPRESENTED) THIS WRIT PETITION IS FILED UNDER ARTICLES 226 AND 227 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA PRAYING TO CALL FOR THE ENTIRE RECORDS FROM THE SECOND RESPONDENT LAND TRIBUNAL, SRIRANGAPATNA, IN No.KLRT:56/98-99 AND QUASH THE ORDER DATED.04.11.2000 PASSED BY THE 2ND RESPONDENT IN No.KLRT:56/98-99 AND ALSO THE ORDER DATED.27.01.2012 PASSED BY THE KARNATAKA APPELLATE TRIBUNAL, BANGALORE IN APPEAL No.821/2007 VIDE ANNEXURE ‘A’.
THIS WRIT PETITION COMING ON FOR PRELIMINARY HEARING IN ‘B’ GROUP THIS DAY, THE COURT MADE THE FOLLOWING:
O R D E R The petitioner herein has been knocking the doors of this Court on more than one occasion challenging rejection of his application. In this petition, he has sought for quashing of the order dated 04.11.2000 (Annexure ‘B’ to the petition) passed by the Assistant Commissioner, Pandavapura, in proceedings No.KLRT:56:98-99 and the order dated 27.01.2012 (Annexure ‘A’ to the petition) passed by the Karnataka Appellate Tribunal, Bengaluru, in Appeal No.821 of 2007.
2. The records would indicate that the petitioner herein filed application in Form No.7A seeking occupancy rights in respect of the land measuring to an extent of 44 guntas in Sy. No.214/1 situate at Karimante village, Belagola hobli, Srirangapatna Taluk, before the Assistant Commissioner, Pandavapura. The said application was registered in proceedings No.LRT.56:98-99. The Assistant Commissioner has observed in his order dated 04.11.2000 (Annexure ‘B’ to the petition) that Sri Rajappa had filed application seeking occupancy rights with reference to the very same land in respect of which the petitioner herein had filed Form No.7A, before the Land Tribunal. The Land Tribunal by its order dated 28.11.1998 passed in proceedings No.LRT.548:76-77, had granted occupancy rights in favour of Sri Rajappa. The Assistant Commissioner has further observed that the petitioner herein had filed an application seeking to get himself impleaded as party in proceedings No.LRT.548:76-
77 and the same was rejected by the Land Tribunal by its order dated 24.10.1998. The Assistant Commissioner having regard to the fact that the occupancy rights in respect of the said land was already granted in favour of Rajappa, held that the application of the petitioner in Form No.7A could not be considered and accordingly, rejected the same by his order dated 04.11.2000 (Annexure ‘B’ to the petition) in proceedings No.LRT.56:98-99.
3. Meanwhile, the petitioner herein being aggrieved by the order of the Land Tribunal dated 24.10.1998 rejecting his application for impleading him as a party to the proceedings, preferred writ petition in W.P. No.38623/1998 before this Court. Learned single Judge of this Court considering the fact that the proceedings in LRT.548/76-77 itself had been disposed of by the Land Tribunal by order dated 28.11.1998, dismissed the said writ petition as having become infructuous by order dated 06.10.1999 (Annexure ‘K’ to the petition).
4. Subsequently, the petitioner herein filed writ petition in W.P. No.31747/2000 (LR) before this Court impugning the order dated 28.11.1998 passed by the Land Tribunal in LRT.548:76-77. He also filed one more writ petition in W.P. No.35700/2000 (LR) before this Court seeking to quash the order dated 04.11.2000 passed by respondent No.2 – Assistant Commissioner, Pandavapura, which is impugned in this petition also. Both the said writ petitions were disposed of by same learned single Judge of this Court by two separate orders of even date i.e., 31.01.2007 (Annexures ‘L’ and ‘M’ to the petition). It is seen that learned single Judge of this Court dismissed writ petition in W.P. No.35700/2001 (LR) with liberty to the petitioner therein to file the appeal. While doing so, learned single Judge has observed that the time spent in prosecuting the said writ petition could be placed as excuse for condonation of delay in filing the appeal, if any, Thereafter, learned single Judge disposed of the Writ Petition in W.P. No.31747/2000 with the following observations:
“The petitioner filed Form No.7-A within time for grant of occupancy rights. But the said application has been rejected. The petitioner has yet to file an appeal against that order. In that view of the matter, the petitioner is not entitled to question the validity of the impugned order of the Land Tribunal. If the appeal before the Karnataka Appellate Tribunal is allowed and if there is any scope for re-enquiry, in that event, the inquiring authority shall have to hear Form No.7-A filed by the petitioner with notice to the third respondent. The authority will be competent to reconsider the grant made in respect of Form No.7 in favour of R-3. As of now, since Form No.7-A is rejected, I find no ground to quash the impugned orders.”
5. It is in this background, the petitioner herein filed appeal No.821/2007 before the Karnataka Appellate Tribunal (for short, ‘the K.A.T.’), Bengaluru, challenging the order dated 04.11.2000 passed by the Assistant Commissioner, Pandavapura sub-division in proceedings No.LRT/56/1998-99. The K.A.T. after considering the contentions of the parties, framed points for consideration in the said appeal and relying upon the judgment rendered by Division Bench of this Court in the matter of Hasabayya Nagappa Naik and Others Vs. State Of Karnataka, by its Secretary, Revenue department and others reported in ILR 2002 Kar. 1342, has opined that while examining legality and propriety of order passed in respect of Form-7A, it did not have jurisdiction to consider the validity of the order passed by the Land Tribunal granting occupancy rights. Accordingly, the K.A.T., while condoning the delay in filing the appeal, declined to interfere with the order of the Competent Authority and Assistant commissioner dated 04.11.2000 and dismissed the appeal in 821/2007 by its order dated 27.01.2012 (Annexure ‘A’ to the petition). The same is sought to be challenged in this writ petition.
6. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner, learned High Court Government Pleader for respondent Nos.1 and 2. Perused the series of orders, which are passed in different proceedings with reference to rejection of the application of the petitioner in Form No.7A for grant of occupancy rights in respect of the land measuring to an extent of 01 Acre 04 guntas in Sy. No.214/1. On going through the same, it is clearly seen that the occupancy rights in respect of the said land has already been conferred in favour of Sri Rajappa, who is not a party to this proceedings. Admittedly, in the proceedings in LRT.548:76-77, which were initiated by Sri Rajappa by filing Form No.7 before the Land Tribunal, there was an attempt on the part of the petitioner herein to get himself impleaded and his application in that behalf was rejected by the Land Tribunal by order dated 24.10.1998. The petitioner challenged the said order of the Land Tribunal in writ petition in W.P. No.38623/1998, which came to be dismissed by learned single Judge of this Court by order dated 06.10.1999 as having become infructuous for the reason that during the pendency of the said writ petition, proceedings registered pursuant to Form No.7 filed by Sri Rajappa itself was disposed of by the Land Tribunal by its final order dated 28.11.1998. Thereafter, he filed writ petition in W.P. No.31747/2000 before this Court, which came to be disposed of by order of the learned single Judge dated 31.01.2007 in holding that no ground was made out by the petitioner therein to quash the order of the Land Tribunal, Srirangapatna, dated 28.11.1998. Another writ petition in W.P. No.35700/2001 filed by the petitioner herein challenging the order dated 04.11.2000 passed by Assistant Commissioner, Pandavapura sub-division, in case No.LRT/56/1998-99 also came to be dismissed with liberty to the petitioner to file appeal. Subsequently, he has filed appeal No.821/2007 before the K.A.T. The K.A.T., by the impugned order dated 27.01.2012 (Annexure ‘A’ to the petition), dismissed the said appeal declining to interfere with the order dated 04.11.2000 passed by the Assistant Commissioner, Pandavapura sub-division.
7. When the entire matter is looked into, it is clearly seen that this writ petition cannot be decided in the absence of Sri Rajappa, who has already been conferred occupancy rights in respect of the land measuring to an extent of 01 Acre 04 guntas in Sy. No.214/1 by the Land Tribunal by order dated 28.11.1998, which order was the subject matter of challenge in writ petition in W.P. No.31747/2000 (LR). Learned single Judge of this Court by his order dated 31.01.2007 (Annexure ‘L’ to the petition) has disposed of the said writ petition while declining to quash the order dated 28.11.1998 passed by the Land Tribunal, Srirangapatna, which has become final.
8. In that view of the matter, no grounds are made out by the petitioner for interfering with the impugned orders. The petitioner is not entitled for the reliefs sought in this Writ Petition.
9. Accordingly, this Writ Petition is dismissed.
10. Learned High Court Government Pleader is directed to file memo of appearance within two weeks from today.
Sd/- JUDGE sma