1 APHC010665252016 IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT AMARAVATI (Special Original Jurisdiction) [3206] THURSDAY ,THE TENTH DAY OF APRIL TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY FIVE PRESENT THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE R RAGHUNANDAN RAO WRIT PETITION NO: 42013/2016 Between: P.krishnama Raju, Visakhapatnam Dist ...PETITIONER AND Prl Secy Revenue Dept Guntur Dist 4 Others and Others ...RESPONDENT(S) Counsel for the Petitioner: 1. V SURYA KIRAN KUMAR Counsel for the Respondent(S): 1. GP FOR REVENUE (AP) The Court made the following Order: The petitioner claims ownership over Ac.3.30 cents of land in Sy.No.292/2 of Vellanki Village (Boddapalem), Bheemunipatnam Taluk which is presently Anandapuram Mandal, Visakhapatnam District. The petitioner is said to have purchased this land from one Boosa Yerrayya, by way of a registered deed of sale, dated 22.03.1995, registered as document No.1421 of 1995. The Tahsildar, Anandapuram sought to resume the said land on the ground that the land in question was an assigned land which could not be 2 alienated and the land would have to be resumed inasmuch as vendor of the petitioner, who was an assignee of the land had alienated the land in contravention of the terms of the assignment. 2. The Tahsildar, after notice to the petitioner had passed an order, dated 13.11.2006, in proceedings RC.No.239/2006/A directing resumption of the land under Section 4(1) of the Andhra Pradesh Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfers) Act, 1977 (hereinafter referred to as ‘Act 9 of 1997 Act). Aggrieved by the said order, the petitioner had approached the R.D.O., Visakhapatnam, by way of an appeal. This appeal came to be dismissed, on 17.09.2007, in Rc.No.4548/2007/A. Aggrieved by the said order in appeal, the petitioner had approached the Joint Collector, by way of a revision. The said revision also came to be dismissed by an order, dated 30.09.2016. Aggrieved by the aforesaid orders, the petitioner has approached this Court, by way of the present Writ Petition. 3. The petitioner contends that the vendor of the petitioner was an ex- serviceman and the land had been assigned to the vendor of the petitioner under the ex-servicemen category. The petitioner further contends that the land assigned under ex-servicemen category would contain a clause of non- alienation only for 10 years after assignment and there is no absolute clause of non-alienation which would affect the sale of the land by the vendor of the petitioner. The petitioner further contends that the vendor of the petitioner had been assigned this land by proceedings bearing D.R.No.334/88/B3, dated 3 28.06.1979 of the Tahsildar, Bheemunipatnam Taluk, whereas the land had been sold only on 22.03.1995 which is more than 10 years after assignment. 4. There is no counter affidavit filed by the respondents. In view of the fact that this is a Writ of the year 2016 and no counter has been filed, the matter is being heard on the merits and on the material available before this Court. 5. The respondents, who are also the Original Authority, the Appellate Authority and the Revisional Authority, appear to have resumed the land and affirmed such resumption, on the ground that the land had been assigned to the vendor of the petitioner, as a member of the depressed clauses and because the vendor of the petitioner was a landless poor person. The authorities do not dispute the fact that the vendor of the petitioner was an ex- serviceman. The order of resumption itself states that the vendor of the petitioner was an ex-serviceman. However, resumption was ordered on the ground that the assessment was done by way of a D-Form patta and the condition of non-alienation would be applicable. 6. The question of the nature of assignment to an ex-serviceman even if the said assignment is in the form of D-Form patta came to be considered by a Division Bench of the erstwhile High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad for the State of Telangana and the State of Andhra Pradesh in a judgment, dated 29.08.2018, in W.A.No.1029 of 2017. This order has been 4 followed by another Division Bench of this Court by a judgment, dated 17.09.2024, in W.A.No.596 of 2018. 7. The view taken by this Court, in both the judgments was that B.S.O.15, under which the assignments to landless poor are carried out stipulates that the land would be assigned only to landless poor persons under this Board Standing Order. However, an ex-serviceman would not meet such requirement inasmuch as an ex-serviceman would not be a poor person, though he could be landless. This Court had also noticed G.O.Ms.No.117, dated 11.11.1993, which specifically stated that ex-servicemen do not require any No Objection Certificate to be produced even if there was a condition of non-alienability for 10 years. 8. In view of the aforesaid findings, both the Division Benches had held that the assignment of land to ex-servicemen, though in the form of D- Form patta, would still be outside the purview of the Andhra Pradesh Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfers) Act, 1977 and that alienation of land by such ex-servicemen after 10 years of assignment is permissible and cannot be a ground for resumption. 9. In that view of the matter, this Writ Petition is allowed setting aside the original order of Resumption, dated 13.11.2006, the Appellate Order, dated 17.09.2007 and the Revisional Order, dated 30.09.2016. There shall be no order as to costs. 5 As a sequel, miscellaneous petitions, pending if any, shall stand closed. _____________________________ JUSTICE R.RAGHUNANDAN RAO RJS 6 HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE R. RAGHUNANDAN RAO WRIT PETITION NO: 42013/2016 Dt: 10.04.2025 RJS