1 NV,J W.P.No.1793 of 2020 THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE VENKATESWARLU NIMMAGADDA WRIT PETITION NO. 1793 OF 2020 ORDER: 1. This writ petition is filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India to declare the action of the respondents in taking steps to assign house site pattas to landless poor on public road existing in Sy.Nos.268 and 269 of Kaspa Pentapadu Village, Pentapadu Mandal, West Godavari District, as illegal, arbitrary and consequently direct the respondents not to assign house site pattas on the said public road. 2. The case of the petitioners, in brief, is that, the petitioners owned and possessed agricultural lands of various extents in Kaspa Pentapadu, of Pentapadu Mandal, West Godavari District. The respondents are proposing to divide public road as house plots, the subject land is land adjacent to the petitioners' property, which is a public road sought to be converted, to provide house sites for eligible beneficiaries. The earlier State dispensation took a policy decision to distribute house sites under the flagship programme of "Navaratnalu- Pedalandariki Illu". In pursuance of the same, some officials from the office of respondents came to the land in Sy.Nos.268 and 269, which is earmarked for specific community purpose, along with police people, inspected the same for distribution of the said land to the houseless poor in the village. Then the petitioners brought to the notice of the officials that the 2 NV,J W.P.No.1793 of 2020 land was earmarked for community purpose as public rasta (bandidari). Later, the petitioners submitted a detailed representation to respondents brining to their notice that the land is meant for communal purpose. No reply was given and no action was initiated on the representation of the petitioners. Hence the writ petition. 3. Respondent No.6 – the Panchayat Secretary of Kaspa Pentapadu – filed a counter affidavit stating that the responsibility for preparing and issuing house site pattas lies with Respondent No.5, who has the appropriate jurisdiction. Respondent No.6 does not have the authority to issue house site pattas for the land in question, which is an alleged road. Therefore, Respondent No.6 is not empowered to take any steps toward issuing house site pattas on the road situated in the village. 4. Sri Y. Koteswara Rao, learned Standing Counsel appearing for Kaspa Pentapadu Gram Panchayat submits that no layout is formed and no house sites are distributed in Sy.Nos.268 and 269. 5. During hearing, Sri M.V. Subba Reddy, learned counsel for the petitioners contended that, land in Sy.Nos.268 and 269 of Kaspa Pentapadu Village, Pentapadu Mandal, West Godavari District is earmarked for public purpose/community purpose and it cannot be utilized for any other purpose rather than, for which it had been originally classified. He submits that, the subject land was classified as Cart Track (Bandi Dari) Government 3 NV,J W.P.No.1793 of 2020 Poramboke. Once the subject land was classified as cart track/government poramboke, the same cannot be converted for any other purpose rather than for which it is originally meant for. If the subject land was converted into house plots, the petitioners and other villagers who are having access to their lands through the cart track and who are having ingress and egress through this Cart track to reach their lands will be put to irreparable loss, they lose their „right to way‟, thereby they would be deprived of their livelihood. But, now the respondents are proposing to convert the same into house site contrary to the purpose for which it is meant, which is illegal and arbitrary and requested to issue a direction as stated above. 6. At this stage, Learned Government Pleader for Revenue furnished written instructions received from the Tahsildar, Pentapadu vide Roc.92/2020 dated 26.08.2025, wherein it is stated, the earlier dispensation has launched a Flagship Programmme “Navaratnalu Pedalandariki Illu” to distribute House Site Pattas to all eligible house less poor and identified “Cart Track Government Poramboke” for an extent of Ac.0-60 cents out of total extent of Ac.1-19 cents in Sy.Nos.268 and 269 of Kaspa Pentapadu Village, for distribution of house site pattas to eligible persons. The petitioners are having lands on either side of the subject “Cart Track Government Poramboke measuring an extent of Ac.1-19 cents in R.S.Nos.268 and 269 of Kaspa Pentapadu Village of Pentapadu Mandal of West Godavari District and hence, against the proposal of distribution of house sites in the subject cart track, the 4 NV,J W.P.No.1793 of 2020 petitioners have filed the present writ petition wrongly alleging that the subject land is a Public Road. At present, the subject land is covered by court litigation, an alternative site has been identified for distribution of house sites and the same has been acquired under Voluntary Land Acquisition and House site pattas had also been distributed in those alternative sites to the villagers of subject village and therefore, at present there is no need of the subject land covered in the present writ petition to the department, and if at all the department is in need of the land covered by the present writ petition in future, necessary procedure will be followed as per law, for distribution of house sites in respect of subject land. 7. Heard learned counsel for the petitioners, learned Government Pleader for Revenue, learned Standing Counsel for Gram Panchayat and perused the material available on record. 8. When once the land is reserved for public purpose (called as Bandidari), it cannot be converted into house sites and assign the same to the public under any scheme in view of the law laid down by the Apex Court in "Jagpal Singh and others vs. State of Punjab and others1", wherein the Apex Court held as follows: “Para 3: The protection of common rights of the villagers were so zealously protected that some legislation expressly mentioned that even the vesting of the property with the State did not mean 1 AIR 2011 SUPREME COURT 1123 5 NV,J W.P.No.1793 of 2020 that the common rights of villagers were lost by such vesting. Thus, in Chigurupati Venkata Subbayya v. Paleduga Anjayya (1972) 1 SCC 521) SCC Page 529 the Court observed in Para 23 as follows: "23. It is true that the suit lands in view of Section 3 of the Estates Abolition Act did vest in the Government. That by itself does not mean that the rights of the community over it were taken away. Our attention has not been invited to any provision of law under which the rights of community over those lands can be said to have been taken away. The rights of the community over the suit lands were not created by the principal or any other landholder. Hence those rights cannot be said to have been abrogated by Section 3(c) of the Estates Abolition Act." 9. In view of the principle laid down in the above judgment, communal land, though available, cannot be alienated to any third party defeating the common rights of the villagers. 10. In view of my foregoing discussion, proposed conversion of land, which is earmarked for communal purpose, for granting house site pattas is illegal and contrary to the provisions of the Act and the Rules framed thereunder. Therefore, the writ petition deserves to be allowed. 11. In the result, writ petition is allowed with the following directions: a. the action of the respondents in taking steps to assign house site pattas in respect of cart track existing Sy.Nos.268 and 269 of 6 NV,J W.P.No.1793 of 2020 Kaspa Pentapadu Village, Pentapadu Mandal, West Godavari District, for purpose of house sites under “Navaratnalu- Pedalandariki Illu” Scheme as illegal or arbitrary. b. The respondents are directed not to proceed to grant house site pattas in cart track existing in Sy.Nos.268 and 269 of Kaspa Pentapadu Village, Pentapadu Mandal, West Godavari District, for purpose of house sites under “Navaratnalu- Pedalandariki Illu” Scheme. 12. Consequently, Miscellaneous Petitions, if any, pending in this Writ Petition shall stand closed. _____________________________________ VENKATESWARLU NIMMAGADDA,J Date: 28.08.2025 SP 7 NV,J W.P.No.1793 of 2020 THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE VENKATESWARLU NIMMAGADDA WRIT PETITION NO: 1793 OF 2020 28.08.2025 W SP