Andhra Pradesh High Court - Amravati
Taritla Nageswara Rao vs The State Of Andhra Pradesh, on 6 December, 2022
IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH: AMARAVATI
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE PRASHANT KUMAR MISHRA, CHIEF JUSTICE
&
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE D.V.S.S. SOMAYAJULU
WRIT PETITION (PIL) No.157 OF 2022
Taritla Nageswara Rao, S/o Verriyya,
Aged about 52 years, Hindu, Cultivation,
R/o D.No.3-72, Pallapulanka,
Addankivarilanka Gram Panchayat,
Kapileswarapuram Mandal,
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema District.
..Petitioner
Versus
The State of Andhra Pradesh,
Represented by its Principal Secretary (Panchayat),
Secretariat, Velagapudi, Guntur District, and
Others.
...Respondents
***
ORAL ORDER
Dt:06.12.2022
(per Prashant Kumar Mishra, CJ)
1. This writ petition has been preferred seeking the following relief:
"..to issue an order or a Direction or a Writ more in
the nature of Writ of Mandamus by declaring the action
of the Respondents 1 to 6 herein in not removing the
house constructed by the 7th Respondent in the
Government Elementary School at Pallapulanka,
HCJ & DVSS,J
Addankivarilanka Gram Panchayat, Kapileswarapuram
Mandal, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema District as
autocratic, arbitrary, illegal, ultravires and against to the
principles of natural justice and consequently direct the
Respondents 1 to 6 herein to restore the Government
Elementary School building for the purpose of education
to the children of Pallapulanka Village of Addankivarilanka
Gram Panchayat, Kapileswarapuram Mandal, Dr. B.R.
Ambedkar Konaseema District in the interests of justice
and pass such other order or orders as this Hon'ble Court
deems fit and proper under the circumstances of the
case."
2. The issue of encroachment of government lands/public utility
lands vested in the State, which are meant for common benefit of
individuals, was considered in detail by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in
Jagpal Singh v. State of Punjab reported in (2011) 11 SCC 396,
while dealing with a case of encroachment of village pond. In the said
judgment, the Hon'ble Supreme Court, having noted its earlier
decisions in M.I. Builders (P) Ltd. v. Radhey Shyam Sahu
reported in 1999 (6) SCC 464; Friends Colony Development
Committee v. State of Orissa reported in 2004 (8) SCC 733 and
Hinch Lal Tiwari v. Kamala Devi reported in AIR 2001 SC 3215
HCJ & DVSS,J
(followed by the Madras High Court in L. Krishnan v. State of Tamil
Nadu [2005 (4) CTC 1 Madras]), issued the following directions as
contained in paragraph 22 of the judgment, which reads thus:
"22. Before parting with this case, we give
directions to all the State Governments in the country that
they should prepare schemes for eviction of
illegal/unauthorized occupants of Gram Sabha/Gram
Panchayat/Poramboke/ Shamlat land and these must be
restored to the Gram Sabha/Gram Panchayat for the
common use of villagers of the village. For this purpose,
the Chief Secretaries of all State Governments/Union
Territories in India are directed to do the needful, taking
the help of other senior officers of the Governments. The
said scheme should provide for the speedy eviction of such
illegal occupant, after giving him a show cause notice and
a brief hearing. Long duration of such illegal occupation or
huge expenditure in making constructions thereon or
political connections must not be treated as a justification
for condoning this illegal act or for regularizing the illegal
possession. Regularization should only be permitted in
exceptional cases e.g. where lease has been granted under
some Government notification to landless labourers or
members of Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes, or where
there is already a school, dispensary or other public utility
on the land."
3. Despite the directions of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Jagpal
Singh (supra) as noted above, no steps are being taken by the
HCJ & DVSS,J
Government and its authorities in protecting the government lands. As
the public authorities are failing in their duties in protecting the
government lands, which are meant for the common use of general
public, despite bringing to their notice, public spirited persons are
approaching this Court to intervene and direct the public authorities to
protect the government lands from encroachments.
4. In identical matters i.e., W.P (PIL) No.140 of 2022 and batch,
which were filed alleging inaction of the State and its authorities in
protecting the government lands of different classifications, viz., tank
land/grama kantham/burial ground/forest land/road margin/play
ground/cart track/hill poramboke/coastal areas/grazing land etc., this
Court placing reliance on the aforesaid judgment of the Hon'ble
Supreme Court and the Andhra Pradesh Gram Panchayats (Protection
of Property) Rules, 2011, issued the following directions:
(i) The executive authority, i.e., Panchayat
Secretary, of the respective Gram Panchayats in the State
shall identify the Gram Panchayat lands, which are
unauthorizedly occupied/encroached, and take steps for
removal of such encroachments by issuing notice and
providing opportunity of hearing to the unauthorized
occupants/encroachers in terms of the procedure
HCJ & DVSS,J
prescribed in Rules of 2011. This complete exercise shall
be done within a period of six months from today.
(ii) So far as the encroachments over the lands
concerning the Municipalities/Forest Department/Revenue
Department are concerned, even if no separate Rules
have been framed prescribing the procedure to be
followed in the matter of removal of encroachments over
those lands, the officials of the concerned Departments,
i.e., the Departments of Municipal Administration, Forest
and Revenue, shall also undertake and complete
the exercise of identification of unauthorized
occupations/encroachments over the lands belonging to
their respective Departments, within a period of two
months from today, and thereafter, take steps for
removal of such encroachments by following the
principles of natural justice, i.e., issuing notice and
providing opportunity of hearing to the unauthorized
occupants/ encroachers, within a further period of four
months.
5. In view of the fact that the encroachments alleged in the
present writ petition are in the land belonging to the Government
Elementary School, following the judgment in W.P. (PIL) No.140 of
HCJ & DVSS,J
2022 and batch, we direct the officials of the concerned Department to
undertake and complete the exercise of identification of unauthorized
occupations/encroachments over the subject land and any other lands
belonging to their Department, within a period of two months from
today, and thereafter, take steps for removal of such encroachments
by following the relevant rules and the principles of natural justice,
i.e., issuing notice and providing opportunity of hearing to the
unauthorized occupants/ encroachers, within a further period of four
months.
6. With the above direction, the Writ Petition is allowed. No costs.
Pending miscellaneous applications, if any, shall stand closed.
PRASHANT KUMAR MISHRA, CJ D.V.S.S. SOMAYAJULU, J
Nn
HCJ & DVSS,J
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE PRASHANT KUMAR MISHRA, CHIEF JUSTICE
&
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE D.V.S.S. SOMAYAJULU
WRIT PETITION (PIL) No.157 OF 2022
(per Prashant Kumar Mishra, CJ)
Dt:06.12.2022
Nn
