Andhra Pradesh High Court - Amravati

Katikala Ramesh Babu vs The State Of Andhra Pradesh on 9 February, 2023

     IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH: AMARAVATI

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE PRASHANT KUMAR MISHRA, CHIEF JUSTICE
                                   &
             HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE NINALA JAYASURYA


              WRIT PETITION (PIL) No.189 OF 2022
                        (Through physical mode)

Katikala Ramesh Babu S/o Sathaiah,
Aged about 46 years, Occ: Agriculture &
Labour, R/o H.No.1-141/4, Varagari Village,
Pedamandipadu Mandal, Guntur District,
and others.

                                                      ..Petitioners

                                 Versus

The State of Andhra Pradesh,
represented by its Principal Secretary,
Panchayat Raj & Rural Development,
State of Andhra Pradesh, Secretariat,
Velagapudi, Amaravathi, Andhra Pradesh,
and others.
                                                     ...Respondents

                                  ***

ORAL ORDER Dt:09.02.2023

(per Prashant Kumar Mishra, CJ)

1. This writ petition in the nature of public interest litigation has

been preferred seeking the following relief:

"For the reasons stated in the accompanying

affidavit, it is prayed that this Hon'ble Court may be HCJ & DVSS,J

pleased to issue an appropriate Writ, Order or Direction

more particularly one in the nature of Writ of Mandamus

declaring the inaction of the respondents in removing the

encroachments on Panchayat Road (East-West) in

between the Indiramm House sites and the Northern

compound wall of the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran

Church, abutting the Guntur-Parchuru R & B road,

situated in Ward No.1 of Varagani village, Pedanandipadu

Mandal, Guntur District-522235, Andhra Pradesh, as

illegal, arbitrary and violation of Andhra Pradesh Gram

Panchayats (Protection of Property) Rules 2011 and also

violation of the Common order/Judgment, dated 14-09-

2022 passed by this Hon'ble Court in Writ petition (PIL)

Nos.140 of 2022, 112 of 2016, 233 of 2020, 271 of 2020,

12 of 2021, 130 of 2021, 208 of 2021, 240 of 2021, 259

of 2021, 4 of 2022, 94 of 2022, 100 of 2022, 101 of

2022, 125 of 2022, 128 of 2022, 129 of 2022 & 133 of

2022; W.P.Nos.12511 of 2010, 9470 of 2010, 10778 of

2010, 25322 of 2011 & 29658 of 2011 and consequently

direct the respondent Nos.1 to 8 to take necessary

measures for removing the encroachments on Panchayat

Road (East-West) in between the Indiramm House sites HCJ & DVSS,J

and the Northern compound wall of the Andhra

Evangelical Lutheran Church, abutting the Guntur-

Parchuru R & B road, situated in Ward No.1 of Varagani

village, Pedanandipadu Mandal, Guntur District-522235,

Andhra Pradesh and pass such other order or orders as

this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper in 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

(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 HCJ & DVSS,J

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

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 HCJ & DVSS,J

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

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 HCJ & DVSS,J

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.