Madras High Court
The District Collector Of Krishnagiri vs K.B.Hadi Basha on 4 November, 2025
Author: S.M.Subramaniam
Bench: S.M.Subramaniam, Mohammed Shaffiq
2025:MHC:2564
W.A. No.2665 of 2022
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
DATED : 04.11.2025
CORAM
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE S.M.SUBRAMANIAM
AND
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MOHAMMED SHAFFIQ
W.A. No.2665 of 2022
and C.M.P. No.21471 of 2022
1.The District Collector of Krishnagiri,
Collectorate, Krishnagiri.
2.The District Revenue Officer,
Krishnagiri.
3.The Revenue Divisional Officer,
Hosur.
4.The Tahsildar,
Denkanikottai,
Denkanikottai Taluk,
Krishnagiri District. ... Appellants
Vs.
K.B.Hadi Basha ... Respondent
Writ Appeal filed under Clause 15 of Letters Patent against the order
dated 23.12.2021 in W.P. No.7070 of 2020.
For Appellants : Mr.T.Arun Kumar,
Additional Government Pleader
For Respondent : Mr.A.K.Sriram,
Senior Counsel
for Mr.N.Vijay Baskar
for M/s.Law Vision
Page 1 of 12
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W.A. No.2665 of 2022
JUDGMENT
(Judgment of the Court was delivered by S.M.SUBRAMANIAM, J.)
Under assail is writ order dated 23.12.2021 passed in W.P.No.7070 of
2020.
2. District Collector, Krishnagiri, along with other Revenue authorities,
preferred the present intra-court appeal challenging writ order allowing the
claim of the respondent/writ petitioner for grant of patta in respect of land in
Survey Nos.105/3 and 106/1 of Kundhumaranapalli Village, Denkanikottai
Taluk, Krishnagiri District.
3. Learned Additional Government Pleader appearing on behalf of
the appellants would mainly contend that subject land originally classified as
'Depressed Class Land' and to be assigned in favour of Depressed Class
community people for their livelihood. It was a conditional assignment made in
terms of Revenue Standing Orders. Assignees are not entitled to sell
Depressed Class lands before expiry of the period mentioned in the
assignment conditions and even after expiry of the period of twenty years,
these properties can be alienated only in favour of Depressed Class
Community person, who are eligible to get assignment of Government lands
under the Revenue Standing Orders.
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4. In the present case, certain sale deeds were produced by the
respondent. Such sale deeds per se would not confer any title/ownership
invalidating assignment of Depressed Class lands in favour of Adi Dravida
people. De-reservation relied on by the respondent does not change the
position. Assignment conditions remained unchanged. In adangal records, it is
registered that land is maintained as Adi Dravida Condition land. That being
the entry in revenue records, District Collector, after adjudication arrived a
conclusion that any sale deed registered in favour of a person, who belongs to
any other community other than Adi Dravida Community, is null and void, and
passed orders holding that subsequent sale deeds registered in favour of the
other community persons, are null and void in view of the conditions stipulated
in the assignment order granted to the Adi Dravida Community people.
5. Writ Court has gone into certain pleadings erroneously made by
the Tahsildar in W.P.No.7070 of 2022, which is not in consonance with the
facts and the revenue records made available. Tahsildar has provided certain
mistaken information, which are all not in accordance with the revenue
records available. Thus, the writ order impugned is to be set aside.
6. Learned Senior Counsel Mr.A.K.Sriram, appearing on behalf of
the respondent, would oppose by stating that the appellants at no point of
time, disputed the title of the respondent. It is all about grant of patta based on
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the sale deeds and, therefore, question of adjudication of these issues may
not arise at all. Once the sale deeds are produced before the revenue
authorities, it would show that the respondent is the owner. Originally, subject
lands were classified as 'Depressed Class Lands' as per the Tamil Nadu
Government Gazette of the year 1926. A revised classification was made in
the year 1934 de-reserving subject lands. Therefore, there is no prohibition to
alienate subject lands in favour of other community persons. Thus sale deeds
subsequently executed are to be construed as valid for the purpose of
deciding title/ownership of the persons.
7. Writ Court allowed the writ petition. Even, discrepancies are found in
the revenue records. After de-reservation of Depressed Class lands in the
year 1934, entries made in the adangal book are found to be erroneous and
after de-reservation, subject lands cannot be continued as Depressed Class
lands.
8. This Court has considered the rival submissions made between
the parties to the lis. The issues to be considered by this Court are, whether
writ Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India can adjudicate
disputed facts, touching upon the civil rights and whether under the scheme of
the Tamil Nadu Patta Pass Book Act, 1983 (hereinafter the Act), a direction
can be issued by the writ Court to grant patta, when dispute relating to
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ownership/title exists.
9. Let us consider the scheme of the Act and the Rules framed
thereunder. It is not in dispute that application submitted seeking patta,
cancellation of patta or mutation of revenue records, are to be considered
under the provisions of the Act and the Rules. Section 3(1) of the Act
enumerates that the Tahsildar shall issue a patta pass book to every owner in
respect of land owned by him, on an application made by him in this behalf.
10. Section 6 of the Act provides entries in the patta pass book be prima
facie evidence of title. Accordingly, all entires in the patta pass book issued by
the Tahsildar under Section 3 shall be prima facie evidence of title of the
person in whose name the patta pass book has been issued to the parcels of
land entered in the patta pass book free of any prior encumbrance, unless
otherwise specified therein.
11. Pertinently, Section 14 of the Act provides bar of suits. Proviso
clause to Section 14 reiterates that 'if any person is aggrieved as to any right
which he is in possession, by an entry made in the patta pass book under this
Act, he may institute a suit against any person denying or interested to deny
his title to such right, for declaration of his rights under Chapter VI of the
Specific Relief Act, 1963 (Central Act 47 of 1963) and the entry in the patta
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pass book shall be amended in accordance with any such declaration'.
Therefore, exemption has been contemplated under the proviso clause.
Section 14 provides bar on suits. No suit shall lie against the Government or
any officer of the Government in respect of the claim to have an entry made in
patta pass book that is maintained under this Act or to have any such entry
omitted or amended. However, if any person is aggrieved, as to any right,
which he is in possession, shall institute a suit to establish his right, in the
manner known to law.
12. Section 15 of the Act states that certified copies of records to be
annexed to plaint or application. The Tamil Nadu Patta Pass Book Rules, 1987
was notified in G.O.Ms.No.1083 Revenue dated 10.07.1987. Rule 4 provides
procedure on receipt of application or information. Sub-rule (2) of Rule 4 reads
as follows:
'4.Procedure on receipt of application or
information.-
(1) .....
(2) On the basis of the information furnished in the
application and as available in the existing land records or
obtained otherwise, the Tahsildar shall cause to be served or
despatched, under certificate of posting, to the persons having
interest on the land a notice in Form-IV calling upon them to
make representation either orally or in writing at a specified
place on a specified date which shall be not less than fifteen
days and forty days later than the date of receipt of the
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application or information.'
13. Therefore, in the event of any dispute touching upon rights of the
parties, seeking patta under the Act then, the revenue authorities are bound to
relegate them to approach Civil Court to resolve the disputes and to establish
their rights. Thus, it is made clear that revenue authorities are not empowered
to adjudicate the rights, title or ownership of a person relating to properties.
They can adjudicate the issues to a limited extent of ascertaining right of a
person, for the purpose of grant of patta, but they cannot determine the civil
right between the parties.
14. The scheme of the Act is unambiguous that a person submitting
an application seeking patta, necessarily has to produce supporting document
to establish his title/ownership. Tahsildar, on receipt of application, has to
conduct an enquiry by following procedure as contemplated under the Rules
and determine whether the applicant is eligible for grant of patta. In the event
of any dispute exists in a pending suit or the title/ownership is not clear then
the revenue authorities have to relegate the applicant to approach the Civil
Court for adjudication of rights.
15. In the present case, the District Collector elaborately conducted
an enquiry and made finding based on revenue records that subject land
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belongs to Government. It was originally classified as 'Depressed Class Land'.
16. Learned senior counsel for respondent would submit that the
classification of the year 1926 was revised in the year 1934 and notification
de-reserving Depressed Class land was issued. Even after de- reservation,
the land vests with the Government. Therefore, it is to be established how the
subsequent alienations are made in favour of several persons and the nature
of documents executed in order to determine the title/ownership of a person.
Such an adjudication cannot be undertaken by the writ Court in exercise of the
powers of judicial review under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.
17. Trial nature proceedings are to be conducted by summoning all
the original revenue records and by examining the parties and also evidences.
Merely based on certain copies of documents or sale deeds, High Court
cannot issue a direction to grant patta since Section 6 of the Act contemplates
that the patta issued under the Act to be prima facie evidence of title. In the
event of issuance of any direction to grant patta during the existence of
disputes touching upon civil rights, it will result in miscarriage of justice. Any
direction to issue patta will have direct implication relating to title/ownership. A
person producing some sale deeds before the writ Court and claiming to be a
owner, believing the said sale deeds, if a direction is issued to grant patta then
his title became complete and, therefore, such a procedure would cause
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prejudice to any one of the parties who may also claim over such properties.
This is exactly the reason why it has been reiterated by Courts time and again
that any disputed facts of civil nature cannot be adjudicated by writ Court
based on certain documents produced in the writ proceedings relating to sale
deed, settlement deed etc.,
18. When the scheme of the Act contemplates institution of the suit
for resolving the title dispute, more specifically, proviso clause to Section 14
then the said remedy is to be exhausted by any person aggrieved. Practice of
filing writ petition merely based on application submitted under the Act cannot
be entertained and alternate remedy contemplated under the Act, which are
all efficacious for the purpose of settling the dispute and to determine the
ownership are to be exhausted. Thus, this Court is of the considered view that
mere submission of application or production of sale deeds or certain
documents, writ Court does not confer any right to claim any patta nor writ
Court can issue any direction to issue patta merely based on said documents
which requires adjudication in a trial nature which is to be undertaken by the
competent Civil Court of law. Only in the event of establishing the ownership in
terms of Section 3 of the Act, revenue authority is empowered to grant patta
but not otherwise.
19. In the present case, appellants claim that it was originally
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Depressed Class land and it continued to be Depressed Class land and
therefore assignment conditions are binding on the assignees. Violation of
assignment conditions under the Revenue Standing Orders would empower
the State to resume the Government properties from the assignees or any
other person who is illegally holding the property. Any alienation made in
violation of the conditions stipulated under the Revenue Standing Orders is
null and void and such alienations cannot be the basis for grant of patta.
Therefore, any person aggrieved has to approach the competent Civil Court
under proviso clause to Section 14 of the Act, for the purpose of establishing
title/ownership, based on documents and evidences available on record.
20. In view of facts and circumstances, writ order impugned is set aside
and writ appeal stands allowed. In the event of instituting any suit, the civil
Court shall adjudicate the issues independently, based on documents and
evidences available on record, uninfluenced by the observations made by writ
Court and by this Court. Consequently, connected miscellaneous petition is
closed. There shall be no order as to costs.
[S.M.S., J.] [M.S.Q., J.]
04.11.2025
Index:Yes/No
Neutral Citation:Yes/No
mmi
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S.M.SUBRAMANIAM, J.
AND
MOHAMMED SHAFFIQ, J.
mmi
04.11.2025
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