Judgment

Syed Shah Mohammed Quadri, J.—This appeal, by special leave, is from the judgment of the Division Bench of the High Court of Judicature, Andhra Pradesh at Hyderabad dated October 27, 1998 dismissing Writ Petition No. 5332 of 1993, filed by the appellant assailing the order of the Special Court under A.P. Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 1982 (for short, ‘the Act’) in L.G.C. No. 61 of 1990 dated April 16, 1993. The Special Court had upheld the claim of the first respondent (the State of Andhra Pradesh represented by its Chief Secretary) that the appellant was a land grabber of land of an extent of 2 acres 06 guntas, comprised in Survey Nos. 9/15 Paiki, 9/16, and 9/17 of Khairathabad Village, Golconda Mandal, Hyderabad District (for short, ‘the land in dispute’) and directed the appellant to restore possession of that land to the first respondent in terms of the decree.

2. To comprehend the controversy in the appeal it would be appropriate to set out the relevant facts. The appellant traces his title to the land in dispute under an unregistered agreement for perpetual lease executed by one of the successors of the Inamdar, Mohd. Noorudin Asrari, in respect of the Inam land in