JUDGMENT

CHANDRACHUD, CJI.:— These three appeals arise out of a common judgment dated June 30, 1977 of a Division Bench of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh, setting aside the judgment of a learned single Judge dated November 18, 1975 in Writ Petitions Nos. 1539. of 1974 and 798 of 1975. Civil Appeal No. 2031 (NCM of 1977 is by special leave while the other two appeals are by certificate granted by the High Court. The question which these appeals involve is whether the appellant, the Government of Andhra Pradesh, has the power to evict the respondents summarily in exercise of the power conferred by the Andhra Pradesh Land Encroachment Act, 1905. This question arises an the following facts :

We are concerned in these appeals with three groups of lands situated in Habsiguda, Hyderabad East Taluk, Andhra Pradesh. Those lands are: R. S. No. 10/1, which corresponds to plot. No. 94 admeasuring 10 acres and 2 guntas; R. S. No. 10/2 which corresponds to plot No. 104 ad-measuring 9 acres and 33 guntas; and R.S. Nos. 7, 8 and 9 which correspond to plot No. 111 admeasuring 26 acres and 14 guntas. These lands belonged originally to Nawab Zainuddin and after his death, they devolved on Nawab Habibuddin. Sometime between the years 1932 and 1937, certain lands were acquired by the Government of the Nizam of Hyderabad under the Hyderabad Land Acquisition Act of 1309 Fasli, the provisions of which are in material respects similar to those of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. The lands were acquired for the benefit of the Osmania University which was then administered as a Department of the Government of Hyderabad. The University acquired an independent legal status of its own under the Osmania University Revised Charter, 1947, which was promulgated by the Nizam.

2. The question whether the aforesaid three plots of land were included in the acquisition notified by the Government of Nizam became a bone of contention between the parties, the Osmania University contending that they were so included and that they were acquired for its benefit and the owner, Nawab Habibuddin, contending that the three plots were not acquired. On February 13, 1956 the Osmania University filed a suit (O.S. No. 1 of 1956) against Nawab Habibuddin, in the City Civil Court, Hyderabad, claiming that the three lands were acquired by the Government for its benefit and asking for his eviction from those lands. That suit was dismissed in 1959, on the ground that plot No. 111 was not acquired by the Government and that though plots Nos. 94 and 104 were acquired, the University failed to prove its possession thereof within twelve years before the filing of the suit. In regard to plots Nos. 94 and 104, it was found by the trial court that Habibuddin had encroached thereupon in the year 1942, which was more than twelve years before the filing of the suit. Civil Appeal No. 61 of 1959 filed by the University against that judgment was dismissed on January 24, 1964 by the High Court which affirmed the findings of the trial court. The State Government was not impleaded as a party to those proceedings.

3. On May 8, 1964 the Osmania University wrote a letter to the Government of Andhra Pradesh, requesting it to take steps for the summary eviction of persons who were allegedly in unauthorised occupation of the 3 Plots. On December 8, 1964, the Tahsildar, Government of Andhra Pradesh, acting under Section 7 of the Land Encroachment Act, 1905, issued a notice to Nawab Habibuddin to vacate the lands and on December 15, 1964 the Tahsildar passed an order evicting him from the lands. The appeal filed by Habibuddin to the Collector was dismissed in 1965 and the appeal against the decision of the Collector was dismissed by the Revenue Board in 1968. During the pendency of the appeal before the Revenue Board, the respondents purchased the plots from Habibuddin for valuable consideration and on the death of Habibuddin, they were impleaded to the proceedings before the Revenue Board. They preferred an a