Judgment :-

S.B. Sinha, J.

Determination of a question of adverse possession whether would come within the purview of the jurisdiction of Special Tribunal and/or Special Court constituted under the Andhra Pradesh Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 1982 (hereinafter called and referred to for the sake of brevity as `the Act) has been referred to this Bench, noticing purported conflict in the decisions of two Division Benches of this Court in Konda Lakshmana Bapuji v. Government of Andhra Pradesh & Ors. [(2002) 3 SCC 258] and N. Srinivasa Rao v. Special Court under the A.P. Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act & Ors. [(2006) 4 SCC 214].

Before, however, adverting to the said question, we may notice some salient features of the said Act.

The Government of Andhra Pradesh noticed organized attempts on the part of certain lawless persons operating individually and in groups, to grab either by force or by deceit or otherwise, lands (whether belonging to the Government, a local authority, a religious or charitable institution or endowment, including a wakf, or any other private persons) as also the fact that the land grabbers are forming bogus co-operative housing societies or setting up fictitiou