Judgment :-

G.S. Singhvi, J.

1. This appeal is directed against order dated 20.6.2000 passed by the Division Bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court whereby it allowed the writ petition filed by the respondents, quashed the orders passed by the Special Tribunal and the Special Court under the Andhra Pradesh Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 1982 (hereinafter referred to as the `Land Grabbing Act) and declared that the respondents have acquired title over the schedule property by adverse possession.

2. Gonda Mallaiah (predecessor of the respondents) illegally occupied 5 acres land comprised in Survey No.42, Khanament village, Rangareddy District, which is classified in the revenue records as Kharizkhata-Sarkari. In 1965 and 1986, notices were issued to Gonda Mallaiah under Section 7 of the Andhra Pradesh Land Encroachment Act, 1905 but no order appears to have been passed for his eviction. In 1990, Mandal Revenue Officer, Serlingampally, Rangareddy District (appellant herein) filed an application before the Special Tribunal constituted under the Land Grabbing Act for recovery of the possession of 5 acres land by alleging that the same was illegally occupied by Gonda Mallaiah. During the pendency of the application, Gonda Mallaiah died and the respondents herein were brought on record as his legal representatives. In their reply, the respondents denied the allegation that their father had illegally occupied the land and pleaded that they have acquired title by adverse possession because they are in possession of the land and cultivating the same for last more than 50 years without any interference or obstruction. The respondents further pleaded that being landless poor they are entitled to assignment of land as per the Boards Standing Orders, but instead of acting on their representations, the appellant initiated proceedings under the Land Grabbing Act by wrongly treating them as land grabbers.

3. By an order dated 27.5.1997, the Special Tribunal allowed the application of the appellant and declared that the schedule land is Government land which had been grabbed by Gonda Mallaiah and his successors and directed them to hand over possession thereof to the Government within 2 months. The appeal preferred by the respondents was dismissed by the Special Court by detailed order dated 18.8.1998.

4. The respondents challenged the orders of the Special Tribunal and the Special Court in Writ Petition No.30262 of 1998. The Division Bench of the High Court did not disturb concurrent finding recorded by the Special Tribunal and the Special Court that the schedule land is Government land but set aside the orders passed by them on the premise that the respondents have acquired title by adverse possession and as such they cannot be evicted by being treated as land grabbers.

5. Shri R. Sundervardhan, learned senior counsel for the appellant submitted that the impugned order is liable to be set aside because the laboured attempt made by the High Court to justify its interference with the concurrent finding recorded by the Tribunal and the Special Court on the issue of illegal possession of the respondents and their predecessor is wholly unwarranted and uncalled for. Learned senior counsel pointed out that after making in-depth analysis of the evidence produced by the parties, the Special Tribunal and the Special Court categorically held that the land comprised in Survey No.42 of village Khanament, Rangareddy District is Government land and Gonda Mallaiah had illegally occupied a portion thereof and argued that the High Court committed a serious jurisdictional error by interfering with the said finding merely because on re-appreciation of the factual matrix of the case and evidence produced by the parties, a different conclusion could be reached. Learned counsel criticised the High Courts analysis of the documents produced by the parties including notice dated 22.6.1985 issued to one R. Mallaiah under Section 7 of the Encroachment Act and the rep