Andhra Pradesh High Court
Judges : V.ESWARAIAH
Jaladi Seetharamamma - Appellant
Versus
Ramalingeswara Swami Temple, gundavaram, Guntur District - Respondent
Decided On : 02-07-03
Constitution of India – Article 14 227 – A. P. (A. A) tenancy Act, 1956A. P. (A. A) tenancy Act, 1956 – Section 16 – A. P. Charitable and Hindu religious Institutions and Endowments Act, 1987 – Section 82 – Land Leases – Civil Revision Petitions – In these cases, the lands held by the institutions were given on lease to private parties – The relationship between the landlord and tenant are regulated by the tenancy Act until the advent of the endowments Act – Therefore, various applications were made either by the landlord or tenant, as the case may be, seeking the various reliefs in each of these applications before the Special officer – In some cases reliefs were granted and in some cases the Special Officer declined the relief – Aggrieved by the same, the unsuccessful party appealed to the appellate Authority concerned under the tenancy Act – Depending on the result before the Appellate Authority, the unsuccessful party before the Appellate authority preferred these civil revision petitions invoking the jurisdiction of this court under Article 227 of the Constitution of India – Held, The substance of the above section (82) is that any lease of the agricultural land belonging to or given or endowed for the purpose of any institution or endowment prior to the date of commencement of the Endowments Act shall stand cancelled unless such a lease is made in favour of a landless poor person – By virtue of insertion of sub-section (5) to Section 82 of the Endowments Act, the provisions of the a. P. (Andhra Area) Tenancy act, 1956 shall not apply to any lease of land belonging to or given or endowed for the purpose of any charitable or religious institutions or endowment as defined in the Endowments act – A Division Bench of this court in WP also held that the provisions of Tenancy Act, 1956 have no application to the Endowments Act in view of the judgment of the Supreme court referred supra – Therefore, the proceedings before the authorities under the tenancy Act are not maintainable and the proceedings initiated either by the institution or by the cultivator are non-est in law – For the aforesaid reasons Court is of the opinion that all the proceedings initiated and orders passed under the tenancy Act have become non-est in law and the parties are not entitled to enforce the orders passed under the Tenancy Act – Thus all the matters have become infructuous – It is for the respective parties to work out their remedies under the endowments Act alone. The CRPs. are accordingly disposed of – Order Accordingly
( 1 ) ALL these matters arise out of certain proceedings initiated under the provisions of A. P. (A. A) tenancy Act, 1956 (for short the Tenancy act ) against the termination of the tenancy in respect of agricultural lands belonging to or give or endowed for the purpose of charitable or Hindu religious "institutions or endowments as defined under the provisions of the A. P. Charitable and Hindu religious Institutions and Endowments Act, 1987 (for short the Endowments Act ).
( 2 ) IN these cases, the lands held by the institutions were given on lease to private parties. The relationship between the landlord and tenant are regulated by the tenancy Act until the advent of the endowments Act. Therefore, various applications were made either by the landlord or tenant, as the case may be, seeking the various reliefs in each of these applications before the Special officer. In some cases reliefs were granted and in some cases the Special Officer declined the relief. Aggrieved by the same, the unsuccessful party appealed to the appellate Authority concerned under the tenancy Act. Depending on the result before the Appellate Authority, the unsuccessful party before the Appellate authority preferred these civil revision petitions invoking the jurisdiction of this court under Article 227 of the Constitution of India.
( 3 ) THE State of Andhra Pradesh enacted Act No. 37 of 1987 called A. P. Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Act, 1987 which came into force with effect from 28. 5. 1987. Section 82 of the Endowments Act reads as under:" (1) Any lease of agricultural land belonging to or given or endowed for the purpose of any institution or endowment subsisting on the date of commencement of this Act shall, notwithstanding anything in any other law for the time being in force, held by a person who is not a landless poor person stands cancelled. (2) In respect of leases of agricultural lands held by landless poor persons for not less than six years continuously, such personal shall have the right to purchase such lands for a consideration of seventy five per centum of the prevailing market value of similarly situated lands at the time of purchase and such consideration shall be paid in four equal installments in the manner prescribed. , Such sale may be effected otherwise than by tender-cum- public auction: provided that if such person fails to purchase the land in accordance with this sub-section or is unwilling to purchase the land, the lease shall be deemed to have been terminated. Explanation : For the purpose of this subsection landless poor person means a person whose total extent of land held by him either as owner or as cultivating tenant or as both does not exceed 1. 011715 hectares (two and half acres) of wet land or 2. 023430 hectares (five acres) of dry land and whose monthly income other than from such lands does not exceed two hundred and fifty rupees per mensum or three thousand per annum. For the purpose of competing the extent of land 0. 404685 hectares (one acre) of wet land shall be equal to 0. 309372 hectares (two acres) of dryland. (3) The authority to sanction the lease or license in respect of any property or any right or interest thereon belonging to or given or endowed for the purpose of any charitable or religious institution or endowment, the manner which and the period for which such lease or license shall be such as may be prescribed. (4) Every lease or license of any immovable property, other than the Agricultural land belonging to or given or endowed for the purpose of any charitable or religious institution or endowment subsisting on the date of the commencement of this Act, shall continue to be in force subject to the rules as may be prescribed under subsection (3 ). "
( 4 ) THE substance of the above section is that any lease of the agricultural land belonging to or given or endowed for the purpose of any institution or endowment prior to the date of commencement o
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