( 1 ) SINCE the petitioner is common and the question involved in all these Civil Revision Petitions is identical, therefore, they are clubbed, heard together and are being disposed of by this common order.

( 2 ) THE petitioner is the landlord- temple. It owns an extent of Acs. 22-00 of land in S. No. 197 in Nandigama Village of sattenapalli taluk. Admittedly, the petitioner- temple is the owner of the said lands in question and the said lands auctioned in favour of different persons, who are respondents herein.

( 3 ) ACCORDING to the respondents, they have been cultivating the lands from 1991 onwards, as the lands were having taken in the auction on lease. When the cultivating ryots of the said lands were sought to be auctioned in favour of the highest bidder, the respondents filed different ATCs. under sections 10 and 16 of A. P. (Andhra Area) tenancy Act seeking for a declaration that they are the cultivating tenants and they are entitled to all the benefits under the A. P. Tenancy Act and accordingly injunctions were granted in their favour and against the petitioner-temple from conducting the auction of the leasehold rights and the said atcs were allowed by the Special Officer. Against the said order, the temple filed appeals before the Appellate Authority and all the appeals were dismissed upholding the order of the Special Officer. Aggrieved by the orders of the Appellate Authority, these Civil Revision Petitions are preferred invoking the jurisdiction of this Court under article 227 of the Constitution of India.

( 4 ) THIS Court in CRP No. 1542 of 1997, C. R. P. Nos. 5021, 5632 of 2000 and c. R. P. Nos. 2471 and 4897 of 2001, dated 7-2-2003, held that:"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 lease of agricultural lands held by landless poor persons for not less than six years continuously, such person 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 instalments 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 sub-section 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 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 wetland shall be equal to 0. 309372 hectares (two acres) of dry land. (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 l