( 1 ) THE petitioners, who are 10 in number, filed this Writ Petition challenging the order of the Joint Collector, Ranga Reddy District, 1st respondent herein, made on 22-1-1997 in case No. DS 75347/94.

( 2 ) THE petitioners are residents of petbasheerbad village, Quthbullahpur mandal, Ranga Reddy District. Petitioners 6, 7 and 10 are the original assignees and petitioners 1 to 5, 8 and 9 are the legal heirs of some other original assignees. Their case is that they, along with another 35 persons of their village, who are landless poor persons, were assigned agricultural land to the extent of Ac. 3. 23 guntas each in Survey no. 25/1 of Petbasheerbad village, quthbullapur Mandal, in the year 1955 by the then Tahsildar, Medchal taluk and the names of the assignees were shown as pattadars and possessors in the Pahani till the year 1983-84. Thereafter their names were deleted and the names of some other people were entered in the revenue records. Having realized the said fact, the petitioners filed an application before the District collector, Rangareddy District, on 15-3-1994 requesting him to take action under A. P. Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfers) act, 1977