( 1 ) THE lands admittedly owned by Shri Shyama Sundara Swamy Temple, tekkali are sought to be acquired by the state in terms of the provisions of the Land acquisition Act. Shri Shyama Sundara swamy Temple has not been made a party in this writ petition. The acquisition is sought to be challenged on one ground only. The learned Counsel for the petitioners submits a proposition of law which has to be considered. He submits that, land under tenancy which is subject to the provisions of tenancy Act can in no circumstances be acquired by the State Government. He submits that since the tenancy created under tenancy Act is a tenancy in perpetuity, therefore acquisition of the land would be defeating such provisions. He submits that the respondent No. 3 had in fact issued notice under Section 80 (1 ) (b) of the A. P. Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and endowments Act, 1987 (Act No. 30 of 1987), but surprisingly the State Government issued a notification under Section 4 (1) of the Land acquisition Act on 26th May, 1999. He has drawn the attention of the Court to the provisions of A. P. Tenancy Act. He submits that tenant is defined under Section 2 of the Tenancy Act. According to Section 2 (c) of the Tenancy Act, cultivating tenant means a person who cultivates by his own labour or by that of any other member of his family or by hired labour under his supervision and control, any land belonging to another under a tenancy agreement, express or implied. Reference is then made to Section 15 of the Act. Under Section 15, a cultivating tenant has a right of prior purchase over the land leased to him. Tenancy can be terminated under Section 13, adjudication of disputes and appeals can be done under the provisions of Section 16 of the Act. Special emphasis is laid down by the learned Counsel for the petitioner on section 17 of the Act which lays down that the provisions of the Tenancy Act shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any preexisting law, custom, usage, agreement or decree or order of a Court. Under section 11, in case of change of ownership of the land, the cultivating tenant shall be entitled to continue with the tenancy on the terms and conditions with erstwhile landlord. According to the learned Counsel for the petitioner, Section 10 is the most important section which was brought into force by an amendment being A. P. (Andhra area) Tenancy (Amendment) Act, 1974 (Actno. 39 of 1974 ). According to sub-section (1) of Section 10, every lease subsisting at the commencement of the act 39 of 1974 shall be deemed to be in perpetuity. Under sub-section (2) of section 10, all other tenancies which commenced after the commencement of Act 39 of 1974 have a life of minimum six years.

( 2 ) THE whole argument of the learned Counsel for the petitioner is that the tenancy is created before 1974 and the petitioners are continuing to be the tenants till date, therefore their tenancy is a tenancy in perpetuity. On the other hand, the Tenancy Act has a overriding effect over the other Acts, therefore provisions of land Acquisition Act would not apply, because if provisions of Land Acquisition act are applied the petitioners will be losing the rights which they have as cultivating tenants under the Tenancy Act. In nut-shell what is argued by the learned Counsel for the petitioners is that, a land which is owned and possessed by an owner is subject to land Acquisition Act, but land which is under the cultivation of a cultivating tenant cannot be acquired under the provisions of land Acquisition Act. The proposition itself seems to be illogical. A tenant cannot have more rights than the owner. When the question of acquisition of land comes, if the owner cannot defeat the provisions of Land acquisition Act can a tenant defeat such provisions. The A. P. Charitable and Hindu religious Institutions and Endowments Act has been promulgated in the year 1987 and is known as Act 30 of 1987