A. Gopal Reddy, J.

1. This appeal by the writ petitioner is directed against the order of the learned single Judge dated 07-06-2006 dismissing W.P.No.25265 of 2000 filed questioning the action of the respondents in placing the forest areas covered by Yerrangavaripalle village and the lands in Paimash No.120 to 139 of Penubalakala village of Chittoor District in Prohibitory Order Book register dated 03-06-1999 and 17-05-2000 as illegal and for a consequential direction to the respondents to implement G.O.Ms.No.439, dated 13-03-1957 by incorporating the name of the petitioner in the revenue records.

2. The facts have been extensively dealt with by the learned single Judge in the impugned order. Therefore, it is unnecessary to reproduce the same except those which are relevant and they may, briefly, be stated as under.

3. Punganoor Zamin Estate was notified on 07-09-1950 and taken over by the Government on 22-07-1952 under the provisions of A.P. Estates (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari) Act, 1948 (for brevity ‘the Act 26/1948’). On notifying and taking over of Zamin, a representation was made to the Government by the Zamindar stating that certain lands do not belong to Estate and are personal properties of Zamindar as the said lands are purchased by his ancestors more than 80 years before the date of abolition of the Estate. The Government accepted the claim of the Zamindar to the extent of forest areas of Yerranagavaripalle and the areas covered by Paimash No.120 to 139 of Penubalakala hamlet of Peddakapalli. The Government after consultation with the Board of Revenue and with its concurrence issued G.O.Ms.No.439, dated 13-03-1957 wherein it was noted that from out of the villages mentioned in the schedule to the petition of the Zamindar of Punganoor, three villages i.e. Annagaripalle, Bonthavaripalle and Bharanipalle had been taken over by the Government under the Act 26/1948 and the forests therein vested in the Government. With regard to the remaining 32 villages, the Government agreed with the views of the Board of Revenue and considered that the claim of the landholder was untenable in all cases except in respect of the forest areas of Yerranagavaripalle village those covered by Paimash Nos.120 to 139 of Penubalakala. The Government directed that all the forest areas situated in or near the 32 specified villages except the forests of Yerranagavaripalle and those covered by Paimash Nos.120 to 139 of Penubalakala will deemed to have been vested with the Government along with main Punganoor Zamindari with effect from 22-07-1952 (on which date the said Zamindari was taken over by the Government). The Director of Settlement was requested to include the forest revenue derived from all the forest areas referred to in the G.O. except the forests of Yerranagavaripalle village and Paimash Nos.120 to 139 of Penubalakala hamlet in the computation of the basic annual sum relating to Punganoor Zamin, if he had not already included it and to revise the advance compensation, if necessary. The Government also approved the proposal of the Board of Revenue regarding declaration of the forests and directed the officials to get the boundaries of the forests in all 32 villages aforesaid demarcated with the chains so that the survey staff can take up the survey of the areas with the least possible delay and complete it expeditiously and at the minimum cost.

4. At that stage Zamindar filed W.P.No.320 of 1957 to quash G.O.Ms.No.439, dated 13-03-1957. The Government filed a detailed counterin the said writ petition inter alia contending that the Settlement Officer, Chittoor conducted suo motu enquiry under Section 9 of Act 26/1948. It stated that in respect of all the 32 villages he held while the villages were estates within the meaning of the Andhra Pradesh (Andhra Area) Estates Land Act, 1908 (for short “Estate Land Act”), they were not Inam estates within the meaning of Section 2(7) of the Act 26/1948, as they became estates by