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2010 Supreme(AP) 486

2011 (1) ALD 244 (DB)
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD
A. GOPAL REDDY AND G.V. SEETHAPATHY, JJ.
K. Sruti
v.
P.R. Rajeswari and others
WP Nos.28592 and 28643 of 2009
Decided on: Eighteenth Day of June, 2010

Headnote:

Constitution of India Article 226 –Indian Penal Code, 1860 -Sections 420 and 447 -A.P. Co-operative Societies Act -AP. Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 1982 -Section 9,5 – Offence of cheating – Grabbing of land - Industrial Employees Co-operative House Building Society Ltd., was registered under the provisions of A.P. Co-operative Societies Act with an object to provide house sites to its members, of which the third respondent herein and prepared layout plan making the land into plots divided into five blocks and obtained conversion of land use from the District Collector vide L.P.No.1 0 I /1774/90. Out of which, the applicants, respondents I and 2 herein purchased Plot Nos.93 and 92 in Block-E situated in S.No.1118 of Village under registered Sale Deed Nos.3668/ 85 and 3674/85 .They were put in possession of the plots purchased by them by the society. As the society has to develop the land by laying roads etc., they were under the management of the society. While things stood thus, the President of the vendors society-third respondent herein had fraudulently and in collusion with the writ petitioner got executed a registered sale deed for the land in dispute along with some other land totalling to Ac.II-24 guntas vide registered sale deed bearing Document No.2395/1998 registered in the Office of Joint Sub-Registrar-I,.. Taking advantage of the sale deed obtained in her favour, the writ petitioner encroached into the plots purchased by respondents I and 2 herein, which is a part of Ac.5-38 guntas in S.No:1118 , and constructed a compound wall –Held land grabbing as enumerated under subsections (a) to (d) of Section 5. Taking cognizance of the offence by the Special Court is beyond its jurisdiction. For the offence under Section 420 IPC, the maximum punishment that can be imposed is seven years and fine and for the offence under Section 447 IPC, namely, criminal trespass, punishment may be extended to three months or with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees, or with both. Offence under Section 420 IPC is triable by Magistrate of First Class, whereas offence is triable by any Magistrate. But Section 9 of the Land Grabbing Act will only authorize the Special Court to exercise the powers of a Court of Session while dealing with the offences under the Land Grabbing Act, but it had no jurisdiction to try the offences under Sections 420 and 447 IPC, which are exclusively triable by Magistrate as referred to above. Therefore, we hold that taking cognizance of the offences by the Special Court is beyond its jurisdiction, and the impugned order passed by the Special Court to the extent of taking cognizance of the offences is liable to be set-aside same is accordingly dismissed. WP No.28643/2009 is partly allowed quashing the impugned order to the extent of taking cognizance of the offences. There shall be no order as to costs –Appeal is Allowed.

JUDGMENT:

A. GOPAL REDDY, J :-These two writ petitions under Article 226 of the Constitution of India are filed for issuance of writ of certiorari to quash the order of the Special Court under AP. Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 1982 at Hyderabad (for short "the Special Court") taking cognizance of the case under Section 8( 1) of the AP. Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Ad,1982 (for short "the Land Grabbing Act') and also detemlining of criminal liability in LGC No.28/ 2009 dated 23.6.2009 and consequential proceedings dated 9.12.2009 passed in CC No.I/2009 by the Special Court taking cognizance of the offence under Sections 3 and 4 of the Land Grabbing Act and Sections 420, 447 IPC against the petitioners herein respectively.

2. The brief facts, which give rise to filing of these writ petitions, are as under:

Respondents I and 2 herein filed LGC No.28/2009 before the Special Court against the writ petitioner in both the writ petitions, the third respondent, and District Revenue Officer-cum-Person-in-charge of Industrial Employees' Co-operative House Building Society, Medak District at Sangareddy stating that the Industrial Employees Co-operative House Building Society Ltd., was registered under the provisions of A.P. Co-operative Societies Act (for short "the Society") with an object to provide house sites to its members, of which the third respondent herein, namely, V. Narayana Rao, was the President of the Society. The society purchased Ac.5-30 guntas of land in S.No.1118 of Ameenpur Village and some other land in S.Nos.27 to 31, 948 to 954, 968 to 970, 990 to 1020, 1054, 1056 to 1066, 1029, 1030, 1033, 1034, 1110 to 1118 in Beeramguda, Naneguda and Ameenpur Villages and prepared layout plan making the land into plots divided into five blocks and obtained conversion of land use from the District Collector vide L.P.No.1 0 I /1774/90 dated 30.6.1990. Out of which, the applicants, respondents I and 2 herein purchased Plot Nos.93 and 92 in Block-E situated in S.No.1118 of Ameenpur Village under registered Sale Deed Nos.3668/ 85 and 3674/85 dated 4.4.1985. They were put in possession of the plots purchased by them by the society. As the society has to develop the land by laying roads etc., they were under the management of the society. While things stood thus, the President of the vendor's society-third respondent herein had fraudulently and in collusion with the writ petitioner got executed a registered sale deed for the land in dispute along with some other land totalling to Ac.II-24 guntas on 9-2-1998 vide registered sale deed bearing Document No.2395/1998 registered in the Office of Joint Sub-Registrar-I,. Sangaredddy. Taking advantage of the sale deed obtained in her favour, the writ petitioner encroached into the plots purchased by respondents I and 2 herein, which is a part of Ac.5-38 guntas in S.No:1118 of Ameenpur Village, and constructed a compound wall. Thus, the writ petitioner and the third respondent committed an act of land grabbing under a scheme. Writ petitioner's possession of the schedule property is illegal and without any title. When the respondents I and 2 wanted to occupy the schedule property, the writ petitioner objected for the same and resisted from entering into the schedule property, by putting up her claim. Hence, they made a representation to the District Collector, Medak. The third respondent and 6th respondent do not have any right whatsoever over the suit schedule property since they have already parted with the property by executing a regular sale deed in favour of the applicants. Cause of action for filing the above LGC has arisen on 4.4.1985 when the applicants purchased the suit schedule property; on 9.2.1998 when the writ petitioner fraudulently got the sale deed and grabbed the property thereafter in the month of September, 2007; when the applicants came to know about fabricated sale deed and on 29.10.2007 when they made an application to the District Collector. The suit schedule property is si































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