JUDGMENT :

1. The appellants herein were the respondents and the temple authorities-respondents herein were the petitioners before the Andhra Pradesh Endowments Tribunal, Amaravati at Pedakakani. For the sake of convenience, the parties are referred by their respective ranking before the Tribunal.

2. The petitioners-respondents herein filed Original Applications under Section 83 of the Andhra Pradesh Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Act, 1987 (Act 30 of 1987) (hereinafter called, ‘the Act 30 of 1987’), praying the Andhra Pradesh Endowments Tribunal, Amaravati at Pedakakani (hereinafter called, ‘the Tribunal’) to pass eviction orders against the respondents-appellants herein in all the Original Applications directing him/her to vacate and hand over the petition schedule property to the 2nd petitioner and for costs. The temple authorities-petitioners also filed Interlocutory Applications in all the Original Applications under Section 83(6) of the Act 30 of 1987, praying the Tribunal to direct the respondents to pay Rs.1,500/- per month towards damages for use and occupation of the petition schedule property till disposal of the main application.

3. Though the Tribunal has passed orders in all the Original Applications independently, since the issue is common in all the Original Applications, this Court is inclined to dispose of all the appeals by way of this common judgment. For the sake convenience, this Court is inclined to mention the pleadings in C.M.A.No.302 of 2019.

4. As per the averments made in the Original Applications, the petition schedule property consists of Ac.1.32 cents, situated in Sy.No.658 of Bapatla Town, Guntur District, within the specified boundaries and the said extent of land was encroached by the respondents and the temple authorities-petitioners have filed a batch of Original Applications for eviction of the respondents.

5. The extent of land Ac.1.32 cents in Sy.No.658 situated in Bapatla Town, Guntur District, was shown under Section 38 of the Endowments Act 17/1966 and approved in C.No.2581/67 dated 31.01.1969 of the Assistant Commissioner, Endowments Department, Bapatla, and it is also approved under Section 43 in R.Dis.No.A4/5138/2002 dated 22.09.2002 by the Assistant Commissioner, Endowments Department, Guntur District.

6. The respondents are in the illegal and unauthorized occupation in different extents of land in the above subject land and raised some constructions unauthorizedly without obtaining any permission or approval orders in their favour from the competent authority of Endowment Department and enjoying the same without paying the amounts towards damages for use and occupation and thereby causing loss to the public institution. The temple authorities-petitioners issued notices to the encroachers of the Choultry site and after receipt of the said notices, the respondents approached the composite High Court and got filed Writ Petition No.5168 of 2013, seeking declaration that the issuance of the said notices is bad in law and further sought for a direction not to evict them from the land in Sy.Nos.656 and 658 of Eastern Choultry, Bapatla, Guntur District and the said Writ Petitions were disposed of, vide orders dated 27.02.2013, with a direction to the temple authorities-petitioners to take appropriate steps in accordance with law duly providing an opportunity of hearing and contest to the respondents by following the provisions of the Endowments Act 30 of 1987 for eviction of the respondents and there shall not be any forcible eviction without undertaking the due process of law. The said direction caused the temple authorities-petitioners to file the present Original Applications against the respondents and other encroachers for eviction.

7. The respondents, resisting the Original Applications, filed counters denying all the contents made in the Original Applications and stated that the land subject land was purchased from their vendors since long back and they are in