ORDER :

This writ petition is filed by the petitioners invoking jurisdiction of this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for the following relief:

“….issue appropriate Writ, Order or direction, more particularly one in the nature of Writ of Mandamus declaring the proceedings issued by the 3rd respondent in D.Dis.No.4725/2015/C, dated 12.07.2017 entertaining the appeal by the 5th respondent against the issuance of pattadar passbooks and title deed issued in favour of the petitioners relating to the property in Survey Nos.127, 128, 130/1 and 130/2 of Ramavaram village of Anandapuram Mandal of Visakhapatnam District, as illegal, arbitrary and without jurisdiction and consequently direct the respondents not to dispossess the petitioners from their respective share of property in the said survey nos. by declaring the orders of the 3rd respondent as illegal…..”

2. The case of the petitioners, in brief, is that they are owners and possessors of the property in Survey Nos.126, 127, 128, 130/1 and 130/2 of Ramavaram village of Anandapuram Mandal of Visakhapatnam District, having purchased the said property under various registered sale deeds of the year 1995 executed by Pakalapati Bangarraju and his family members and ever since they have been in possession and enjoyment of the property. After due enquiry, the revenue authority mutated the names of the petitioners in revenue records and issued pattadar pass books and title deeds in favour of the petitioners in the year 1995. It is the further case of the petitioners that the 5th respondent, without there being any application as required under law for enquiry or alter the entries made in revenue record in his favour, filed an appeal in the year 2015 before the 3rd respondent under Section 5(5) of the A.P. Pattadar Passbooks Act, 1971 for cancellation of the pattadar pass books and title deeds of the land admeasuring an extent of Ac.95.85 cents in Survey Nos.127, 128, 130/1 and 130/2 of Ramavaram Village, Anandapuram Mandal, Visakhapatnam District issued in favour of the petitioners in 1995, without there being any application for condonation of delay and also any explanation for delay, contending that the properties originally belong to Velugoti Rajagopal Krishna Yachendra, the Maharaja of Venkatagiri and in the partition among the sons of Maharaja, the subject properties fell to the share of 5th respondent’s father Navaneetha Yachendra and there was partition of the properties among the Navaneetha Yachendra and his sons by way of registered partition deed and the subject property is the joint family property of sons of Navaneetha Yachendra i.e. the 5th respondent and his brothers. The petitioners filed their objections contending that they are the bona fide purchasers of the property for value and that the appeal under Section 5(5) of the Act for cancellation of pattadar passbooks and title deed is not maintainable and the 3rd respondent has no jurisdiction to entertain the appeal with regard to the entries made in revenue record and the aggrieved person has to approach the primary authority-4th respondent under Section 3 of the Act to conduct an enquiry with regard to the entries already made. However, without considering the objections, the 3rd respondent has entertained the appeal and cancelled the pass books issued in favour of the petitioners are cancelled and further holding that an extent of Ac.48-55 cents in Survey No.130/1 shall be treated as Government land and directed the 4th respondent-Tahsildar to take possession of the same and the 3rd respondent further held that so far as the balance land of an extent of Ac.47-34 cents in Survey Nos.126, 127, 128 and 130/2, the passbooks issued are cancelled and direted the 4th respondent to change the relevant entries in ROR, 1B register and intimate to the registering authority not to entertain any registrations, while observing that the authority is not able to decide the title of these lands as it involves multiple