IMPORTANT POINT
An appeal under Section 5(4) of the A.P Records of Rights in Land and Pattadar Pass Books Act is maintainable only against specific orders of the Tahsildar, not against mere entries in revenue records.

JUDGMENT :

(R. Raghunandan Rao, J.)

Heard Sri Y.V. Sudhakar, learned counsel for the appellants, the learned Government Pleader for Revenue, appearing for respondents 1 to 6 and Sri Anup Koushik Karavadi, learned counsel appearing for respondent No.7.

2. The names of the appellants are said to have been entered in the revenue records in respect of Ac.0.30 cents of land in Sy.No.358 of 2015 of Nagavaram Village, Munagapaka Mandal, Visakhapatnam District. The 7th respondent, being aggrieved by the entering of the names of the appellants, had approached the Revenue Divisional Officer, Anakapalli, under Section 5(5) of the A.P Records of Rights in Land and Pattadar Pass Books Act, 1971 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act’) for correction of the entries. The appellants, had opposed the said appeal on the ground that an appeal under Section 5(5) of the Act would only be available against an order passed by the Tahsildar whereas the present appeal was filed against the entries made in the revenue records and not against any specific order of the Tahsildar. The 5th respondent-Revenue Divisional Officer passed an order dated 31.03.2022 in Rc.No.1198/2020/D, allowing the appeal of the 7th respondent with a direction to the Tahsildar to take action accordingly. The Revenue Divisional Officer had relied upon the partition decree dated 19.01.2010 in O.S.No.27 of 2003 and subsequent sale deeds for order in such a correction.

3. Aggrieved by the said order, the appellants moved this Court, by way of W.P.No.14013 of 2022 contending that such an appeal was not maintainable and as such, the Revenue Divisional Officer ought not to have heard the appeal or passed the impugned order.

4. The 7th respondent contended that the revenue entries in relation to the land in question were in the name of the 7th respondent, pursuant to the execution of a sale deed dated 13.06.2005, and that the entries were modified in favour of the appellants, behind the back of the 7th respondent, and as such, the 7th respondent had questioned the entries made by the Tahsildar. The 7th respondent contended that in such circumstances, correction of entries by the 5th respondent-Revenue Divisional Officer cannot be treated as irregular nor there was any procedural irregularity.

5. The learned single judge after considering both the rival submissions had held that the appellants had an alternative remedy of approaching the District Collector under Section 9 of the Act which provides for revision of all the orders passed by the Revenue Divisional Officer under Section 5 of the Act and had permitted the appellants to file a revision within a stipulated time after granting an order of status quo till such appeal is filed.

6. Aggrieved by this order, dated 06.12.2023, the appellants have approached this Court, by way of the present Writ Appeal.

7. At the outset it is clarified that this Court is not going into the merits of the case and it is only on the question of the procedure that needs to be followed in such cases.

8. The scheme of the Act, in recording entries in the revenue records is as follows:

Under Section 3(1) of the Act, the concerned revenue authorities, immediately after the commencement of the Act, were to prepare a record of rights over the land in every village under the jurisdiction of that authority. This record of rights was to contain particulars such as, names of the persons interested in the land, the nature and extent of their respective rights, the rent, revenue or other amounts payable by such persons etc.

Any person affected by any entry made under Section 3(1) of the Act could approach the authority named under the rules, within a period of one year from the date of notification of the said record for rectifications of the entries.

9. After the initial record had been prepared, further changes in the records can be carried out under Section 4 and 5 of the Act. Under Section 4 of the Act, any person acquiring any right as owner, pattadar and mortagage