The Gram Panchayat must follow due process, including giving notice and opportunity for a hearing, before evicting individuals from property, particularly when the land is not vacant or unoccupied.

JUDGMENT :

DHIRAJ SINGH THAKUR, C.J.

The present writ appeal has been preferred against the judgment and order, dated 05.05.2022, passed in W.P. No.1402 of 2022.

Briefly stated, the material facts are as under:

The grandfather of late Smt. Nagandla Sambrajyam is the owner of various extents of land in Peda kakani Mandal of Guntur District, which included Ac. 0.54 cents in Sy. No.560 of Peda kakani village. The said parcel of land was settled in favour of his son Sri Nagandla Surya Narayana after whose demise the same fell to the share of late Smt. Nagandla Sambrajyam. The property so falling in the share of late Smt. Nagandla Sambrajyam included a tiled house stated to be constructed in Ac.0.06 cents in Sy.No.560. This was subsequently dedicated to Bhavani Mahila Mandali in 1967, which was being used thus in various activities for the development of women and girls in the said area.

2. A notice, dated 06.01.2022, came to be issued by the Gram Panchayat of Peda Kakani in which it was stated that the Bhavani Mahila Mandali was being run in Sy. No.557 and that the said land was proposed to be used for construction of a library and therefore, they were required to vacate the building in three days failing which the land would be taken over.

Upon receipt of the said notice, a petition was filed before the Court during the pendency of which the house was demolished and the assets including the computers etc., were taken by the officers of the Panchayat.

3. The learned single Judge in the writ proceedings ordered the District Collector, Guntur, to conduct a survey over the entire land in Sy.No.560 and 557 of the said village to determine as to whether the house in question fell in Sy. No.560, which was demolished by the Gram Panchayat. The report was filed in which it was stated that the house, which was demolished, was situate in Sy. No.557, which was classified as Grama Kantam in the Resettlement Register. It was also stated that as per the PRIS Survey conducted in the year 2018, the subject land was noted as Government land.

The learned single Judge noticed that according to the report submitted by the Collector, according to which notices were issued on 06.01.2022 and 10.01.2022 whereby no explanation was called and the occupants were simply called upon to vacate the house in question and that according to G.O.Ms.No.188, notice had to be given for giving objections and that eviction could be ordered only after a hearing was given. Learned single Judge after noting the contentions of the parties considered the questions as to whether the Grama Kantam land vests in Gram Panchayat and whether the procedure as prescribed under G.O.Ms.No.188 had been followed or not.

4. G.O.Ms.No.188, dated 21.07.2011, is stated to have been issued pursuant to the judgment of the Hon’ble Apex Court in Jagpal Singh and Ors. vs. State of Punjab, [Passed in Civil Appeal.No.1132 of 2011, dated 28.01.2011]. The learned single Judge noted that the procedure to be followed for protection of Gram Panchayat lands was given in Rules 3 and 4 of the A.P. Gram Panchayat (Protection of Property) Rules, 2011, whereas Rule 3 requires the Panchayat Secretary of every Gram Panchayat to prepare an inventory of the landed properties of the Gram Panchayat based on Field Measurement Book and Field Survey Atlas, apart from the field survey inspections. Rule 4 stipulates that where it is found that any property of the Panchayat is under the occupation of any other person, a notice would be served on the party concerned and the said party would be given a hearing before proceeding for eviction.

5. The learned single Judge noted that neither was