The Deputy Commissioner had the authority to extinguish Kumki privileges under the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964, and the rights were not absolute but subject to statutory provisions.

( 1 ) THE only legal issue involved in the present appeal is as to whether the Deputy Commissioner can pass an order under Section 79 (2) of the karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964 (in short the ACT), withdrawing or extinguishing the privileges which are being enjoyed either by custom or under any order such as privileges in respect of Kumki lands etc.

( 2 ) AS it appears from the order of the Karnataka Appellate Tribunal (Annexure-E) the appellants seems to be agriculturists owning lands comprised in S. Nos. 51/2 and 41/2 situated in Naricombu village of bantwal taluk. According to them S. Nos. 54/2 and 52/1a1 of the same village form part of Kumki lands over which they hold privileges as recognised by law.

( 3 ) THE said Kumki privileges had been extinguished by the Deputy commissioner, D. K by his order dated 8-5-1989 after giving due notices to all the Kumkidars and anubhogadars and on due consideration of the objections filed pursuant to the said notice, the Kumki privileges over the aforesaid extent of lands were extinguished so as to provide house sites to the landless persons. This was done pursuant to the general guidelines issued by the State Government under its Notification No. RD 28 LGW 71 dated. 29-1-1971 and 10-12-1971.

( 4 ) THE appellants being aggrieved by the said order preferred an appeal under Section 49 of the Act before the Karnataka Appellate Tribunal and by its order dated 24-5-1994 (Annexure-E to the writ petition) it set aside the Deputy Commissioner's order on the ground that he had no power under the Act to pass an order extinguishing the Kumki privileges. The said order of the Tribunal was challenged by the respondents 4 and 5 by filing the writ petition before this Court in which the impugned order came to be passed. The learned Single Judge has held that the Deputy Commissioner has passed the order extinguishing the kumki privileges pursuant to the powers delegated in his favour by the state Government under Section 195 of the Act and as such there was no infirmity in the said order.

( 5 ) AS noticed by the Supreme Court in the case of State of Mysore v K. Chandrasekhara Adiga and Another, the rights or privileges known as kumki are governed by the order of the Madras Board of Revenue. These privileges in the land include the right of grazing their catties, cutting and collecting leaves, timber and other forest produces for the agricultural and domestic purposes of the Kumkidars.

( 6 ) IN the above referred judgment it has been held that although the said Kumki rights has been styled as privileges in the statutory rules and standing orders but nonetheless those have been recognised under the statutory provisions. It has further been held that the said rights are in the nature of property rights notwithstanding the fact that their scope is restricted and they are subject to statutory provisions. After so holding it was further declared that the said rights could be curtailed, abridged or taken away only by law and not by an executive order.

( 7 ) ADMITTEDLY in the case before the Supreme Court the State of karnataka had failed to produce any statutory provision or rules pursuant to which the Kumki rights would have been curtailed, abridged or taken away and therefore it was held that the executive order by which the rights were sought to be abridged or curtailed was invalid and void in law.

( 8 ) COMING to the facts of the present case it cannot be disputed that under Section 79 (2) of the Act provisions have been made with regard to preservation and curtailment/extinction of various rights granted over certain lands. It may be beneficial to quote Section 79 of the Act, which reads thus:"79. Regulation of supply of firewood and timber for domestic or other purposes. (1) In any village or land in which the rights of the State Government to the trees have been reserved under Section 75 subject to certain privilege of the villagers or of certain classes of persons to cut firewood or t