( 1 ) AN extent of 10 cents of land in Sy. No. 120/39 of Jeppinamogaru village of Mangalore Taluk was granted to one Koje alias Kochi d/o. Kavura under the depressed classes darkhast, in D. D. R. No. 3/1335, dated 31-7-1925. The said Koje sold the said land in favour of one seethu Hengsu under the registered sale deed dated 5-11-1956. The said sale deed describes that both the vendor and the purchaser as belonging to Harijan caste. The said Seethu Hengsu in turn sold the said land in favour of the petitioners under registered sale deed dated 1-8-1968. Ever since then the petitioners have been in possession and enjoyment of the said land, as owners. It is stated that Jeppinamogaru Village now falls within the city limits of Mangalore.

( 2 ) THE Karnataka Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prohibition of Transfer of Certain Lands) Act, 1978 (PTCL Act' for short), came into force on 1-1-1979. 2. 1 Section 4 of the PTCL Act prohibits the transfer of granted lands. Sub-section (1) of Section 4 which is relevant is extracted below:" (1) Notwithstanding anything in any law, agreement, contract or instrument, any transfer of granted land made either before or after the commencement of this Act, in contravention of the terms of the grant of such land or the law providing for such grant, or sub-section (2) shall be null and void and no right, title or interest in such land shall be conveyed or be deemed ever to have conveyed by such transfer". 2. 2 "granted land" is defined under Section 3 (b) of the Act as meaning any land granted by the Government to a person belonging to any of the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes and includes land allotted or granted to such person under the relevant law for the time being in force relating to agrarian reforms or land ceilings or abolition of inams, other than that relating to hereditary offices or rights and the word "granted" shall be construed accordingly. 2. 3 Section 5 deals with the resumption and restitution of granted lands. It provides that where, on application by any interested person or on information given in writing by any person or suo motu, and after such enquiry as he deems necessary, the Assistant Commissioner is satisfied that the transfer of any granted land is null and void under sub-section (1) of Section 4, he may, by order take possession of such land after evicting all persons in possession thereof and restore such land to the original grantee or his legal heir.

( 3 ) THE 4th respondent initiated proceedings under Sections 4 (1) and 5 of the PTCL Act in regard to the said land in case No. A. DIS. PTL. CR. 11/91-92. After examining the records and after giving a hearing to the petitioner, he passed an order on 6-2-1992. He held that the land in question had been granted to one Koje on 31-7-1925 under depressed classes darkhast and such grant was governed by Board's Standing Order No. 15 of the Board of Revenue (Madras ). He held that under the board's Standing Order No. 15 ('bso No. 15' for short), a land granted under the depressed classes darkhast could not be alienated to any person (whether a member of the depressed class or not) in any manner before expiry of 10 years from the date of the grant, nor even thereafter, except to other members of that class. The Assistant Commissioner held that even though the alienation was after the expiry of the 10 years from the date of grant and was in favour of a person belonging to a depressed class, the subsequent alienation was in favour of a person not belonging to a depressed class and therefore the sale was in violation of the conditions of the grant and consequently Section 4 (1) was attracted. The assistant Commissioner therefore declared the sale deed dated 1-8-1968 in favour of the petitioners as null and void under Section 4 (1) of the Act and directed resumption of the land and restoration of the land in favour of the legal heirs of the original grantee.

( 4 ) FEELING aggrieved, the petition