Writ petition by persons who claim to be in unauthorised possession and cultivation of certain extents of land in Sy. No. 32 of Chikka Sakuna Village, Soraba Taluk, Shimoga District praying for issue of a writ of mandamus to the respondents to direct them to consider the application of the petitioners for regularisation of their unauthorised possession and cultivation.

2. It is the version of the petitioners that they have been in possession and cultivation of these lands for the past over 20 years; that the petitioners have also filed application in Form 53 praying for regularisation of their unauthorised cultivation; that such applications are pending before the authorities.

3. It is further averred that on the filing of the applications the authorities had taken steps for verifying the claim of the petitioners; that the matter had progressed upto the stage of preparing a sketch by spot inspection of the land by certain lower level officials of the office of the Taluk Surveyor, Soraba Taluk; that the Taluk Surveyor had demarcated the land identifying the land, extent available for distribution etc. At this stage, due to certain political rivalry in the village the applicati