ORDER :

Petitioners 1 and 2 are purchasers of 8 acres of land in Sy.No.42 of Navarathna Agrahara, Jala Hobli, Bengaluru North Taluk. Admittedly, the first petitioner is owner of an extent of 6 acres and 2nd petitioner is owner of 2 acres in aforesaid survey number. The petitioners have purchased aforesaid 8 acres of land under 11 sale deeds. The copies of which are at Annexures-B, C, F, G, K, M, M1 to M3, O and Q. The entire extent of land is mutated in favour of petitioners vide mutation register extract at Annexures-D, D1, H, J, L, N, N1 to N3, P and R and RTC of aforesaid land is also standing in the name of petitioners as could be seen from RTC produced at Annexure-S.

2. When matter stood thus, the petitioners have approached the 3rd respondent - Tahsildar, Bengaluru North Taluk (Additional), Yelahanka, Bengaluru, seeking conducting of Hadbasth of 8 acres of land standing in their name, which according to them is not subjected to Hadbasth from 1958 onwards i.e., the date when the said land was re-granted in favour of the purchasers from Jodidar in whose name the land was re-granted in the year 1958 and thereafter, it was sold in favour of various persons from whom the petitioners herein have secured title to the said land. To the said application the 3rd respondent – Tahsildar, has issued an endorsement dated 6.12.2013 in proceedings bearing No.LND/NA/ CR.551/2011-12 in stating that the land bearing Sy.No.42 was re-granted by the Deputy Commissioner under Inams Abolition proceedings pursuant to Inams Abolition Act, 1954, hence, vide Section 9(1) of the Inams Abolition Act, 1954 the grant which is made in favour of petitioners’ predecessor in title is not permissible under Section 68(2) of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964, therefore, the prayer for conducting phodi of an extent of 7 acres 28 guntas in Sy.No.42 cannot be considered (though the application was seeking phodi of 8 acres of land in the name of petitioners 1 and 2). Accordingly, the 3rd respondent – Tahsildar ordered for keeping the matter pending. Being aggrieved by the same, the present writ petitions are filed.

3. The petitioners herein would bring to the notice of this Court that the entire land bearing Sy.No.42 was Jodi Inam land which belonged to Inamdars K. Munishamaiah, K. Ramaiah and 3 brothers from whom one Nanjundappa son-in-law of Bachappa purchased 2 acres on 6.2.1958. In that behalf, proceedings was initiated on the file of Special Amildar for abolition of Inams, Kolar District in No.36/1958-59, wherein the Special Deputy Commissioner passed an order dated 28.11.1958 in registering the name of the purchaser namely, Nanjundappa as kadim tenant under section 4 of Mysore (Personal and Miscellaneous) Inams Abolition Act, 1954.

4. Similarly, another 7 acres of land in Sy.No.42 of Navarathna Agrahara was re-granted in favour of 5 persons, namely (1) N. Munegowda, (2) Nagarathnamma, (3) Channarayappa (4) Papamma and (5) Narayanappa S/o Byatappa, in proceedings No.LRF(INA) 361, 366, 369, 379, 380, 392, 407, 278, 303, 304, 246, 242, 243 and 290 of 1980-81 on the file of the Land Tribunal, Devanahalli Taluk, which is at Annexure-E, wherein the aforesaid 5 persons are shown at Sl.Nos.5 to 9. Consequently, they are registered as kathedars of the said land. Subsequently, the records would disclose that from Nanjundappa son-in-law of Bachappa and 5 other persons who owned together 9 acres of land, an extent of 8 acres is purchased by various persons, who in turn have sold said 8 acres to the petitioners under sale deeds, referred to supra. Further, as discussed earlier katha of said 8 acres is also registered in the name of the petitioners in the year 2005-2006 itself.

5. In this background, when the entire records are looked in to, the same would disclose that though the land bearing Sy.No.42 which was basically an inam land at the hands of inamdards an extent of 2 acres therein was subsequently sold in favour of Nanjundappa and an extent of 7 acres was re-grante