ORDER

M. Radha Krishnaiah and three others filed this writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India questioning the action of respondent No.3 in issuing the impugned proceedings No.D.Dis(E4)/REV- ESECOLAS(APL)/48/2020 dated 02.01.2021 canceling the DKT pattas issued in favour of the petitioners vide its file No.260/4/91 dated 05.09.1983, 263/4/91 dated 17.05.1982, 260/4/91 dated 17.05.1982 and 259/4/1991 dated 17.05.1982 without any authority and on flimsy grounds while exercising power under Board Standing Order No.15 (paragraph 18) and declare the same as illegal, arbitrary and violative of principles of natural justice and Articles 14, 15, 16, 21 and 300-A of the Constitution of India, consequently direct the respondents not to dispossess the petitioners from their land situated in Survey Nos.387/2, 387/1, 385/3 and 385/1 to an extent of Ac.3.62 cents, Ac.3.62 cents, Ac.2.90 cents and Ac.2.90 cents of land at Kannavaram village of Satyavedu Mandal of Chittoor District except in accordance with law and subject to payment of compensation under Fight to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.

The petitioners are poor people belonging to the weaker sections.

Having considered their poverty, the 5th respondent had allotted the subject land to the petitioners and granted DKT pattas in their favour since the year 1981 onwards. Since the date of assignment of land by issuing DKT pattas, the petitioners are in continuous possession and enjoyment of the said land cultivating the same by raising different crops. The 5th respondent issued pattadar pass books in favour of the petitioners and their names were also mutated in the revenue records. Form 1B register, adangal pahani also disclosed the names of the petitioners being the owners and that the petitioners are in peaceful possession and enjoyment of the property cultivating the land since the date of assignment. As such, their possession cannot be disturbed.

The petitioners mortgaged their respective land with the bank and obtained loans for the purpose of raising commercial crops like Cashew nut, Eucalyptus plantation in the year 1985-86. Later, the petitioners and others formed into a society known as ‘Kannavaram Co-operative Joint Farming Society Limited’ bearing registration No.812 and was registered under Section 7 of the Co-operative Societies Act. The said society was formed with an objective of undertaking joint farming of the land and allied programmes such as dairy, poultry, animal husbandry etcetera, on planning basis for increase of agricultural production.

Respondent Nos.6 to 8, having no manner of right to dispossess the petitioners, are unauthorisedly interfering with the possession and enjoyment of the land by these petitioners. Thereupon, the petitioners approached this Court and filed WP.No.7556 of 2020. This Court, upon hearing arguments of both the counsel, directed the respondents therein not to interfere with the possession and enjoyment of the property of these petitioners except in accordance with law. At the time of hearing of the writ petition referred above, neither the revenue department nor the forest department raised any specific issue regarding validity of the pattas. Thereafter, respondent Nos.6 to 8 started interfering again with the possession and enjoyment of these petitioners and issued notice under Section 20(3) of A.P Forest Act, 1967 [for short, ‘the Forest Act’] calling upon the petitioners to vacate the land as the land belong to forest department.

Aggrieved by the action of the respondents, the petitioners again approached this Court and filed W.P.No.18493 of 2020 and upon hearing argument, this Court had set aside the notices on the ground that the land belong to the revenue department and the forest department has no authority to issue notice under Section 20(3) of the Forest Act.

It is further contended that the revenue authorities are not competent to issue any notice