Writ courts lack authority to determine disputes regarding land ownership, requiring resolution through civil courts under the Tamil Nadu Patta Pass Book Act.

JUDGMENT

(Judgment of the Court was delivered by S.M.SUBRAMANIAM, J.)

Under assail is writ order dated 23.12.2021 passed in W.P.No.7070 of 2020.

2. District Collector, Krishnagiri, along with other Revenue authorities, preferred the present intra-court appeal challenging writ order allowing the claim of the respondent/writ petitioner for grant of patta in respect of land in Survey Nos.105/3 and 106/1 of Kundhumaranapalli Village, Denkanikottai Taluk, Krishnagiri District.

3. Learned Additional Government Pleader appearing on behalf of the appellants would mainly contend that subject land originally classified as 'Depressed Class Land' and to be assigned in favour of Depressed Class community people for their livelihood. It was a conditional assignment made in terms of Revenue Standing Orders. Assignees are not entitled to sell Depressed Class lands before expiry of the period mentioned in the assignment conditions and even after expiry of the period of twenty years, these properties can be alienated only in favour of Depressed Class Community person, who are eligible to get assignment of Government lands under the Revenue Standing Orders.

4. In the present case, certain sale deeds were produced by the respondent. Such sale deeds per se would not confer any title/ownership invalidating assignment of Depressed Class lands in favour of Adi Dravida people. De-reservation relied on by the respondent does not change the position. Assignment conditions remained unchanged. In adangal records, it is registered that land is maintained as Adi Dravida Condition land. That being the entry in revenue records, District Collector, after adjudication arrived a conclusion that any sale deed registered in favour of a person, who belongs to any other community other than Adi Dravida Community, is null and void, and passed orders holding that subsequent sale deeds registered in favour of the other community persons, are null and void in view of the conditions stipulated in the assignment order granted to the Adi Dravida Community people.

5. Writ Court has gone into certain pleadings erroneously made by the Tahsildar in W.P.No.7070 of 2022, which is not in consonance with the facts and the revenue records made available. Tahsildar has provided certain mistaken information, which are all not in accordance with the revenue records available. Thus, the writ order impugned is to be set aside.

6. Learned Senior Counsel Mr.A.K.Sriram, appearing on behalf of the respondent, would oppose by stating that the appellants at no point of time, disputed the title of the respondent. It is all about grant of patta based on the sale deeds and, therefore, question of adjudication of these issues may not arise at all. Once the sale deeds are produced before the revenue authorities, it would show that the respondent is the owner. Originally, subject lands were classified as 'Depressed Class Lands' as per the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette of the year 1926. A revised classification was made in the year 1934 de-reserving subject lands. Therefore, there is no prohibition to alienate subject lands in favour of other community persons. Thus sale deeds subsequently executed are to be construed as valid for the purpose of deciding title/ownership of the persons.

7. Writ Court allowed the writ petition. Even, discrepancies are found in the revenue records. After de-reservation of Depressed Class lands in the year 1934, entries made in the adangal book are found to be erroneous and after de-reservation, subject lands cannot be continued as Depressed Class lands.

8. This Court has considered the rival submissions made between the parties to the lis. The issues to be considered by this Court are, whether writ Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India can adjudicate disputed facts, touching upon the civil rights and whether under the scheme of the Tamil Nadu Patta Pass Book Act, 1983 (hereinafter the Act), a direction can be issued by the writ Court to grant patta, when dispute