HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE LAXMI NARAYANA ALISHETTY CIVIL REVISION PETITION No.1798 of 2024

ORDER

This Civil Revision Petition, under Article 227 of the Constitution of India, is filed against the order dated 30.04.2024 in CMA.No.10 of 2024, passed by the X Additional District Judge, Ranga Reddy District at LB Nagar (hereinafter referred to as the ‘First Appellate Court’), confirming the order of interim injunction dated 15.12.2023 in IA.No.277 of 2019 in OS No.64 of 2019 passed by the Court of Junior Civil Judge, Chevella, Ranga Reddy District (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Trial Court’).

2. The brief facts of the case, as narrated by the petitioners in the affidavit filed in support of the present Civil Revision Petition, are that:

2.1 The petitioners are absolute owners of Acs.3-12 Gts of land located in Survey No.692 of Janwada Village, Shankarpally Mandal, Ranga Reddy District; that the said land was once part of a larger extent held by one Jagannatha Reddy and was cultivated jointly by protected tenants-Potti Lingaiah and Tallari Lakshmaiah and subsequently, by the legal heirs of the Potti/Maheshwaram and Tallari families and were recognized as successors.

2.2 In 1997, under the Telangana Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1950 (for short ‘the Act’), succession of tenancy rights over Acs.5-27 Gts of land was granted to Potti Maisaiah and Potti Krishna and after partial surrender of their protected tenancy rights by the said persons under Section 19(1) of the Act, possession over the remaining extent of Acs.3-12 gts of land was handed over to Potti Venkataiah, Tallari Shankaraiah and their brothers, who are in all ten in number, in 2004, who in turn, filed an application for grant of certificate declaring them as purchasers under Section 38(6) of the Act upon depositing the price fixed under section 38 (3) of the Act; that the said application was allowed by Collector- cum-RDO, Chevella Division and pursuant to the same, the ten legal heirs of the protected tenants deposited a sum of Rs.165/- and they were declared ‘owners’ and were also issued Occupancy Certificates and pattadar passbooks in 2005.

2.4 Later, the said ten legal heirs of protected tenents executed an Agreement of Sale-cum-General Power of Attorney in favour of one Rangaraju Ravi Kumar, who sold the land admeasuring Acs.2- 28 Gts. to one D Seema and land admeasuring Ac. 0-24 Gts to one S Sreedevi. D Seema gifted her share to her daughter-D.Vasanthi. In 2016, both Vasanthi and Sreedevi sold the entire extent of land to one B Sujatha (Ac.0-39 Gts.) and Sri Divi Satya Sayee Babu (Acs.2-13 Gts.), who later executed General Powers of Attorney in favour of one B.Lakshmana Rao.

2.5 Meanwhile, the respondents, without any legal right, fabricated a story that the protected tenants-Potti Lingaiah and Tallari Lakshmaiah have orally surrendered their tenancy rights to the original pattadar-Jagannatha Reddy, who, later sold the land under an unregistered deed to one Bojana Mallaiah. This claim, unsupported by any official record, led to a narrative that the land eventually passed through several hands and ultimately, to respondent No.1-M.Sri Devi, who allegedly purchased it in 2001; that in 2005, respondent No.1 filed an appeal before the Joint Collector challenging the ownership of heirs of protected tenants and the same was dismissed for default in 2006; and that respondent No.1 also filed two Tenancy Appeals before the Joint Collector, Ranga Reddy District in 2006, challenging the succession order dated 04.11.1997, granted in favour of respondent No.1 and the proceedings of the Mandal Revenue Officer dated

25.08.2024 issued in favour of legal heirs of the protected tenants.

2.6 The Joint Collector, despite raising the plea of res judicata, erroneously invoked the provisions of the A.P. Rights in Land and Pattadar Passbook Act, 1971 (for short ‘the ROR Act’) and allowed both appeals vide order dated 28.03.2008, holding that the heirs of the protected tenants approached the aut