The petitioners are Villagers of Medipalli Village, Nakkarta Gram Panchayat of Yacharam Mandal in Ranga Reddy District. They filed the instant Writ Petition challenging the action of the third respondent in assigning Plot Nos.1 to 22 of Medipalli Village by proceedings dated 13.09.2005 to respondents 5 to 26 as illegal and arbitrary, and for a direction to set aside the same.

The case of the petitioners in brief is that the land admeasuring Ac.0.18 guntas is classified as Grama Kantam land. The same vests in the Gram Panchayat, which allotted an extent of Ac.0.18 guntas to the petitioners during the period from 1979-2000 as per the decision of the Sarpanch at the relevant time. However, the third respondent without canceling the allotment made in favour of the petitioners issued assignment orders in favour of respondents 5 to 26 without issuing any notice to the petitioners. The petitioners filed O.S.No.129 of 2005 on the file of the Court of the Junior Civil Judge, Ibrahimpatnam, against respondents 3 and 4 for perpetual injunction. However, they withdrew the suit and filed the present Writ Petition assailing the assignment made in favour of respondents 5 to 26 as violative of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India. They seek invalidation of the orders passed by the third respondent in favour of the contesting respondents.

At the stage of admission itself a counter affidavit is filed on behalf of respondents 1 to 3, and a separate counter affidavit is filed by respondents 5 to 26. Though adequate time was granted to the fourth respondent, no counter affidavit is filed. However, learned Standing Counsel made submissions on behalf of the fourth respondent.

The Mandal Revenue Officer in the counter affidavit states that as per the pahani for the year 1972-1973 the total extent of Grama Kantam land was Acs.24.6 guntas. This is occupied by pucca houses of the Villagers. Subsequently, the Sarpanch of Nakkarta Gram Panchayat passed a resolution for allotment of remaining vacant Grama Kantam land for providing house sites to poor Scheduled Caste beneficiaries. Therefore, possession certificates were issued to respondents 5 to 26 in File No.B/4539/2005, dated 13.09.2005, assigning Ac.0.18 guntas in their favour. The writ petitioners were never allotted the Grama Kantam land, and the petitioners created bogus documents, and filed this Writ Petition. All the petitioners own agricultural land and also have their own houses, and therefore, they are not entitled for assignment of any house site patta. It is also asserted that the petitioners have nothing to do with the Grama Kantam land, and that they are not in possession of any land forming part of Grama Kantam. The counter affidavit also gives the land holding particulars of the writ petitioners showing that the petitioners own land ranging from Acs.4.00 to Acs.13.10 guntas. It is also stated that the petitioners filed the writ petition after I.A.No.530 of 2005 in O.S.No.129 of 2005 was dismissed by the Court of the Junior Civil Judge, Ibrahimpatnam. In the counter affidavit filed on behalf of respondents 5 to 26 it is stated that all the respondents are landless poor persons belonging to Scheduled Caste community, that they made representations to respondents 1 to 3 for allotment of house sites, that respondent No.1 came to the Village and prepared the list of beneficiaries, and that after conducting enquiry, these respondents were granted house site patas in 2005 to an extent of 60 square yards each. The petitioners filed O.S.No.129 of 2005 and also filed I.A.No.530 of 2005, which was dismissed on 09.10.2006, and thereafter, the petitioners filed the present Writ Petition. The other allegations made by the petitioners are denied.

Learned Counsel for the petitioners submits that when once the land is assigned to the petitioners, without canceling the assignment and without issuing notice to the petitioners, the third respondent cannot reassign/reallot the same land to