HYDERABAD: Disapproving of the way the united Andhra Pradesh government took away 11 acres of land and a house from a toddy tapper in Rangareddy district (now in Telangana) 58 years ago in the name of recovering a paltry Rs 3,500 dues from him, the Telangana high court has directed the state to return all that to the kin of the late K Rama Goud immediately.
A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice K Lakshman recently pronounced this order after hearing a writ appeal filed by Goud's sons K Anjaiah and K Narahari of Burugupally village in Mominpet mandal.
Making it clear that the auction purchase of the property by the state itself for a mere Rs 60 is against the very provisions of board standing order No. 45 under which the state had initiated the recovery process, the bench set aside the state purchase of the property.
The bench also nullified the allotment of nine acres to an ex-serviceman from the 11 acres and his subsequent sale of five acres to Gitam University.
“All the 11 acres along with the house should come back to the kin of Goud,” the bench said. Goud was the absolute owner and possessor of 11 acres and 25 guntas of agricultural land in survey numbers 117 and 121 (new survey Nos. 124 and 128/2) and a house bearing door No. 1-42 in Burugupalli.
He took a toddy contract for Marpally Kalan village in 1957-58. For obtaining this contract, he mortgaged his 11 acres of agricultural land and house as security for payment of rentals.
However, there were arrears of Rs 3,393 towards rentals, which he could not clear. The state government initiated recovery proceedings under the provisions of the Revenue Recovery Act, 1864, for recovering the dues through the sale of the mortgaged property. The excise department auctioned the property twice in 1964.
Though two parties came forward and won the bids for Rs 5,000, both of them did not pay the amount despite winning the bids. The state then cancelled the auction and purchased the entire property for Rs 60 under revenue board standing order No. 45. The state paid Rs 50 for the house and Rs 10 for the 11 acres.
