SMT. SREELATHA BHUPAL ETC. ETC.versusGOVT. OF ANDHRA PRADESH REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY, REVENUE DEPARTMENT, HYDERABAD AND OTHERS ETC. ETC.

                 SMT. SREELATHA BHUPAL ETC. ETC.
A
                                         v.
      GOVT. OF ANDHRA PRADESH REPRESENTED BY ITS
      SECRETARY, REVENUE DEPARTMENT, HYDERABAD
                 AND OTHERS ETC. ETC.

B                            NOVEMBER 28, 1989

               [G.L. OZA AND M. FATHIMA BEEVI, JJ.)

         Andhra Pradesh Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings Act, 1961: ss.
    7, 8, JO & 19-Surplus land-Surrender of-Compensation deter-
    mined-Revision of-Whether beyond jurisdiction.
c
          Sub-clause (2) of s. 7 of the Andt:a Pradesh Ceiling on Agri-
    cultural Holdings Act, 1961 mandates the Revenue Divisional Officer to
    serve a notice on every person liable to surrender land in excess of the
    ceiling area requiring him to file a statement indicating the land which
D   he proposes to surrender. Sub-clause (3) requires the Revenue Divi-
    sional Officer to pass orders on that statement approving the surrender,
    and the said land shall thereupon be deemed to have been surrendered.
    Section 8 provides for the Revenue Divisional Officer to take over such
    land on payment of compensation under s. IO. Section IO lays down the
    mode of compensation.
E
          In the instant case, proceedings under s. 7(3) of the Act in respect
    of appellant's land having concluded the Revenue Divisional Officer
    had .made an order under s. IO fixing the compensation. The District
    Revenue Officer however instead of making the payment, issued a
    notice, purporting to be under s. 19(1), as amended, proposing to revise
F   the said order.

          The appellant filed a writ petition contending that when the pro-
    ceedings are concluded under sub-clause (3) of s. 7 the surrender is
    complete and the land vests in the State, that what remains under the
    scheme of s. IO is only the question of determining compensation, and
G   once that is determined the authorities have no jurisdiction to revise the
    compensation.

          On behalf of the State it was contended that cl. (3) of s. 7 uses the
    words "deemed to have been surrendered" which indicates that
    although by an order passed by the Revenue Divisional Officer the
H   proposal about the surrender of land is finalised but still it is only

                                       314
                    SMT. S. BHUPAL v. GOVT. OF.A.P.                      315

 deemed surrender, and that the land only vests in the State when it is
                                                                                A
 taken over after payment of compensation in accordance withs. 8.

        The High Court took the view that unless taking over is completed
 under s. 8 the land does not vest in the State and, therefore, it .could not
 be said that the proceedings uuder the Act had come to an end and at
 this stage if the authorities have jurisdiction to revise the compensation     B
 it could not he said that the authorities have done something beyond
 their jurisdiction.

       Dismissing the appeals, the Court,

        HELD: The scheme of s. 7 of the Andhra Pradesh Ceiling on
  Agricultural Holdings Act, 1961 indicates that the surplus land which a       c
  holder will surrender is finally determined when an order under ti. (3)
  is passed. However, in spite of the finality of these proceedings the
  legislature instead of using the phrase "have been surrendered" in the
  said clause uses the term "deemed to have been surrendered." It is
  clear from these words that something more remains to he done, and            D
. that is what is provided in s. 8 hy authorising the Revenue Divisional
  Officer to_~ake over the land, which is deemed to have been surrendered,
  on payment of compensation determined under s. IO. It is only after this
  taking over that the land vests in the State. [3I9G; 320A; 320C-D]

        It is, therefore, apparent that orders under s. 8 can only he passed    E
 after compensation as determined under s. IO is paid, and so far action
 under s. 8 has not been taken it could not he said that the land vests in
 the State. The competent authorities can revise the orders passed under
 s. IO if an amendment has taken place in between. l32IH; 32IB]

      In the instant case, action under s. 8 had not been taken. The High       F
 Court was, therefore, right in rejecting the writ petitions. [32IH; 3228]

       CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 1147
 of 1975.

      From the Judgment and Order dated 28. 12. 1973 of the Andhra              G
 Pradesh High Court in W.P. No. 4818 of 1973. With Civil Appeal Nos.
 1054-55 of 1976, 1503 and 1546 of 1977
      T.S. Krishnamurthy Iyer, C. Sitaramiah, K. Madhava Reddy,
Chella Sitaramani, K. Ram Kumar, Mrs. J. Ramachandran, Mrs.
Anjani, TVSN Chari, A.V. Rangam, Jagan Rao and A.V.V. Nair for
the appearing parties.                                                          H
    316         SUPREME COURT REPORTS                 [ 1989] Supp. 2 S.C.R.

          The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
A
         OZA, J. This appeal arises out of the judgment of the High
    Court of Andhra Pradesh in Writ Petition No. 4818 of 1973 wherein
    the writ petition filed by the Appellant/Petitioner was dismissed.

B         In the writ petition before the High Court the petitioner sought
    mandamus directing the respondent to pay forthwith to the petitioner
    compensation for the lands surrendered by her under the Andhra
    Pradesh Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings Act 1961. A further direc-
    tion was sought prohibitingthe third respondent from pro~eding with
    the revision under section 19( 1) of the Act as amended by Act No. I of
    1972 w.e.f. 19.1.72.
c
        Necessary facts are that the petitioner's husband owned exten-
  sive lands in Gadwal. After the Act came into force the Revenue
  Divisional Officer, Gadwal issued a notice under section 3('2) of the Act
  directing the petitioner's husband to file a declaration of his. holdings.
D The petitioner's husband accordingly filed the declaration. Thereafter
  he died in 1969 leaving behind the petitioner and three minor children.

        The Revenue Divisional Officer held an enquiry under section 6
  of the Act and by his order dated 25.1.71 he held that the petitioner's
  husband legal representatives were holding 29. 72 family holdings in
E excess of the ceiling area which they were entitled to hold.

           A notice was then issued to the petitioner under section 7(2) on
    25. 1. 71 requiring the petitioner to file a statement indicating the land
    which she proposes to surrender.

F        The petitioner thereupon filed a detailed statement of lands she
    proposes to surrender on 19 .3. 7 1.

        The Revenue Divisional Officer on being satisfied after an
  enquiry that the lands proposed to be surrendered satisfy the require-
  i;nents of sec. I ( 1) and (2) of the Act l'assed an order on 31. 3. 71 under •
G section 7(3) of the Act approving the surrender of 713.16 acres (an
  equivalent of 29. 72 family holdings) by the petitioner.

        Thereafter the petitioner filed an application before the Revenue
  Divisional Officer for fixation of compensation in respect of lands
  surrendered by her under section 10 of the Act. The Revenue Divi-
H sional Officer fixed the compensation of Rs.6,44,265.09 in respect of
  lands surrenderd by her.
              SMT. S. BHUPAL v. GOVT. OF.A.P. (OZA, J.I                317

      The Revenue Divisional Officer published a notification contain-         A
ing particulars of the lands surrendered by the petitioner and the com-
pensation payable therefor in the Andhra Pradesh Gazette on 7. 7. 71
according to section 11 of the Act.

       Instead of paying the compensation as determined, the District
Revenue Officer Mahboobnagar issued a notice dated 21.3. 72 propos-            B
ing to revise the orders of the Revenue Divisional Officer dated
15.4. 71 fixing compensation of the lands surrendered by the peti-
tioner. This notice is purported to have been issued under section 19
clause 1 of the Act as amended.

     The petitioner filed ·an objection contending that the 3rd respon-
dent had no jurisdiction to revise the order fixing compensation which
                                                                               c
was passed before, as on the day the Divisional Officer issued notice
the order sou~ht to be revised had become final. In spite of this the 3rd
respondent has not disposed of the revision proceedings and it was
because of this writ petition was filed before the High Court.
                                                                               D
      Learned counsel for the appellant contended before us that
once under section 7 the land which is in excess of the ceiling limit is
determined and a statement of surrender is filed by a holder which is
accepted by the Revenue Divisional Officer under ,clause 3 of section
7, the land vests in the State and thereafter the authorities have no
jurisdiction to attempt to revise the compensation or any order which          E
has already been passed under the Act.

      Whereas on behalf of the State it was contended that clause 3 of
section 7 uses the word "deemed to have been surrendered" which
clearly indicates that although by an order passed by Revenue Divi-
sional Officer the proposal made by the holder about the surrender of          F
land is accepted and it is finalised but still it is only deemed surrender
as even aft~r this land does not vest in the State but it only vests as h_as
been contemplated under section 8 which clearly lays down that the
land which is deemed to have been surrendered under section 7 only
vests in the State when it is taken over after payment of compensation
in accordance with section 8.                                                  G

      The High Court accepted the contention of the State and it took
the view that unless taking over is completed under sec. 8 the land does
not· vest, in the State and therefore it could not be said that the pro-
ceedings under this Act has come to an end and at this stage when the
land has yet not vested in the State if the authorities have jurigdiction      H
    318         SUPREME COURT REPORTS                 [ 1989] Supp. 2· S.C.R.

    to revise the compensation it could not be said that the authorities
A   have done something beyond their jurisdiction.

          The main argument before the High Court and before us on
    behalf of the appellant is that once under the scheme of the Act an
    order is passd by the competent authority under section 7 sub-clause 3
B   so far as the holder is concerned he has surrendered the surplus land
    and what remains under the scheme of section IO and 11 is only the
    question of determining of compensation and once that is determined
    there is no option to the authorities but to pay compensation to the
    person who has surrendered the holding in accordance with the
    scheme of section 7 of the Act.

c         It is not in dispute that the proceedings were taken under
    Andhra Pradesh Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings Act 196 I and after
    the declaration was filed the ceiling area was determined in accordance
    with section 6. It is also not in dispute that in accordance with section 7
    sub-clause 2 a notice was served on the petitioner/appellant for filing a
D   statement indicating the land which she proposes to surrender and it is
    after the statement was filed by the appellant that an order in accor-
    dance with sub-clause 3 of section 7 was passed. Section 7 reads:

                "(J'J If the extent of the holding of a person is not more
                than the ceiling area determined under section 6, he shall
E               be entitled to retain such holding, but if it is more than the
                ceiling area, he shall be liable to surrender the extent of
                land in excess of the ceiling area.

                (2) The Revenue Divisional Officer shall serve on every
                person who is liable to surrender land in excess of the ceil-
F               ing area under sub-section (11), a notice specifying therein
                the extent of land which he has to surrender, and requiring
                him to file a statement in such manner and within such
                period as may be prescribed indicating therein the land
                which he proposes to surrender.

G
                (3) If the person, on whom a notice is served under
                sub-section (2), files the statement referred to in that sub-
                section, within the prescribed period and Revenue Divi-
                                                                                  -
                sional Officer is satisfied, after making an inquiry in the
                prescribed manner, that-the proposed surrender of the land
                is in accordance with the provisions of sub-sections (I~ and
H               (2), he shall pass an order approving the surrender and the
               SMT. S. BHUPAL v. GOVT. OF.A.P. [OZA, J.)                 319

             said land shall thereuponn be deemed to have been
             surrendered by such person.                                        A

             (4) If the person, on whom a notice is served under sub-
             section (2), does not file the statement referred to in that
             sub-section within the prescribed period, or filed such
             statement within the prescribed period, but does not               B
             specify therein the entire extent of land which he has to
             surrender, the Revenue Divisional Officer may himself
             select, in the former case, the entire extent and in the latter
             case the balance of the extent which such person has to
             surrender, and !'ass an order to that effect; and thereupon
             the said land or the balance of land, as the case may be,
             shall be deemed to have been surrendered by such person".          c
       The scheme of this section indicates that when the extent of
 holding of a person is determined under section 6 and if while
 determining it under section 6 it is found that he is holding more than
 the ceiling area he shall be liable to surrender the extent of the land        D
 which is in excess of the ceiling area. Sub-clause 2 of this section
 contemplates that the Revenue Divisional Officer will serve a notice
 on all such persons who are liable to surrender the land in excess of the
 ceiling area and this notice will specify the extent of the land which he
 has to surrender and a direction that the person -concerned will file a
 statement indicating the land which the holder proposes to surrender.          E

        Sub-clause 3 of the this section contemplates that after the notice
  under sub-clause 2 is served and the person concerned files his state-
  ment within the prescribed period, the Revenue Divisional Officer if
  he is satisfied from the st~tement filed in response to a notice under
  clause 2 about the land which the holder proposes to surrender, he            F
· shall pass an order approving the surrender of the land.

       -Sub-clause 4 contemplates a situation where after a notice is
 served under clause 2 the holder does not file a statement as contemp-
 lates under clause 3.
                                                                                G
      It is, therefore, clear that so far as the surplus land which a
holder will surrender is concerned it is finally determined when an
order under clause 3 of section 7.is passed by the Revenue Divisional
Officer but it is significant that in spite of the finality of these proceed-
ings the legislature uses the phrase "thereupon deemed to have been
surrendered by such person". Ii'is significant that instead of using the        H
    320         SUPREME COURT REPORTS                [ 1989] Supp. 2 S.C.R.

    phrase "have been surrendered" the legislature uses the term
A
    "deemed to have been surrendered" and it is clear from these words
    that something more remains to be done. Section 8 reads as under:

                (8) "Where any land is deemed to have been surrendered
                under section 7 by an owner, the Revenue Divisional
B               Officer may, by order, take over such land on payment of
                compensation under section 10, and such land shall be dis-
                posed of in the prescribed manner by assignment to land-
                                                                                t
                                                                                I

                less poor persons".

        This provides for vesting 'of the land deemed to have been
  surrendered by the owner. This terminology used inf the heading of the
c section itself indic~tes that even after determination of the surplus land
  which is deemed to have been surrendered. vesting only takes. place
  when something more is done and that is what is provided in this
  section. This section authorises the Revenue Divisional Officer to take
  over the land on paymeqt of compensation, compensation which is
D determined u/s 10 and land which is deemed to have Been Surrendered
  u/s 7 and it is only after this taking over under section 3· that under the
  scheme of this section the land vests in the State and thereafter it is
  provided that such land shall be disposed of in the prescribed manner
  by assignment to landless poor persons.

E         A perusal of the scheme of the section therefore clearly indicates
    that after an order is passed under sub-clause 3 of sec. 7 although the
    proceedings for surrender of the surplus land and the selection of the
    land which is sought to be surrendered is complete but still it is not
    surrender but it is only deemed to have been surrendered which clearly
    indicates that so far as the holder is concerned he has finally got
F   determined the lands which he will surrender as surplus which in due
    course will vest in the State for distribution to other landless persons
    but it is also clear from the language of section 8 and also from the
    language used in sub-clause 3 of section 7 that unless the land which is
    deemed to have been surrendered is taken over by payment of
    compensation determined under section 10 it does not vest in the
G   State. The scheme of section 8 therefore indicates that vesting in the
    State that is taking over by the Revenue Divisional Officer and pay-
    ment of compensation has to be simultaneous with and an order under
    section 8. It, therefore, appears that after proceeding for determina-
    tion of surplus under section 7 is completed, proceedings for determi-
    nation of compensation will start as is provided in section 10 and it is
H   only when compensation is also finally determined that under section 8
                SMT. S. BHUPAL v. GOVT. OF.A.P. (OZA, J.J.           321

taking over will take place after the compensation is paid.                 A

      It is, therefore, clear that after the proceedings have been comp-
leted in accordance with section 7 sub-clause 3 and even after the
compensation has been determined but action under section 8 has not
been taken it could not be said that the land vests in the State. The
competent authorities can revise the orders passed if an amendment          B
has taken place in between. It is apparent that in spite of proceedings
having conie to an end under sub-clause 3 of section 7 and that the
compensation has been determined still the land remains with the
holder who is enjoing the benefits out of the land until action under
section 8 is completed.

      Under these circumstances therefore the contention advanced by
                                                                            c
the appellant that when the proceedings are concluded under sub-
clause 3 of section 7 the surrender is complete and the land vests in the
State cannot be accepted as admittedly action under section 8 has not
been taken.
                                                                            D
      On the basis of some orders which appear to have been passed
under section 10 it was contended that taking over is complete but m
these orders only language of section 10 is reproduced. Section 10
reads as under:
            I
           "Compensation for lands taken over by the Revenue Divi-          E
           sional Officer: ( 1) The compensation payable for any land
           taken over by the Revenue Divisional Officer under sec-
           tion 8 or section 9 shall be an amount calculated at the
           rates specified in the Second Schedule. Where there are
           any structures of a permanent nature or trees on such land
           the value of such structures or trees shall be determined by     F
           the Revenue Divisional Officer in the manner prescribed
           and paid to the person who is entitled thereto.

                 (2) The compensation payable under sub-section ( 1)
           shall be paid either in cash or in bonds, or partly in cash
           and partly in bonds as the Government may deem fit. The          G
           bonds shall be issued on such terms 'and carry such rate of
           interest as may be prescribed."

But admittedly no order could be produced under section 8. It is clear
sthat orders under section 8 can only be passed after compensation as
determined under section 10 is paid.                                        H
    322         SUPREME COURT REPORTS               I 1989] Supp. 2 S.C.R.

A         Therefore no advantage could be taken from these orders under
    section 10. It was also alleged on behalf of the State that against these
    orders under section 10, it were the appellants (some of them) who
    filed writ petitions in the High court challenging the compensation
    and thus question of determination of compensation itself remained
    pending.
B
          Consequently, in our opinion, the High Court was right in reject-
    ing the writ petitions filed by the appellants. We therefore see no         .,
    reason to entertain this appeal. It is therefore dismissed. No order as
    to costs.

(       · For the reasons stated above, Civil Appeal Nos. 1054/76, 1055/
    76, 1503/77 and 1546/77 are allowed. No order as to costs.

    P.S.S.                                                Appeal dismissed.




    ·..




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