Holding

Lands transferred to protected tenants under Sections 38‑E and 38‑B of the Tenancy Act are excluded from the owner’s holding under Section 13 of the Ceiling Act, rendering the certificates issued to the respondents valid and the State’s appeal untenable.

Summary

The State of Andhra Pradesh appealed against the High Court’s order that five respondents, who were the sons of a late protected tenant, were the absolute owners of 123 acres of agricultural land and could not be declared surplus under the Andhra Pradesh Land Reforms (Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings) Act, 1973. The Supreme Court examined whether the respondents had attained the status of "protected tenant" under the Andhra Pradesh (Telangana Area) Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1950, and whether land transferred to them under Sections 38‑E and 38‑B of that Act must be excluded from the ceiling calculation under Section 13 of the Ceiling Act. It also considered whether the Collector could reopen the ceiling proceedings or the certificates issued under the Tenancy Act. The Court held that the respondents were indeed protected tenants, that land transferred to them under both Sections 38‑E and 38‑B is excluded from the owner’s holding, and that the certificates issued were valid and final. Consequently, the State’s appeal was dismissed.

Issues considered

Whether the respondents and their father obtained the status of "protected tenant" under the Tenancy Act and, if so, whether that status excludes the land from the ceiling provisions of the Ceiling Act.
Whether the land in question can be included in the original land owners' holding and declared surplus under the Ceiling Act.
Whether the Government/Collector can exercise suo moto power under Section 50‑8(4) of the Tenancy Act to reopen the ceiling cases or the certificates issued under Sections 38‑B/38‑E.

Legislation cited

Andhra Pradesh Land Reforms (Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings) Act, 1973s. 13, s. 20, s. 21, s. 3, s. 8
Andhra Pradesh (Telangana Area) Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1950s. 2(r), s. 34, s. 38, s. 38-A, s. 38-B, s. 38-E, s. 47, s. 48, s. 50-8(4)

Subjects

land reformsprotected tenantceiling actsurplus landres judicatasuo moto powertenancy actcertificate of ownershippartitionjoint Hindu familyAndhra Pradesh

Judgment

[2008] 16 S.C.R. 792

A STATE OFAP. & ANR. .
v.
T. YADAGIRI REDDY & ORS.
*
(Civil Appeal No. 6557 of 2002)

NOVEMBER 28, 2008
B
[LOKESHWAR SINGH PANTA AND V.5,
SIRPURKAR, JJ.]
-,,:
·ANDHRA ·PRADESH LAND REFORMS (CEILING ON
c AGRICULTURAL HOLDINGS) ACT, 1973:

. ss. 8 and 13 - Holding .of original land owner held by
protected tenant :-- HELD: Lands in question having stood
transferred to protected tenant uls 38-E of Tenancy Act, shall
be excluded from the holding of the owner and included in
D
the holding of the tenant - Besides, on coming into force of
the Act, the tenant and his sons had filed declarations u/s 8,
in respect of the land in question .and on due verification the
~

Land Tribunal had held the said land with them as not surplus, '
and (he said decision having become final, again the said
+
E
land could not have been included in the holding of the
original land owners - Andhra Pradesh (Telangana Area)
Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1950- ss. 38, 38-B, ·38-
E and 50-8(4).

.> F Andhra Pradesh (Telangana Area) Tenancy and
Agricultural Lands Act, 1950:
•
ss. 38, 47 and 48- Right of protected land to purchase *
land- HELD: Land purchased byprotected tenant from land
holders out of the income ofjoint famiiy property, became joint
G
family property so as to be open for partition and status of
protected tenan{ extended to other members of undivided
4-.
family - Sections 47 and 48 which provided for permission y
before transferswere made, were deleted w.e.f. 1969.

H 792
STATE OFA.P. & ANR. v. T. YADAGIRI REDDY & ORS. 793

> -+ ss. 38-B and 38-E - Land holders relinquishing their A
rights in land in favour of protected tenant - HELD: In the
instant case, land- holders had relinquished their interests in
the lands in question in 1983 and certificates had been issued
in favour of the tenants, as suoh, the said lands could not have
been included in the holding of the /and-owners for being B
declared as surplus under Ceiling Act - Andhra Pradesh Land
Reforms (Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings) Act, 1973 - s. 13.

s. 50-8(4) - Power of Collector to re-open suo-motu, the
certificates issued - HELD: In the instant case, 1there was no C
impropriety in issuing the certificate, to justify suo motu action
on the part of the Collector - Besides, the rights of parties have
already been crystallized and on the basis thereof, further
rights have been created in favour of several persons.

A public notice under the Andhra Pradesh ·Land D
Reforms (Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings) Act, 1973 was
issued on 6.2.1996 inviting objections to declare the lands
in question admeasuring 123 acres 17 guntas shown as
+ Survey Nos.24 to 30 and 39 as surplus with the original
land holders. The respondents filed objections E
contending that their father was in possession as tenant
of the said lands on 10.6.1975, the date on which the
Andhra Pradesh (Telangana Area) Tenancy and
Agricultural Lands Act, 1950 came into force, and as such
he was the protected tenant in respect thereof, that their F
father had entered· into an agreement on 25.2.1956 with
-.,1- the land holders in terms of s.38 of the Andhra Pradesh
(Telangana Area) Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act,
1950; thereafter the land in question was divided in six
equal shares amongst 5 respondents and their father; G ,
that on coming into force of the Ceiling Act, their father
and they filed six separate declarations, and on
~ verification by the Revenue authorities, the Land Tribunal
passed six separate orders on 14,.8.1975 and 27.10.1975
holding the land in question as non-surplus with the H
794 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 16 S.C.R.

A respondents and their father, 'Who died subsequently; + '
that no appeal was preferred against the said orders
which attained finality, and, therefore, the instant
proceedings were barred by principle of res-judicata. The ·. ·
respondents relied on the certificates issued u/s 38-E of
B the Tenancy Act and contended that the lands in question
were entitled to be excluded u/s 13 of the Ceiling Act from
the holdings of the original land holders. The Tribunal
rejected. the objections. The appeal of the respondents ...
was partly allowed by the Land Reforms Appellate
c Tribunal. However, the High Court in the revision petition
allowed the claim of the respondents in respect of the
entire land in question.

In the instant appeal filed by the State, the questions
for consideration before the Court were: (1) "Whether the
D respondents ever got the status of 'protected tenant' vis-
a-vis the land concerned within the meaning assigned to
that term in the Tenancy Act and what is the effect, and .,,
whether that status would result in excluding the land ~ "'
from the operation of the Ceiling Act;" (2) "Whether the
E land concerned can be included in the holding of the
original land holders and be declared surplus to the
detriment of the respondents Nos. 1-5;" and (3) "Whether
the Government would be justified in reopening the
ceiling cases, which stood finalized, as also whether it
F would be justified in opening the cases, wherein the
Certificates were granted to the respondents declaring
-lo:-
them as protected tenants, vis-a-vis, the concerned land."

Dismissing the appeal, the Court
G HELD: 1.1. Under s.13 of the Andhra Pradesh Land
Reforms (C~iling on Agricultural Holdings) Act, 1972, a ...
special provision is made for the protected tenants. The 'Y
section provides that where the holding of any owner
includes any land held by a protected tenant, the Tribunal
H
STATE OFA.P. & ANR. v. T. YADAGIRI REDDY & ORS. 795

;. ...... shall, in the first instance, determine whether such land A
or part thereof has been transferred to the protected
tenant u/s 38-E of the Andhra Pradesh (Telangana Area)
Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1950, and if such
transfer is made, such land shall be excluded from the
holding of the owner and included in the holding of such B
tenant. In the instant case, undisputedly, the father of the
respondents was holding the lands in question as a
tenant at the commencement of the Tenancy Act and he
·was a protected tenant in respect thereof. The land was
subsequently divided in six equal shares to the five
respondents and their father. [Para 2, 9 and 11] [801-C-
c
D; 811-D-E; 812-C]
1.2. As soon as the Ceiling Act came into existence,
the respondents and their father, filed separate
declarations u/s 8 of the Ceiling Act in respect of the lands D
in their possession. These claims were duly verified and
were not disputed at any time. The enquiry was made on
the basis of the declarations and even a public notice was
issued as prescribed by the rules, which publication took
place on 16.6.1975 and 20.6.1975. On receiving 'No E
Objection', the orders were passed specifically
mentioning that the respondents and their father had
claimed 1/6th share each in the lands held by their father
as owner u/s 38-E of the Tenancy Act and that even if the
1/6th share claimed by one son is taken into F
consideration, the total holding of the son would be less
than ceiling area and, as such, the claim was accepted
· and the matters were closed, holding that the Individual

.
.....
sons did not own the land In excess of the celling areas.
[Para 14] [814·B·E]
1.3. The Tribunal held that the father of the
G

• respondents had in the year 1955 purchased 123 acres
17 guntas (the land in question) from the original land
holders out of income of the Joint Hindu Family and thus,
the whole property became a joint family property, so as H
796 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008) 16 S.C.R.

A to be open for partition and accordingly, the partition was -\- ...
not only effected in the year 1956, but, acted upon also ~

by the separate cultivations of all the six members. This
order particularly holds that father of the respondents
was a protected tenant and his status as a protected
B tenant was not an individual status, but, the status
belonged even to the other members of his undivided
family. This order has remained unchallenged and has
become final. Even the other cases of the respondents
were finalized and they were also closed. On this strong
background, it will be futile to say that the respondents
c and their father, were not the protected tenants. They
were not only treated as the protected tenants, but their
individual cases were also dealt with by the Tribunal,
which ·held that individually, they did not hold any land
more than the ceiling area. All these orders, right from
D 1975 till date, i.e., for 33 years, have remained
unchallenged. [Para 16] (818-B-0]

1.4. The plea of the State that there being no
permission for transfer of the lands in question in terms
E of ss. 47 and 48 of the Tenancy Act, the lands could not
have been purchased in pursuance of the agreement
dated 22.5.1956, cannot be accepted since ss. 47 and 48
of the Tenancy Act which provided for permission before
transfers were made u/s 38, were deleted from 1969. [Para
F 5] [804-0]
2.1. It will be seen from the language of s.13 of the
Ceiling Act that the Tribunal has, as a first duty, to decide
the extent of land transferred under Section 38-E and then
to exclude such land. The use of the words "in the first
G instance" only suggests that the first finding that the
Tribunal has to give, is about the land covered u/s 38-E of
r
...
the Tenancy Act. However, the Section nowhere provides
that the Tribunal does not have to decide about the lands
covered u/s 38-B of the Tenancy Act. [Para 17]
H
STATE OF A.P. & ANR. v. T. YADAGIRI REDDY & ORS. 797

;
2.2. In the instant case, the land holders, had, u/s 38- A
~
B relinquished their interests in the land in question, way
back in 1983 and the certificates dated 13.4.1983 were
issued in favour of the respondents, which certificates
have not been disputed till date. There is comple,te
description of the lands of Survey nos. 24 to 30 and 39. B
This is, apart from the fact that the said. land in respe'ct
of which the certificates were issued u/s 38-B, has also
been held in the holding of the respondents. Under su(fh
circumstances, it cannot be said that the land in question
should have been held in the holding of the landlord and c
should have been made available for distribution.
Therefore, it will have to be held that even in respect 9f
the lands covered u/s 38-B in this case, where the rights
of the respondents were finally decided both under
Tenancy Act and the Ceiling Act, this land could not hav,e D
been made available for being declared as surplus Ian~,
holding it to be within the holding of the land holder. [Para
... ~
17 and 18] [819-D·G·; 820-B]

B. Shankarayya Vs. Land Reforms Tribunal, Kamareddy
1976 ALT 171 (NRC), refe~red to. E

2.3. It is also pointed out that the names of the five
respondents are found in the lists of protected tenants
maintained in Register No. 1 and other Registers. Not only
this, there is an order to the effect that, in pursuance of F
the Certificate under Section 38-B, the mutation is
~
proposed in respect ofthe five respondents. Even these
orders have remained unchallenged by any person
muchless, by the State Government. Once this is the
position, then it is obvious that under the provisions of
G
Ceiling Act, these lands could not have been declared as
the surplus land. [Para 18] [820-C-F]
:;..
-.
2.4. The land holders had included Survey Nos. 24
to 30 and 39 measuring 123 acres 19 cents. They had
H

...
~
~
798 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 16 S.C.R.

A also specifically declared that these lands were with the .,_ .
protected tenants. However, no notices were issued to the
respondents, and ultimately, their ceiling case came to be
decided as late as on 22.7.1994. It is then, that a notice
came to be issued in form No. VIII that the lands specified
B in the Schedule were proposed to be surrendered or
selected for. surrender under Section 10 of the Ceiling
Act. This document includes and mentions Survey Nos.
24. to 30 and 39. It is on that basis, that the respondents
raised objections, which objections were rejected,
c requiring the respondents to file revision before the High
Court, which revision was allowed. Considering all these
aspects and more particularly, the orders passed by the
authorities, it is Clear that the judgment of the High Court
was correctly passed. [Para 19] [820-G-H; 821-A-B]
D 2.5. There are valid orders passed by the Tribunal,
having the jurisdiction to pass the same, which would
show that once' the land was shown and concluded to
be in the holding of the protected tenant, it could not ....
~
have been included in the holding of the landlord,
E muchless, it could not have been declared to be surplus.
The respondents have been declared to be th~ protected
tenants, and the Certificates have been g~anted in their
favour and their individual cases have also been finalized.
[Para 20 and 21] [821-C-D; 822-A-B]
F
R. Kanthimathi & Anr. Vs. Beatrice Xavier (Mrs.) 2000 (9)
SCC 339; N. Srinivasa Rao Vs. Special Court under the A.P. +-
Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act and Others 2006(4) SCC
214, held inapplicable.
G State of A.P. Vs. S. Vishwanatha Raju & Ors. 1995 (3)
sec 327' distinguished.
., '
3. No doubt the Collector has suo motu power u/s 50-
8(4) of the Tenancy Act to reopen the certificates, but the
H
STATE OF AP. & ANR. v. T. YADAGIRI REDDY & ORS. 799

question is whether there was any fraud played or any A
impropriety shown, more particularly, on the part of the
respondents, in whose favour the said Certificates were
granted. At no point of time, have the respondents or even
their father ever played any fraud against any authority,
nor did they ever suppress any relevant fact from any B
authority. They openly came out with a case regarding the
agreement executed on 25.2.1956; thereafter, they openly
propounded a theory of partition, which theory was
accepted by the Tribunal in ceiling matter in their case as
well as in the case of their father and ultimately, they c
obtained the Certificate under Section 38-8, way back in
1983. There does not seem to be any impropriety in the
said proceedings, to justify a suo motu action on the part
of the· Collector, so as to put the clock back. The rights
of the parties have already been crystallized. Not only
this, the said lands are stated to have now been
0
converted and sold to as many as approximately 1100
persons, by way of residential plots. [Para 22 and 23] [822-
H; 823•A-D; 825•A]
lbrahimpatnam Taluk Vyavasaya Coolie Sangham Vs. E
K. Suresh Reddy and Others, 2003 (7) SCC 667,
Distinguished.
Case law Reference:
1976 ALT 171 (NRC) referred to para 17 F

2000 (9) sec 339 held inapplicable para 21
2006(4) sec 214 , held inapplicable para 21
1995 (3) sec 327 distinguished para 22 G
2003 (7) sec 667 distinguished · para 22
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No.
6557 of 2002.
H
. 800 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 16 S.C.R .

"I
,.
A From the final Order dated 20.3.2001 of the High Court of
Judicature, Andhra Pradesh at Hyderabad in Civil Revision
' I • . ' • '

Petition No'. 4351 of 1997.

R. Sundara'vardan, Manoj Saxena, Rajneesh Kr. Singh and
T.V. George for the Appellants.
B
, P.P. Rao, K. Maruthi. Rao, K. Radha, Tulasi·Reddy ~nd
Anjani Aiyagari for the Respondents.

The Judgment df the Court was delivered by
c V.S. ·SIRPURKAR, J. 1. A Judgment by the High Court
allowing a Civil Revision Petition, setting aside the order , I

passed by the Land Reforms Appellate Tribunal::.cum-11
Additional District Judge of Ranga Reddy District (hereinafter
called 'the Appellate Tribunal' for short) is in.challenge before
D us. The High Court while allowing the Revision, recognized the
rights of fhe respondents herein as the protected tenants and .,_.,
further held th.at they become absolute owners of the land by
~
purchasing th~ land in respect of which they were· protected
tenants. As a sequel, the High Court held that the l~nd held by
E them could not be declared as a surplus land and could not be
distributed as such. Before we approach the disputed
questions, a factual background would be necessary.

2. Five respondents, namely, (1) Shri T. Yadagiri Reddy,
F (2) Shri T. Bal Reddy, (3) Shri T. Janardhan Reddy, (4) Shri T.
Mehan Reddy, (5) Shri T. Satyanarayana Reddy are the sons
of Late Shri T. Papi Reddy. According to them, the said Late
Shri T. Papi Reddy was a protected, tenantfrom (1) Late Shri
Khaja Shakhir Hussain, (2) Shri Khaja Nasir Hussain, (3) Smt.
G Razia Sultana W/o Mir ·sadath Ali: It is the. case of the
respondents, as seen from their Counter affidavit that at the
commencement of A.P. (Telangana Area) Tenancy &
..
Agricultural Lands Act, 1950 (hereinafter called "the Tenancy "
Act" for short) and more precisely, on 10.6.1950, their father
Late Shri T. Papi Reddy was deemed to be the protected
H
STATE OF A.P. & ANR. v. T. YADAGIRI REDDY & ORS. 801
[V.S. SIRPURKAR, J.]

j,. 4' tenant of the land, admeasuring 123 Acres 17 guntas, bearing A
Survey Nos. 18 to 24 (old), i.e., new Survey Nos. 24 to 30 and
39 of Meerpet Revenue Village, Saroornagar Mandal,
Ran.gareddy District, Andhra Pradesh. This land belonged to
Late Shri Khaja Shakhir Hussain and others, who were the
Jagirdars of that Village. Their father Late Shri Papi Reddy B
entered into an agreement on 25.2.1956 with Late Shri Khaja ,
Shakhir Hussain and others for transfer of land holders' interest
~ in the said land to the tenants Late Shri T. Papi Reddy himself
and the present respondents. The respondents asserted that
this was under the provisions of Section 38-A & B of the, c
Tenancy Act. They further pleaded that there was oral partition
between Late Shri T. Papi Reddy and his sons, i.e.,
.,.
respondents, in which lands stood divided and that !ncluded
also the concerned land to the extent of 123 acres 17 guntas, ,
comprising of Survey Nos. 24 to 30 and 39. According to the D
respondents, the whole land was divided into six equal shares.
--<
..., They then pointed out that on 1.1.1975, AP. Land Reforms
'- (Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings) Act, 1973 (hereinafter called
~ "the Ceiling Act" for short) came on the anvil. Under the
provisions of that Act, Late Shri T. Papi Reddy, as also the
E
' present respondents filed six separate declarations regarding
the land owned and possessed by them and these declarations
included the aforementioned Survey numbers also, which were
obtained by them in their capacity as the protected tenants. It
_is the further case of the respondents that a Verification Report
in respect of the declarations made by the respondents and F
-f Late Shri T. Papi Reddy were verified by the Verification Officer
and the same Report was submitted to the Land Reforms
Tribunal I-cum-Additional Revenue Divisional Officer (hereinafter
called 'the Tribunal) of Ranga Reddy District, appointed under
the Ceiling Act. This was on 31.7.1975 and 8.8.1975. In G

. between 14.8.1975 and 22.10.1975, six orders came to be
passed by the Tribunal. The dates and the other details of these
" Revenue cases, dealt with by the Land Reforms Tribunal, were
as under:-
H
802 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 16 S.C.R.

A s. Name of the C.C. Reference Date of Exhibits ~ ..
No. Declarants No. Order No.
~
1.
2.
T. Papi Reddy (father) .
T. Yadagiri Reddy
1006/En5
439/E/75
27.10.1975
14.8.1975
A-12
r I

B 3. T. Bal Reddy 440/E/75 14.8;1975 A-8
l===
4. T. Janardhan Reddy 801/E/75 14.8.1975 A-6. 'l..._
,-
5. 'T. Mohan Reddy
6.
1009/E/75
T. Satyanarayana Reddy 1143/E/75
14.8.1975
14.8.1975
A-4
A-5
..
I-
c t

3. So far so good. The respondents claimed that they
~~

continued to be in possession of the lands, since none of them
had held more land than the ceiling area prescribed by the
Ceiling Act. The orders passed in their case, shown in the Table
D above were also not appealed against by the State Government

,.,~
and had become final. While the matters in case of the
respondents stood thus, a further development took place as
~

follows. ~

E 4. On 22. 7, 1994, an order came. to be passed by the
Tribunal, purporting to hold the lands in Survey Nos. 24 to 30
and 39 in the holdings of Late Shri Khaja Shakhir Hussain and
others (land holders) and it was declared in that order that the
land holders therein were surplus holders. The respondents
pointed out that this order was completely oblivious of the six
~
F
orders passed in case of Late Shri T. Papi Reddy and
~
themselves, shown in the Table nor did they (Late Shri T. Papi
Reddy and the respondents herein) join as parties to the
proceedings. It was further pointed out that on 6.2.1996, a
G public notice was issued by the Tribunal, Ranga Reddy District,
calling for the objections in declaring Survey Nos. 24 to 30 and
39 as the surplus land, as held by Late Shri Khaja Shakhir ....
t'
Hussain and others. However, Late Shri T. Papi Reddy had
already expired on 21.11.1975, i.e., barely one month after the
order in his case was passed. On 13.2.1996, the respondents
H
STATE OF AP. & ANR. v. T. YADAGIRI REDDY & ORS. 803
[V.S. SIRPURKAR, J.]
> ., filed the objections to the proposal of the said Sutvey Nos. 24 A
to 30 and 39, being surrendered as a surplus land.

The Tribunal rejected the objections filed by these
respondents by order dated. 22. 7 .1995 (2.3.1996), against
which they filed an appeal on 11.8.1997 before the Land .'9
Reforms Appellate Tribunal-cum-II Additional District Judge,
Ranga Reddy district at Saroornagar, Hyderabad, A.P. By its
... order dated 9.9.1997, the Appellate Tribunal partly allowed the
appeal only to the extent of 33 acres and 12 guntas in the
aforementioned Survey Numbers, while the said appeal was
rejected in respect of the remaining extent of 90 acres of land.
c
That order was challenged by way of a Civil Revision Petition
before the High Court, being Civil Revision Petition No. 4351
of 1997 and the said order was set aside by the High Court by
the impugned order. The respondents, therefore, claimed that
they were protected tenants and there was no question of the D

.. ~
land comprising of 3 Survey numbers, being declared as
surplus and it had long ceased to be the land of Late Shri Khaja
Shakhir Hussain and others, and they had become the full
owners of that land. In short, they claimed that they had
purchased the said land in the capacity of the protected tenants E
-j
in terms of Section 38 of the Tenancy Act. They further pleaded
that if the proceedings under the Ceiling Act concerning them
had become final, as such, those orders had become res-
judicata against the State. They also pointed out that after the
death of their father Shri T. Papi Reddy in the year 1975 and F
--; even before that they had partitioned the land and all through,
they were treated to be the protected tenants earlier and
thereafter, the land holders. They relied on substantial Revenue
record in support of their status as the protected tenants, as
also the Certificates issued by the Revenue Department under G
Section 38-E of the .Tenancy Act, signifying their exclusive
~

-.. nexus with the land to the exclusion of the original land holder.

. 5. Before we advert to the arguments of Shri R,
Sundaravardan, Learned Senior Counsel appearing for State
H
804 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 16 S.C.R.

A of Andhra Pradesh and the reply thereto by Shri P. P. R~o. 1r .
' Learned Senior Counsel, appearing for the respondents, it will '!
be better to see the findings given by the Learned Single Judge
of the High Court. The High Court, firstly found that the Appellate
•Tribunal had allowed "the appeals to the extent of 33 acres ,12
:B guntas, .in respect of which the ownership Certificates were
granted under Section 38-E of the Tenancy Act, in support of
. which the respondents had filed Exhibit A-2: The High Court
also found that the Appellate Tribunal had dismissed the appeal
in respect of 96 ·acres 12 guntas on the ground that these lands
c were covered by Section 38-B of the Tenancy Act. The
respondents had filed the Certificates - Exhibit A-1. The High
1

Court noted that the Appellate Tribunal had taken a view that
in pursuance of the Agreement dafed 22.5.1956, the land
holders could not have purchased the lands, as there was no
permission under Section 47 and 48 of the Tenancy Act for
·D
such sales, However, the High Court proceeded on the ground
that the lands were covered under Section 38-8 of the TenanGy
I
.Act. The question before it was as to whether such Ja.nds held ~

by a. protected tenant and covered under Section 38-B of the -'\
T~nancy Act were liable to be excluded under Section 13 of the
E Ceiling· Act from the ·ceiling area of the land holder. The,High
·Cour:t t~en noted that the respondents were never made parties
to the Ceiling proceedings in respect of Late Shri Khaja
Shakhir Hussain and others made on the basis of the
declarations filed in C.C. Nos. 2476, 2477 and 2478 of 1975,.
F in which the lands were shown in their holding. The High Court
then took the note of the separate ceiling cases, which had Ir
attained the finality by the various orders passed between
27 .10.1975 and 14.8.1975, ·in which it was held that the
respondents were entitled to 1_/6th share and they were non-
G surplus holders in respect of the lands held by them as the
protected tenants. The High Court noted that those orders had .,.
become final. The High Court, therefore, took the note of the .
fact that in spite of this finality in those cases, these lands were
again included in the holding of Late Shri Khaja Shakhir
H
STATE OF AP. &.ANR. v. T. YADAGIRI REDDY & ORS. 805
[V.S. SIRPURKAR, J.]

' • --J Hussain and one another (the original respondent Nos. 3 & 4 A
before the High Court) and they were declared to be .the surplus
holders and further, suo moto proceedings were also initiated
in respect of1hose lands. The High Court found that there was
no dispute with the primary fact that the respondents' father
Late Shri T. Papi Reddy was the protected tenant in respect-of B
not only those lands in respect of which the Certificates under
Section 38-E was issued, but also in respect of the land falling
'I under Section 38-B. The High Court then held that the
respondents were not strangers or trespassers, but, were the
protected tenants, and as such, their land stood excluded under c
Section 13 of the Ceiling Act. The High Court extensively dealt
with Section 13 of the Ceiling Act, Section 38 of the Tenancy
Act and more particularly, sub-Section B thereof and came to
the conclusion that a Certificate issued under Section 38-B was
on par with the Certificate granted under Section 38-E of the D
Tenancy Act. It, therefore, concluded that there was.no question
of applicability of Section 47 and 48 of the Tenancy Act,
- .. requiring prior permission. Relying on two reported decisions,
the High Court ultimately held that in view of the Certificate
having been granted in favour of Late Shri T. Papi Reddy under
E
Section 38-B of the Tenancy Act, the respondents had become
the ·absolute owners, and as such, their land could not be
included in the ceiling area of the land holder and could not be
put for distribution, treating it to be the surplus land. The Civil.
Revision was allowed With these observations.
F
-.; 6. Shri R. Sundaravardan, Learned Senior Counsel,
appearing on behalf of the appellant State of Andhra Pradesh
assailed the judgment, firstly, on the ground that Late Shri T.
Papi Reddy, father of the respondents herein, himself could not
be a protected tenant and thereby, even the respondents, who G
were his sons could not have become the protected tenants in
... law. The Learned Senior Counsel argued that since the very
..
basis of the claim of the respondents is without any substance,
the further claim of the separate possession in their capacity
as the protected tenants has no basis. The Learned Senior . H
806 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2008] 16 S.C.R.
._,
A Counsel for this argument, relied on the plea raised by the I:: .i ,
\'
respondents that there was an Agreement of Purchase 'I
)--
between Late Shri T. Papi Reddy and the Jagirdars (landlords)
in res"pect 'of 123 acres ,and 17 guntas of land contained in
Survey Nos. 24 to 30 and 39. The Learned Senior Counsel
!, 'c '

B pointed out that ever since the said Agreement was executed,
the possession of Late Shri T. Papi Reddy, as also his sons,
di9 riot remain that of the protected tenants, and in fact, Late
Shri T.. Papi Reddy alone became an owner of ttie said land )'.
>
I-
and in that view; there Gould not have been also a partition
c between Late Shri T. Papi Reddy and his sons, as was claimed
by the respondents, for the simple reason that the said land did
not have the character of a partible estate since the· land was
tenanted land once upon a time. The.Learned Senior Counsel I
t
carried his arguments further and sugge~ted that even assuming ~
that th~ said tenal)cy continued in favour of Late Shri T. Papi !
D
·Reddy and after his death, in favour of the respondents, there
was nothing on rec<;> rd to' suggest that there was any, permission
obtained under Section 47 by either Late Shri T. Papi Reddy ...
or the respon,dents for purchasing this land. lastly, the Learned ~

Senior Counsel contended that even if it is assumed that the I-
E status of protected tenant was conferred upon the tespondent3 I
•
under the provisions of the Tenancy Act, and further even if there
(_
were final orders passed under the Ceiling Act, which remained
unchallenged by the Government, it v,J,as always open for the t
Government under Section 50 ofthe Tenancy Act to reopen the
F proceedings. The Learned Senior Counsel, therefore, argued
that a~ .least excepting Late Shri T. Papi Reddy,. whose claim 'r
was admitted in respect of the lands covered by the Certificate
u·nder Section. 38-E, the other lands in possession of the
respondents were bound to be declared as.surplus lands.
G
7. As against this, Shri P. P Rao, Learned Senior Counsel,
appearing on behalf of the respondents, firstly contended that ....
the o'rders dated 14.8.1975 and 27.10.1975 passed by the r
Tribunal had become final and binding on' the parties thereto,
H including the State Government, and since there was no appeal
STATE OF AP. & ANR. v. T. YADAGIRI REDDY & ORS. 807
[V.S. SIRPURKAR, J.]

• • j under Section 20(5) of the Ceiling Act, those orders would A
operate as res-judicata in all the subsequent proceedings. The
Learned Senior Counsel pointed out that there was no scope
for reopening these orders. Shri Rao also criticized the order
dated 22.7.1994, passed by the Tribunal, declaring 17.9766
standard holdings of land of the original land holders to be in B
excess as void, ab initio, particularly, because the said land
was belonging to the respondents, who were admittedly the
~ protected tenants in occupation of the land and in whose case,
the Tribunal had passed the order approximately 20 years back,
at the time when the impugned orders (dated 14.08.1975 and c
27.10.1975) were passed. It was pointed out that no orders in
respect of these lands could have been passed unless the
respondents were noticed by the Tribunal, and further, the
Counsel pointed out that the respondents had the Certificates
issued under Section 38-B, which rendered the orders passed
0
by the Tribunal in case of the original land holders, without
jurisdiction. The Learned Senior Counsel further contended that
there was no question of the land in possession of a protected
tenant being declared as surplus land, which was liable to be
surrendered. It was pointed out by the Learned Senior Counsel
that the Certificates granted in favour of the respondents under E
Section 38-B of the Tenancy Act remained valid and in the
present case, so remained valid, since they were not
challenged, and at the same time, the Tribunal, under the
Ceiling Act, had no jurisdiction to declare the said Certificate
as illegal. The Learned Senior Counsel invited our attention to F
--t the provisions of the Tenancy Act to suggest that the tenancy
rights were heritable rights. Our attention was also invited to
Section 13(1) of the Ceiling Act, as also Section 38-B of the
Tenancy Act. Shri Rao, therefore, contended that the order of
the High Court was unassailable. The Learned Se;-iior Counsel G
.. -..
also took us through the history of this lengthy litigation and
pointed out that on 13.4.1983, Certificate of Ownership was
issued under Section 38-B of the Tenancy Act and the mutation
also took place in favour of the respondents in respect of 90
H
808 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 16 S.C.R.

A acres 4 .guntas of land, which was a land in question, which
Certificate had attained the finality. The Learned Senior
Counsel pointed out that the land concerned was sold after it
was converted into the non-agricultural land to as many as 1, 137
purchasers for residential purposes. It is on these conflicting
B claims that we have to examine the judgment.

8. On these conflicting contentions, the question which
crops up is whether the concerned land can be included in the
holding of the priginal land holders and.be declared surplus to
the detriment of the respondent Nos. 1-5. This question would
C depend upon the answer to the question as to whether the
respondents ever got the status of a 'protected tenant', vis-a-
vis the concerned land, within the meaning assigned to that
term in the Tenancy Act and what is the effect, and whether that
status would result in excluding the land from the operation of
D the Ceiling Act Since Shri Sundaravardan also contended
about reopening of the ceiling and tenancy cases, still another
question would be whether the Government would now be
justified in reopening the ceiling cases, which stood finalized,
as also whether it would be.justified in opening the cases,
E wherein the Certificates were granted to the respondents
declaring them as protected tenants, vis-a-vis, the concerned
land.

9. Before we take up the consideration on these
F questions, since the matter predominantly relates to the orders
under the Ceiling Act, it would be worthwhile to consider few
provisions of this Act. This Act which is called the Andhra
Pradesh Land Reforms (Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings) Act,
1973 came on the anvil with the assent of the President dated
29. 7 .1972 and was published in. the official Gazette on
G 31. 7 .1972. However, it came into force on 1.1.1975. 'Holding'
is defined in Section 3(i) as under:

"3(i) 'holding' means the entire land held by a person-

H (i) as an owner;
STATE OF AP. & ANR. v. T. YADAGIRI REDDY & ORS. 809
[V.S. SIRPURKAR, J.]

A
~.(
;.

- (ii)

(iii)
as a limited owner;

as an usufructuary mortgagee;

(iv) as a tenant;

(v) who is in possession by virtue of a mortgage 8
by conditional sale or through part
performance of a contract for the sale of land
or otherwise; or in one or more of such
capacities, and the expressions "to hold
land" shall be construed accordingly." c
Term 'Owner' is defined in Section 3(n) as under:

"3(n) 'owner' includes a person by whom or in whose
favour a trust is created; but does not include a
limited owner; and in the case of any land not held [D
under ryotwari settlement, a person who is or would
be entitled to the grant of a ryotwari patta or to the
registration as an occupant in respect of such land
• under any law for the time being in force providing
for the conversion of such land into ryotwari tenure E
and where there is no such law, any person holding
such land immediately before the specified date
otherwise than in any one of the capacities in
items (ii) to (v) Clause (i); but does not include a
limited owner." (Emphasis supplied). F
Term 'Person' is defined in Section 3(o) as under:

"3(o) 'person' includes an individual, a family unit, a
trustee, a company, a firm, a society or an
association of individuals, whether incorporated or G
not."

Term 'Tenant' is defined in Section 3(t) as under:-

"3(t) 'tenant' means a person who cultivates by his own H
810 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 16 S.C.R.

A labour or that of any other member of his family or ...
~
by hired labour under his supervision and control,
any land belonging to another under a tenancy ~
;·
agreement, express or implied: and includes a
person who is deemed to be a tenant under any
B ._tenancy law for the time being in force;

Term 'Ceiling Area' is defined under Section 4 as under:

"4. Ceiling Area:- (1)The ceiling area in the case of .,,_
family unit consisting of not more than five members
c shall be an extent of land equal to one standard
holding.

(2) The ceiling area in the case of a family unit
consisting of more· than five members shall be an
D extent of land equal to one standard holding plus
an additional extent of one-fifth of one standard
holding for every such niember in excess of five, so
however, that the ceiling area shall 'not exceed two
sta_ndard holdings.
-t
E (3) The ceiling area in the case of every individual
who is not a member of a family unit, and in the
case of any other person shall be an extent of land
equal to one standard holding."

F Thus, it's a.charging Section.

Section 5 provides the methodology for fixing the standard
holding for different classes of lands and computation thereof.
Section 7 speaks about the transfers of land between
24.1.1971 and the notified date, iie, 1.1.1975. It's a complete
G scheme as, to which transfer should be treated to be good and.
otherwise. In short, that Section bars the transfers in anticipation
·of and with a view to avoiding or defeating the object of the ·
Ceiling Act. Under Section 8, every person has to give a
declaration, whose holding on the notified date together with .
H
"
STATE OF A.P. & ANR. v. T. YADAGIRI REDDY & ORS. 811
[V.S. SIRPURKAR, J.]

any land transferred by him on or after the 24.1.1971, whether A
by sale, gift, usufructuary mortgage, exchange, settlement,
0
surrender or in any other manner whatsoever, and any land in
respect of which a trust has been created by- him on or after
24.1.1971, exceeds the specified limits. Under Section 9, the
Tribunal created under the Ceiling Act has a duty to enquire into B
and determine the extent of area held or deemed to be held
by the person on the notified date and to declare any land found
in excess of the ceiling area. Section 10 speaks about the
surrender of land in excess. It also provides as to which land
can be surrendered and which land cannot be surrendered, and c
whether the surrender declared by the land holder is to be
surrendered or not, has to be decided by the Tribunal. Sub-
section 5 specifically provides that it would be open to the
Tribunal to refuse or accept the surrender of any land, which
has been converted into non-agricultural land and is rendered
0
incapable for being used for agricultural purposes. Under
Section 13, a special provision is made for the protected
tenants. The Section provides that where the holding of any
owner includes any land held by a protected tenant, the Tribunal
shall, in the first instance, determine whether such land or part E
thereof has been transferred to the protected tenant under
Section 38-E of the Tenancy Act, and if such transfer is made,
such land shall be excluded from the holding of the owner and
included in the holding of such tenant. Sections 15 and 16
speaks about the amount payable in lieu of that land to the land
holder. Section 20 speaks about the appeal and Section 21 F
about the revision against the orders passed by the Tribunal.
This is the broad picture of the provisions of the Ceiling Act.

10. Let us, now, have look on some of the relevant
provisions of the Tenancy Act. It must be remembered that this G
Act came on the legal scene in the year 1950. The term
'Protected' is defined under Section 2(r) as under:-

"2(r) 'Protected' means a person who is deemed to be
a protected tenant under the provisions of this Act.
H
812 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 16 S.C.R.

A Section 5 provides as to who can be ·deemed to be a
0
tenant and more or the less, provides that a person lawfully
cultivating to the land belonging to anotlier person, would be
deemed to be a tenant. Chapter IV deals with the protected
tenants and declares that if a person had held any land as a
B tenant continuously for a period specified in Section 34(a)(i),
(ii), (iii), then such person would be deemed to be a protected
tenant.·

11. There is no dispute in the present case that Late Shri
T. Papi Reddy was holding the lands at the commencement of
C the Tenancy Act and he was a protected tenant in respect of
the land including the lands in question. Section 38 which is
extremely important for us, provides the rights of the protected
tenants, which includes his rights to purchase the land from
landholder's interest, subject to sub-Section 7. It also provides
D the modality as to how the said purchase would be enforced
by the protected tenant, and also procedure, where the land
holder refuse to accept the offer made by the protected tenant.
Section 38-A is a procedure, where reasonable price is agreed
to between the landholder and protected tenant. Section 38-B
E provides procedure, where the landholder agrees to relinquish
his rights in favour of the protected tenant. Under that Section,
an application is to be made to the Tribunal by the land holder,
and then a Certificate is issued in favour of the tenant. Section
38-E specifically provides for the transfer of ownership of such
F lands held by the protected tenants. It provides that such lands
would get automatically transferred with effect from the notified
date and a Certificate in the prescribed form declaring him as
the owner, would be issued by the Tribunal after holding the
necessary enquiry. Sections 47 and 48, which were earlier in
G the Tenancy Act, stand deleted from 1969. The said Sections
provided the permission to be had before such transfers were
made under Section 38. Section 50-8(4) of the Tenancy Act
gives a power to the Collector to act suo moto for examining
the record relating to any certificate issued or proceedings
H taken by the Tahsildar under this Section for the purpose of
STATE OF AP. & ANR. v. T. YADAGIRI REDDY & ORS. 813
[V.S. SIRPURKAR, J.]
... ; satisfying himself as to the legality or propriety of such certificate A
or as to the regularity of such proceedings and pass such order
in relation thereto as he may think fit. On this legal backdrop, it
will be now for us, to consider the contentions raised by the
Learned Counsel.
B
12. The first and foremost contention raised by Shri
Sundaravardan, Learned Senior Counsel, appearing on behalf
of the appellants was that since on 25.2.1956, an Agreement
was executed by the original land holders in favour of Late Shri
T. Papi Reddy, whereby, he agreed to sell the land in question,
Late Shri T. Papi Reddy, himself had rescinded his status as a
c
protected tenant and thereafter, remained in possession only
as an intended purchaser under the Agreement and that is
where all his rights came to an end. The said Agreement is on
the record. It is an unregistered document and suggests that
the concerned land, admeasuring 90 acres of land, was agreed D
to be sold for Rs.2,592/-. This is the Agreement between Late
Shri Khaja Shakhir Hussain and Late Shri T. Papi Reddy, the
father of the respondents. On this, the Learned Counsel pointed
out that if this was so, then there would be no question of the
status of protected tenant to he claimed by either Late Shri T. E
Papi Reddy or his sons like the present respondents.

13. In the first place, this is only an Agreement of Sale and
not a Sale Deed. inter-partes. The Agreement clearly suggests
that the parties will appear before the Revenue Authority for F
obtaining the necessary permission for such transfer under the
-i Tenancy Act, and on obtaining the permission, the Sale Deed
would be executed between the parties. It also provides that if
the permission is not granted, the consideration would be
returned. All this was necessary because at that time, under G
Section 47 and 48, the permission of Tahsildar was required
for alienation of agricultural land. However, in the year 1969,
Sections 47 and 48 were deleted from the Tenancy Act, thereby,
there was no permission required and indeed, it seems that
within four months of this Agreement, he effected a family
H
~
(
814 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 16 S.C.R.

· A partition by dividing all his lands, including the present land ~. •
under six equal shares, taking one share for himself and the
remaining shares for his five sons. The matters do not seem
to have progressed thereafter regarding this agreement.

14. However, as soon as Ceiling Act came into existence,
8
Late Shri T. Papi Reddy and all his sons, including the
respondents, filed separate declarations in the lands in their
possession under Section 8 of the ienancy Act. These claims
were duly verified and it was claimed that these verifications
C took place on 31.7.1975 and 8.8.1975. This claim has not been
disputed at any time. It seems that the enquiry was made on
the basis of these declarations and even a public notice was
issued as prescribed by the rules, which publication took place
on 16.6.1975 and 28.6.1975. However, on receiving 'No
Objection', it is found that the declarants were the Pattedars in
D the orders passed. It was specifically mentioned that the present
respondents had claimed 1/6th share in the lands held by Late
Shri T. Papi Reddy as owner under Section 38-E of the Tenancy
Act. It was mentioned in the order further that even if the 1/6th
share claimed by one son is taken into consideration, the total
E holding of the son would be less than ceiling area and as such,
the claim was being accepted and the matters were closed, ·
holding that the individual sons did not own the land in excess
of the ceiling areas. The orders ofsimilar nature were passed
in case of all the five respondents herein, so also, the orders
F were passed in Late Shri T. Papi Reddy's case. Undoubtedly,
in all the orders related to the sons, the Tribunal did mention
that the declarant had not produced any proof as to how the
declarant is not so far entitled to share in the lands of his father
Late Shri T. Papi Reddy. However, realizing that even if that
G share is included, since the land in possession of the declarant
son does not exceed the ceiling limit, the matters were left at
that, and it was concluded that the individual sons did not hold
land in excess of the ceiling area.

15. We have .also seen the order passed in the case of
H
STATE OF A.P. & ANR. v. T. YADAGIRI REDDY & ORS. 815
[V.S. SIRPURKAR, J.]

Late Shri T. Papi Reddy himself. Undoubtedly, Late Shri T. Papi A
Reddy also had shown that he had purchased the la'nd
measuring 87 acres 33 cents as a protected tenant and had
shown that he had only 1/6th share in that, and the remaining
land was held by his major sons. He claimed the status of a
protected tenant in respect of the other land in Survey Nos. 24 B
and 25, measuring 33 acres 14 cents and claimed 1/6th share
in the remaining land. The Tahsildar in his Report had shown I
that the declarant was owner of certain lands, measuring 8 acres
79 cents and was in possession of Survey Nos. 24 to 30 and
39, measuring 122 acres 7 cents as protected tena~t. c
Therefore, even at that stage, the status of at least Late Shri T.
Papi Reddy as a protected tenant, was not disputed. On the
other hand, that can be treated as an admitted position, thanks
to the Verification Report, relied upon by the Tribunal. The
Tahsildar in that Verification Report had computed the standard 0
holding of the declarant as 2.2270 and after allowing the lal')d
of one standard holding, recommended the surplus land at
1.2270 standard holding. However, the order shows that the
declarant had filed the Counter on 4.9.1975 before the Tribunal
that Late Shri T. Papi Reddy was the protected tenant in
respect of Survey Nos. 24 to 30 and 39, and he was .i'n E
possession of the said land as a Karta of the Joint Family,
consisting himself and his five sons, namely, the present
respondents. He pleaded that he was holding the tenancy for
and on behalf of Joint Family in his character as a Karta and
consequently, the rights of the protected tenants would be F
deemed to have been conferred on the entire Joint Family and;
therefore, the major members of the Joint Family, nam.ely, the
present respondents herein, had a share in the equa,I
proportion of the said property. The Tribunal has further taken
a note that Late Shri Khaja Shakhir Hussain, the original land G
holder had agreed to alienate the said land and an Agreement
of Sale referred to earlier, was also produced before the
Tribunal. The theory of inter-se partition, which took place in
June, 1956 was also pressed into service and referred to by
H
816 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 16 S.C.R.

A the Tribunal in its order. Amongst the documents filed before
the Tribunal was the Agreement of Sale dt. 25.2.1956 and the
four witnesses were also examined, including Late Shri T. Papi
Reddy himself. The Tribunal took note of the fact that Late Shri
T. Papi Reddy had ancestral land of 9 to 10 acres at Meerpet
s Village, which was being cultivated by himself, and in addition
thereto, purchased 123 acres 7 guntas of land from late Shri
Khaja Shakhir Hussain etc. in the year 1955 and the agreement
of sale was executed in the year 1956. Even the consideration
was paid and this consideration was from the joint earnings of
c himself and his sons from the cultivation of the lands held by
the Joint Family, thereby, meaning that there was a nucleus with
the Joint Family and the said Joint Family property did produce
income, out of which the concerned 123 acres 7 guntas of land
came to be purchased, so as to become a Joint Family
D property and it is, therefore, that the said lands were treated to
be the Joint Hindu Family property and were partitioned in the
year 1956, which· partition was evidenced in the mutation of
these lands, also in the Revenue records. The Tribunal,
however, found that though mutation of ancestral land. was
effected; the purchased lands were not yet mutated and they
E still remained in the name of land holder Late Shri T. Papi
Reddy, however, the ·land revenue was being paid by Late Shri
T. Papi Reddy and his sons separately. Tne Tribunal then
referred to the evidence of Shri K. Bhujang Reddy, Shri Vanga
Bikshapathi Reddy and Shri Challa Unga Reddy. These three
F witnesses supported the theory of partition in the year 1956,
and a1so deposed that Late Shri T. Papi Reddy and sons were
divided, and living separately and cultivating their properties
(lands) accordingly. The Patwari was also examined, who
claimed that he had no information about the division of lands
G between Late Shri T. Papi Reddy and his sons, but they were
separately enjoying the concerned lands for grazing their cattle.
The question was thoroughly gone into by the Tribunal. Relying r
on Section 34 of the Tenancy Act, and also on definition of
'Person' given in sub-Section 2 thereof, the Tribunal came to
H
l
~

STATE OF A.P. & ANR. v. T. YADAGIRI REDDY & ORS. 817
[V.S. SIRPURKAR, J.]
.... A
the conclusion that the whole partition became a Joint Family
" property in the hands of the acquirer. The Tribunal has also
found that Late Shri T. Pappi Reddy was the protected tenant
in respect of 123 acres 17 guntas of land, and the definition of
a 'Protected Tenant' included undivided Joint Hindu Family
members also. The Tribunal, therefore, concluded in the B
following words:

"Therefore, the sons of the declarant were not divided upto
1956, were also having right in the lands held by his father
as protected tenant."
c
The Tribunal ultimately held:

"There is a case to believe that the declarant was having
ancestral lands and out of the income of these lands, he
purchased the lands from Shri Khaja Shakhir Hussain etc. D
in the year 1956 and, therefore, these lands also form part
and parcel of joint family properties in which his five major
sons will have equal notional share and the share of the
declarant will be 1/6th."

It is on this basis, that the Tribunal closed the case. E

16. Very surprisingly, and to the dismay of Shri
Sundaravardan, Learned Senior Counsel for appellants, this
brder has remained unchallenged and has become final. Late
Shri T. Papi Reddy almost immediately after this order on F
27 .10.1975, died within two months and the order remained as
~
validly passed order by the Tribunal with full jurisdiction. Even
the other cases of the respondents were finalized and they were
also closed. In case of Late Shri T. Papi Reddy, it was held that
he did not hold land in excess of the ceiling on the notified date, G
i.e., on 1.1.1975. This proves to be a complete answer to the
.. case pleaded by Shri Sundaravardan. This order, particularly,
in case of Late Shri T. Papi Reddy, which was heavily relied
by Shri Rao, Learned Senior Counsel appearing on behalf of
the respondents, firstly holds that Late Shri T. Papi Reddy was H
'
·~

818 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 16 S.C.R.
~

A a protected tenant and. his status as a protected tenant was not .
':: "'
an· individual status, but, the status belonged even to the other
members of his undivided family. It is further finally held in this
order that late Shri T. Papi Reddy, as such, had acquired the
property of 123 acres 17 guntas out of income of the Joint Hindu
I
~

B Family and thus;.thffwhole property became a joint property,
so as to open for partition and accordingly, the partition was
not only effected, but, acted upon also by the separate I
-,.0: \-
cultivations of all the six members. On this strong background,
it will be futile to say that Late Shri T. Papi Reddy or his sons,
c the present respondents herein, were not the protected tenants.
They were not only treated as the protected tenants, but their r-
individual cases were also dealt with by the Tribunal, which held .?

that individually, they did not hold any land more than the ceiling
area. All these orders right from 1975 till today, i.e., for 33 years,
D have remained unchallenged.
17. Shri Sundaravardan then. took us to Section 13 of the
Ceiling Act and pointed out that only the land covered under
~
Section 38-E of the Tenancy Act, was to be excluded and,
therefore, such exemption will not be available for the land
E covered under Section 38-B, and as such, the said land was
liable to be included in the holding of the land holders. It is true
that Section 13 of the Ceiling Act suggests that the land ~
coverecf Linder Section 38-E and transterred to the protected
tenant shall be excluded .from the holding of such owner. Section
F 13 of the Ceiling Act reads as under:- .
'l-"-
"Special Provision for protected tenants:- (1) Where the
·-holding of any owner includes any land held by a protected
tenant, the Tribunal shall, in the first instance, determine
r
Whether such land or part thereof stands transferred to the
G
protected tenant under Section 38-E of Andhra Pradesh
(Telangana Area) Tenancy and Agricultural Land Act, 1950,
and if so, the extent of land so transferred;· and such extent
of land shall thereupon be excluded from the holding of
. ·such owner and included in the holding of such tenant, as
H
(
I

STATE OF A.P. & ANR. v. T. YADAGIRI REDDY & ORS. 819
[V.S. SIRPURKAR, J.]

if the tenant was the owner of such land for the purposes A
of this Act.

(2) Subject to the provisions of Sub-Section (1), the relevant
provisions of this Act aforesaid shall apply in the matter
of such land by such protected tenant."
B
It will be seen from the language that the Tribunal has to
decide the extent of land transferred under Section 38-E as a
)';
first duty, and then to exclude such land. The use of the words
"in the first instance" only suggests that the first finding that the
Tribunal has to give, is about the land covered under Section c
38-E of the Tenancy Act. However, the Section nowhere
provides that the Tribunal does not have to decide about the
lands covered under Section 38-B of the Tenancy Act. We have
already explained that under Section 38-B, the land holders in
this case, have relinquished their interests in the land, way back D
in 1983 and the certificates were issued in favour of the
respondents, which certificates have not been disputed till
~
today. This is, apart from the fact that the said land in respect
of which the certificates were issued under Section 38-B, has
also been held in the holding of the respondents herein. Under E
such circumstances, it cannot be argued that this land should
have been held in the holding of the landlord and should have
been made available for distribution. The High Court has in this
behalf relied on the Judgment reported in 1976 ALT 171 (NRC)
B. Shankarayya Vs. Land Reforms Tribunal, Kamareddy. For F
the reasons that we have given, it will have to be held that even
--.(
in respect of the lands covered under Section 38-B in this case,
where the rights of the respondents were finally decided both
under Tenancy Act and the Ceiling Act, this land could not have
been made available for been declared as surplus land, holding
G
it to be within the holding of the land holder.
'I 18. As if all this is not sufficient, there is Certificate on
record dt. 13.4.1983. In that Certificate dt. 13.4.1983, the
Revenue Divisional Officer had certified that the five
i H
'
.
I
I

• 820 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 16 S.C.R.
I-

A resppndents are the protected tenants of the land specified in
t
the order, which belonged to Late Shri Khaja Shakhir Hussain,
Shri Khaja Nasir Hussain and Smt. Razia Sultana, the land ~
1
holders herein. It also suggests that these land holders had
relinquished all their rights of the lands described in favour of
,
I

i

B the five respondents under Section 38-B of the Tenancy Act and
the five respondents, with effect from that date, shall be the
owners of that land described. Needless to mention that there
is a complete description of the lands of Survey Nos. 24 to 30 "'!(_
j-
I
and 39. We have· seen the Certificate ourselves in the ~
c prescribed form and we are satisfied that the Certificates have
been given after the due enquiry. The three land holders, namely;
Late Shri Khaja Shakhir Hussain, Shri Khaja Nasir Hussain and ,
Smt. Razia Sultana have also given their declarations, which
were verified by the Tahsildar, Hyderabad, East Taluk. It is also
}
D
pointed out that the names of the five respondents are found
in the lists of protected tenants maintained in Register No. 1
l
and:other Registers. Not only this, there is an order to the effect
that, in· pursuance. of the Certificate under Section 38-B, the
mutation .is proposed in respect of the five respondents, which 1 .t,
order is signed by D.R, Sarrornagar, R.R. District, Andhra
E Pradesh. This is the last nail in the coffin of the Stata
I-
Government case. Even these o'rders have· remained
unchallenged by any person muchless, by the State
Government. Once this is the position, then it is obvious that
under the provisions of Ceiling Act, these lands could not have
F been declared as the surpfus land. l'
"
19. A very peculiar thing has come to our notice that in their ~
)
declara~ion, the land holders Late Shri Khaja Shakhir Hussain, I'-
Shri Khaja Nasir Hussain and Smt Razia Sultana had included I
G the.Survey Nos. 24 to 30 and 39 of Meerpet Village, measuring .t
123 acres 19 cents. They had also specifically declared that
these lands were with the protected tenants. However,
surprisingly; no notices were issued to the petitioners, and
ultimately, their ceiling case came to be decided as late as on
H 22.7.1994. It is then, that a notice came to be issued In form t
...
STATE OF AP. & ANR. v. T. YADAGIRI REDDY & ORS. 821
[V.S. SIRPURKAR, J.]

No. VIII that the lands specified in the Schedule were proposed A
to be surrendered or selected for surrender under Section 10
of the Ceiling Act. This document includes and mentions Survey
Nos. 24 to 30 and 39. It is on that basis, that the present
respondents raised objections, which objections were rejected,
requiring the petiti_oners to file revision before the High Court, B
which revision was allowed. Considering all these aspects and
. ,. more particularly, the orders passed by the authorities, we are
of the clear opinion that the judgment of the High Court was
correctly decided.

20. Shri Sundaravardan tried to show that the tenanted land C
could not have been partitioned. However, we are not required
to go into that question, for the simple reason, that there are
valid orders passed by the Tribunal, having the jurisdiction to
pass the same, which woulq show that once the land was shown
and concluded to be in the holding of the protected tenant, it D
could not have been included in the holding of the landlord,
~- muchless, it could not have been declared to. be surplus. This
position is all the more consolidated, when we see that the
respondents herein, were never the parties to the ceiling
proceedings. E

21. A decision was relied on by Shri Sundaravardan,
reported in 2000 (9) SCC 339 R. Kanthimathi & Anr. Vs.
Beatrice Xavier (Mrs.). In our opinion, .the said decision which
relates to the rent control matter and thus, the house tenancy, F
-of would have no application. Another decision relied on by Shri
Sundaravardan, reported in 2006(4) SCC 214 N. Srinivasa
Rao Vs. Special Court under the A.P. Land Grabbing
(Prohibition) Act and Others, also has no ~elevance. The
Learned Senior Counsel tried to rely on this decision only to G
show that if the transfer of agricultural land was in violation of
.., Section 47 and 49, such prosecution would be void. In the '
1
concerned case, this prosecution was held to be void in the
light of the circumstances that the transfer in this case was
made by a protected tenant as an agriculturist or a non- H
822 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 16 S.C.R.

A agriculturist, which was prohibited by the Tenancy Act. We do
not see any relevance of this case. Shri Sundaravardan
contende'd that the prosecution on 25.2.1956. was a void
prosecution. Even if,. we: agree with that proposition,. the
question remains that ultimately, respondents have been
B deCtared to be the protected tenants, and the Certificates have
been granted in their favour and their individual cases have also
been finalized. The ruling has no relevance ..

22. The third decision relied upon is reported in 1995 (3)
SCC 327 State of A.P. Vs. S. Vishwanatha Raju & Ors. The
C Learned Senior Counsel relied on this case, as in this case,
this Court had taken suo moto action, seeing that there was
an attempt to take out substantial acreage of 900 acres of land
out of the purview of the Ceiling Act by the device of agreements
of sale and the concerned officers were negligent in not.
D carrying out the orders of the authorities in revision. It is on these
circumstances, that this Court took suo moto action. The
Learned Senior Counsel urged that we should also take such
suo moto action and put the dock back, insofar as, the orders ~
passed· by the Tribunal in case of respondents under the Ceiling
E Act, as also in respect of the Certificates issued under Section
38-8 are concerned. We do not see as to how we would order
a suo moto action. The cases are entirely different cases. In
this case, there has been no fraud as in the reported decisions.
Lastly, by way of almost a desperate argument, Shri
F Sundaravardan urged that under Section 50-8 (4) of the
Tenancy Act, the Collector has. a suo moto power to call for and .,...
examine the record relating to any Certificates issued or
proceedings taken by Tahsildar under the Section for the
purpose of satisfying themselves as to the legality or propriety
G of such Certificate or as to ihe regularity of such proceedings,
may pass such order in relation thereto as he may think fit. The
Learned Senior.Counsel argued thatthis Court had discussed '<"
about this issue in 2003 (7) SC.C 667 lbrahimpatnam Taluk
Vyavasaya Coolie ,Sangham Vs. K. Suresh Reddy and
H Others, He suggested that the Certificates issued in favour of
STATE OF AP. & ANR. v. T. YADAGIRI REDDY & ORS. 823
[V.S. SIRPURKAR, J.]

the respondents can still be reopened via Section 50-8 (4) of A
the Tenancy Act. We have no doubts that there existed such a
power in Collector via the said provision 50-8(4). The question
is whether there was any fraud played or any impropriety
shown, more particularly, on the part of the respondents herein,
in whose favour the said Certificates were granted. When we B
see the whole conspectus of the facts, it is apparent that at no
point of time, have the respondents or even their late father ever
played any fraud- against any authority, nor did they ever
suppress any relevant fact from any authority. They openly came
out with a case regarding Agreement executed on 25.2.1956, c
thereafter, they openly propounded a theory of partition, which
theory was accepted by the Tribunal in ceiling matter in their
case, as well as, in the case of their father Late Shri T. Papi
Reddy and ultimately, they obtained the Certificate under
Section 38-8, way back in 1983. Today, 25 years have elapsed
0
after those Certificates have been granted. We do not see any
impropriety in the said proceedings, which would justify a suo
moto action on the part of the Collector.

23. This Court has considered the nature of that power in
the case of lbrahimpatnam Taluk Vyavasaya Coolie Sangham E
Vs. K. Suresh Reddy and Others (cited supra) and observed
in para 9:-

"9. ...... Use of the words "at any time" in sub-Section
(4) of Section 50-8 of the Act only indicates that no F
specific period of limitation is prescribed within
which the suo moto power could be exercised
reckoning or starting from a particular date
advisedly and contextually. Exercise of suo moto
power depended on. facts and circumstances of G
each case. In cases of fraud, this power could be
exercised within a reasonable time from the date
of detection or discovery of fraud. While exercising
such power, several factors need to be kept in mind .
such as effect on the rights of the third parties over H
/

824 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 16 S.C.R.

A the immovable property due to passage of
considerable.time, change of the provisions of other
Acts (such as Land Ceiling Act) ...._. ................... " ,.
From this, the Learned Senior Counsel argued that since there
is no period of limitation prescribed for this power, the Collector
8
would be justified in initiating an action. In our opinion the
. argument is firstly, premature. No such action have ever been
proposed. Secondly, the Court has further observed that such
action has to be within reasonable time though the words "at "(
any time" are used in the provision. In the same para, fhe Court
C . further observed:

"9. .. ..... Use of the words "at any time" in ~ub-section
(4) of Section 50-B of the Act cannot be rigidly read
letter by letter. It must be read and construed
D . contextually and reasonably. If one has to simply
proceed on the basis of the dictionary mean sing
of the words "at any time", the suo moto power
under sub-Section (4) of Section 50-B of the Act
could be exercised even after decades and then it
E . would lead to anomalous position leading to
. uncertainty and complications seriously affecting the
rights. of the parties, that too, over immovable
properties. Orders attaining finality and certainty of
the rights of th~ parties accr~ed in the light of the
F orders passed must have sanctity. Exercise of suo
moto power "at any time" only means that no
specific period such as days, months or years are
not prescribed reckoning from a particular date. But,
that does not mean that "at any_ time" should be
unguided and arbitrary. In this view, "at any time"
G
must be understood as within a reasonable time
depending on the facts and circumstances of each
case in the absence of prescribed period of
limitation."

H
STATE OF AP. & ANR. v. T. YADAGIRI REDDY & ORS. 825
_. [V.S. SIRPURKAR, J.]

""" ~ The observations are extremely fitting in the present case. Here A
also, after the Certificates have been issued, 25 lorig years have
elapsed. The rights of the parties have already been
crystallized. Not only this, but, it is the report of Shri Rao that
the said lands have now been converted and sold for to as many
as approximately 1100 persons, by way of residential plots. We B
do not think that there is any justification at this stage to use a
suo moto power and to cancel the Certificates, so as to put
Y the clock back. That would be, in our opinion, a completely
unnecessary exercise, not warranted by any of the Sections. In
that view, even this argument has to be rejected. Before parting, c
we must observe that the subsequent orders in case of Late
Shri Khaja Shakhir Hussain, Shri Khaja Nasir Hussain and Smt.
Razia Sultana, seem to have passed without even noticing the
earlier orders passed and without even bothering to send
notices to the interested parties. That would be the minimum 0
expectation of law. By that, as it may, the Appeal has no merits,
and is dismissed with costs.
RP. Appeal dismissed.