High Court · 2025

1. J.Vishwanatharn, Sio.Papalah .aged about 47 years, 2. S.Srinivas, S/o.Mallaiah, Aged 34 years, 3. A.Srinivas, S/o.Banaiah, Aged 34 years, 4. J.Shantamma, Wo..Shankar Aged 37 years, 5. A.Tirupathi, S/o.Ramchander, Aged 38 years 6. J.Rajamma, Wo.Papaiah, Aged 34 years, 7. A.Chandraiah, S/o.Banaiah, Aged 36 years B. J.Kamala, Wo.Vishwanatham, Aged 40 years, 9. A.Rajitha, Wo. Balakrishna, Aged 36 years, o 10. A.Sudhakar, S/o.Banaiah, Aged 35 years, 1'1 .A.Mallika, Wo.Ramchander, Aged 39 years, 12. D.Padma, D/o.Posham, Aged 39 years, 13. D,Vijaya, Wo.Naresh, Aged 36 years, 14.Raya Linga, S/o.Posham Aged 60 years, 15. M.Buchakka, Wo.Mondaiah, Aged 35 years, 16. G:sattamma, Wo.Mallesh, Aged. 32 years, 17.T.Laxmi, Wio.Posham, Aged 34 years, All are r/o. Jodupalem Village, Mandamarri [Vlandal . Adilabad Distict. ...PETITIONERS AND 1 The State of Telangana, rep by its Principal Secretary, Forest Department Secretariat, Hyderabad. 2 J The Divisional Forest Officer, It/lancherial, Adilabad District- The Assistant Director, Survey AND Records, Adilabad District.

4. The Forest Range Officer, Mancherial, Adilabad District'

5. The Forest Beat Officer, Mandamarri, Adilabad District. . 6. The Reverue [)ivisional Officer, fi/ancheriai, Adilabad District 7. The Tahsildar, l,4andamarri Mandal Adilabad District .RESPONDENTS Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of lrrdia praying that in the circumstances s;taterl in the affidavit filed therewith, the High Court may be pleased to issue an appropriate Writ, Order or Direction, more particularly one in the nature of Wr t of Vlandamus, to declare the lmpugned Report submitted by the 3rd respondent to the 2nd respondent herein dt. 31-1C-20i 5 bearing RG.No. 49/688/2015 stating that the land In possession of the petitione:rs in Sy.No. 148 situated at Mandamarri village and Mandal, Adiiabad District is recorded as Mahasura Foresl., as being illegal arbitrary and unjust, and consequenfly set aside the same by dirr:ctin E the respondent No. 2 herein to conduct lh(,r-survey of the entire land in Sy.No 14.8. I.A. NO: 1OF 20 PMP. NO: 51046 OF 2015) Petition under Sectron 151 CPC praying that in the circumstances stated in the affidavit filed in support of the petition, the High Court rnay br: prg2r.a to pass orders directing the Respondents not to dispossess or in any mi:lnner interfere With the peaceful possession and enjoyment of the petilioners in respect of the lands admeasuring Ac.48.00 cents in'Sy.No.148 situatecl at ManJamarri village and Mandal, Adil;rbad District, pending disposal of the Writ petition. l.A. NO: 1 OF 20 VMP. NO: 505 OF 2016) Between:

1. The State of Telangana, rep by its Principal Secretary, Forest Department Secretariat, Hyclerabad.

2. The Divisional F:orest Officer, Mancherial, Adilabad District. 3. The Forest Range Officer, Mancherial, Adilabad District, 4. The Forest Bea- Officer, Mandamarri, Adilabad District ...PETITIONERS/RESPONDNTS 1,2,4,&5 AND 1 2 J.Vishwanatharn, S/o.Papalah .aged about 47 years, S.Srinivas, S/o.Mallaiah, Aged 34 years, A.Srinivas, S/o.Banaiah, Aged 34 years, 3. 4. J.Shantamma, Wo..Shankar Aged 37 years, 5. A.Tirupathi, S/o.Ramchander, Aged 38 years 6 J.Rajamma, Wo Papaiah, Aged 34 years, 7. A.Chandraiah, S/o.Banaiah, Aged 36 years 8. J.Kamala, Wo.Vishwanatham, Aged 40 years, 9. A.Rajitha, Wo. Balakrishna, Aged 36 years, o 'l0.A.Sudhakar, S/o.Banaiah, Aged 35 years, '1 I . A.Mallika, Wo.Ramchander, Aged 39 years, '12. D.Padma, D/o.Posham, Aged 39 years, 13. D.Vijaya, Wo.Naresh, Aged 36 years, 14.Raya Linga, S/o.Posham Aged 60 years, 15.M.Buchakka, Wo.Mondaiah, Aged 35 years, '16. G:Sattamma, Wo.Mallesh, Aged. 32 years, 17.T.Laxmi, Wo.Posham, Aged 34 years, All are r/o. Jodupalem Village, Mandamarri Mandal . Adilabad Distict ...RESPONOENTS/PETITIONER '18. The Assistant Director, Survey AND Records, Adilabad District. '19. The Revenue Divisional Officer, Mancheriai, Adilabad District.

20. The Tahsildar, Mandamarri Mandal Adilabad District. (Respondnets/respondents No.1B to 20 are not necessary parties in this petition) ...RESPONDENTS/RESPONDENTS 3,6&7 Petition under Section 151 CPC praying that in the circumstances stated in the affidavit filed in support of the petition, the High Court may be pleased to vacate the interim orders passed on 04.12.2015 in W.P.M.P. No. 5'1046 of 2015 in W.P.No. 39573 of 2015 and dismiss the writ petition Counsel for the Petitioners: SRI GAJANAND CHAKRAVARTHI Counsel for the Respondent Nos.1 to 5: AGP FOR FORESTS Counsel for the Respondent Nos.6 and 7: AGP FOR REVENUE The Court made the following: ORDER I i, i. r F h l T r ORDER I{ON'BLE MRS JUSTICE SUREPALLI NANDA WRIT PETITION No.3 9573 of 2015 Heard Sri Gajanand Chakravarthy, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioners, learned Assistant Government Pleader for Forests, appearing on behalf of respondent Nos,l to 5 and learned Assistant Government Pleader for Revenue, appearing on behalf of respondent Nos.6 and 7.

2. The petitioners fi!ed the writ Detition seekinq the followinq ma in relief andinterim relief as under: "... to issue an appropriate Writ, Order or Dir€ction, rrore parti,:ularlv one in the nature oF Writ of Mandamus, lo decla re 1.he Impugned Report submitted oy tl- e 3.d respondert to the 2"d respondent herern dt. 31-10-2015 bearing 11:.No. 491688/2015 stating that the land in possession oF the petitioners in Sy.No. 148 situated at Mancamarri village and Mandal, Adiiabad District is recorded as "lr4ahasura" Forest, as being illegal, arbitrary and .lnjus:, and consequently set aside thc same by direcling the respondent No. 2 herein to cc)nduct tre- survey of :he entire land in Sy,No. 148, and pass sr.rch other ord,:' or orders as this Honble Court deem fit etnd prope r in :he circumstances of the case,,. It i1; further prayed that this Hon,ble Court may also be plr-,aserl to pass orders directing the respondents n:)t to ) SN. J wP 39573 2015 dispossess or in any manner interfere with the peaceful possession and enjoyment of the petitioners in respect of the lands admeasuring Ac.48.00 cents in Sy.No.148 situated at Mandamarri Village and Mandal, Adilabad District, pending disposal of the Writ Petition and pass such other order or orders as this Hon'ble Court deem fit and proper in the circumstances of the case". '.1

3. This Court passed interim order dated O4.12.2O15 in favour of the petitioner granting interim direction as prayed for and same is in force as on date.

4. The case of the petltioners, in brief. is that the petitioners belong to Scheduled Caste and are landless' The petitioners occupied Government land to an extent of Ac.4B'00 Guntas in Sy.No. 148 situated at Jodupalem Village, Mandamarri Mandal, Adilabad and subsequently, their names were incorporated in the revenue records as cultivators. On 09.02.2025, the petitioners approached the 7th respondent and submitted a representation to allot the land to an extent of Ac.3.00 guntas each in Sy.No'148' Thereafter, the Respondent No.7 vide letter dated 15'12 2007 addressed to the respondent No.6, requested the 6th respondent to restore the agricultural land on the ground that the land fell under Reserve Forest and that until the correct area of Government land is identified in Sy.No. 148, no action can be -) s\. J \\'t, l9_ill 20 t5 taken on petitilners' representation. However, no siuryey was conducted. The 3'd respondent submittel repc,rt vide Rc.No.4916BB/r'O15, dated 31.10.2015 to the 2nd res,pondent herein stating 1:hat the subject land is recorded as "Mahasura,, Forest. Ag3rieved by the same, the petitioners approa(.hed the Court by filing the present writ petition.

5. Cou n ter affidavi t has been filed on behalf of the respo n dents and in pa rticu la r the relevant para of the counter affidavit is extracted here nder: "In repl'/ to Para No.4 averments it is submitted that, ,as per the Revenut-, Records the total area of the Sy,No. L4{:i is 4055.19 acrers. Out of which 3223.13 acres is Rese rve Forest v/hicf was already notified u/s. 18 of l34g Fasli ,rnd Gazette No.9, 7rh Bheman 1349 Fasli and denrarcated by boundary pi lars and trench. The balance area of g32.06 acres is PP land as per the pOB (prohibition Order Book) as reportecl t;v the Tahsildar, mandamarri in his Lr.No.B/875r'05, Dt. 09.05.2005. Further, when .:he petitionors have tried to occupy the said Reserve forest li,rnd for cuitivation illegally, the concerned staff of the Forest Departnrent 'rave prevented them, as the seiid lard in question is rleclared as Reserve Forest which is under l_he control of the Forest Department and it does not belong to the Revt:n ue Department". PERU SED THE RECORD / 4 SN. J WP 39)71 2015 6 The releva nt Dara of the ordersoft his Court dated ed in W.P. N o. 19396of 2011 filed bv the

18.08 .2011 pass oetitionersonanea rliero asron read s as under: "After hearing the learned counsel for the petitioners and the learned Asiistant Government Pleader for Forests' i am of the opinion that when there is a dispute regarding ihe nature of the land, it is the bounden duty of the Forest offi.iult to cooperate in resolving the dispute' Having pu.ti.iput"O in the joint inspection, there can be no i*tifiJ.i." for the Forest officials for refusing to sign the iru"lf,r"urnu. In this view of the matter, the Writ Petition is iisposed of directing respondent No'1 to depute a team of iolest omciats for joint inspection along with respondent tito.S ana ascertain whether the land in Sy'No' 148 in wnicn tne petitioners are claiming pattas' f;lls ;;;;".i witirin or outside the Reserve Forest' Respondent No'1 shall ;;;;i"i" ihis exercise within a period of two months from if'l" Jut" of receipt of this order and communicate the result to the petitioners. Till then, status quo as on today rf.t"if U" maintained with respect to the possession of the petitioners". "f 7 av rr a 9of e itio rs tfi vit u r

9. It is submitted that the respondent No'2 herein lno*ing iully well about the speciFic time granted by this Hon;ur"-Corit for completion of the loint Inspection' kept qri"ifor-o*. a period of about 4 years and on 30-11-2015 in"- r"iponO"nt Nos. 4 and S herein along with their suLordinates came to our land and made attempts to ;L;;;;;t us and when we informed about the subsistence Jr-!t-u-tu*qro orders, they said officials have handed over us the copy of the report said to have submitted by the 3rd ;;.;";;;;t herein to the 2nd respondent wherein it was i-h"fthe tand in our possession in sv'No' 148 is .".orJ"J as "Mahasura" Forest' It is relevant to mention '^r;;;J n"i" if,at as per the report of the 7th respondent dt' 15- i-looi the total extent of the land in sy'No' 148 is verv irss'rs ac]'es out as per the report of the 3rd ;;;;i...: ,\ ) "\'P SN. J .t9i7l 20 t5 respondent shows that he only surveyed the and in posser;sior of the petitioners only if the entire land in Sy. No. 148 is surveyed the true fact would come l:o light. This :;horl:; that the respondents are bent u )on to dispossess the petitioners herein. That the impugned report of tle 3rd respondent dt.31-10-2C15 is vitiated with ii-reg Jlarity and under the guise of the impugned report dt.31-10-2015, the forest ofFicials are making hectic att€:mpts to dispossess us frorn our lawful possession. DISCUSSION AND NCL fON:-

8. The learned counsel appearing on behalf nf the petitioners placing reliance on the specific averments made at para No.9 of the affidavit filed on behalf of the petitioners (referred to and extracted above) contended that the impugned report of the 3.d respondent, dated 31.1O.2015 is vitiated with irregularity and under the guise of tfre impugned report, dated 31.10.201S, the Forest officials are making hectic attempts to dispossess the petitiorrers from their lawful possession. l-earned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioners frrrther submits that: joint survey of the subject land admeasuring AC.48.OO gLrntas in Sy.No.14g situated at Mandamarri Village and Mandal, Adilabad District in the presence of alt 6 SN. J wP 19571 20 t5 concerned is an immediate requirement to resolve the dispute.

9. The learned Assistant Government pleader for Revenue and the learned Assistant Government pteader for Forests do not oppose the prayer of the writ petitioners for conduct of joint survey of the subject land admeasuring Ac.48.OO guntas in Sy.No.148 situated at Mandamarri Village and Manda!, Adilabad District in the presence of the petitioners and also concerned forest officials and revenue officials to put an end to the dispute itself. 1O. The learned Assistant Government pleader for Forests however submits that the petitioners should not encroach the forest land and occupy the forest land iliegally under the guise of orders of this Court.

11. Taki n into consid ration : (a) The aforesaid facts and circumstances of the case, (b) The submissions made by the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioners and the 7 SN. J rvP l9i7l 20 t5 learrnetl Assistant Government pleader for Forests ancl the learned Assistant Government pleader for Rev'en ure, (c) The specific averments made at para No.9 of the affirlavit filed by the petitioners in support of the prer;ent writ petition. (d) The orders of this Court, dated 18,Og.2O11 pas:;ed in W.P.No.19396 of 2O11. admeasuring Ac.4g.OO respondents to conduct The Writ petition is disposed of directing the survey of the subject land guntas in Sy.No.14g situated at Mandamarri,Village and Mandal, Adilabad District in the presence of both the petitioners and also the concerned forests and revenue officials, within four (4) weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order as per the earlier orders of this Court dated 1g.Og.2O11 passed in W.p. No. 19396 of :tO1t., The interim order of this Court dated O4.1.2.2015 passed in favour of the petitioner in W.p.M.p. No. 51046 of 2O15 shalt remain in force till the respondents complete the survey as per the directions as issued above, within 8 SN. ] wP 19571 20t5 the time period as indicated as above by giving prior notice to the petitioners and also the concerned forests and revenue officials. However, ther'e shatl be no order as to costs. As a sequel, the miscellaneous petitions, if any pending, in the Writ Petition shall also stand closed. //TRUE COPY// SD/.T. TIRUMALA DEVI DE PUTY RE SECTION OFFICER To, TJ BS iF 6 7 1 2 3 4 E Distri The Divisional Forest Officer' Mancherial, Adilab The Forest Range Officer, Ma ncherial, Adilabad District, The Forest Beat Officer, Mand amarri, Adilabad District The Revenue Divisionat Officer, Itilancheriai, Adilabad District The Tahsildar, Mandamarri [v1an dal Adilabad District One CC to Sri Gajanand Chakravarthi, Advocate [OPUC] Two CCs to GP fo r Forests, High Court for the State of Te langana, at Hvderabad [OUT] 8 i''ir;"ae 6 tfiu op ror. Revenue, High Court for the State of Telangana' at Hyderabad[OUT] 9 Two CD CoPies Y\. r{ I t t F r k t F E HIGH COURT CC TODAY DATED:0610312025 ORDER WP.No.39573 of 2015 'i r,1-' :) i r'.:'i' i ? il tirl '::\_, \-.-. ".. O^'-'-:1, ' '. ?-'),, 'im tjl) I \.. DISPOSING OF THE WRIT PETITION WITHOUT COSTS \} .odea fu"