@JUDGMENTTAG-ORDER
D.V. Shylendra Kumar, J.@mdashWrit petition as against the 1st Respondent has already abated as the. 1st Respondent has expired. On merits also there is absolutely no scope for interference with the subject orders passed by the Asst. Commissioner and affirmed in appeal by the Deputy Commissioner in respect of an extent of two acres of land in Sy. No. 841 situated at Topara Malige Village in Chitradurga Taluk and District, which was a land granted in favour of one Kollarappa way back in the year 1952 and as a person belonging to depressed class community.
2. The subject land had been transferred/sold by the legal heirs of the grantee as per sale deed dated 18.5.1973 and the Petitioner having been put in possession, his trouble started with the provisions of Karnataka Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prohibition of Transfer of Certain Lands) Act, 1978, (for short the Act'') coming into force w.e.f. 1.1.1979.
3. A belated effort at the instance of the legal heir of the original grantee viz., Smt. Sanjeevamma w/o Kollarappa one who had sold the property in favour of the Petitioner is the son of the original grantee. The Asst. Commissioner as per his order dated 26.4.1999 in No. 130/96-97 had allowed the application of the legal heir of the original grantee voided the sale transaction in terms of the provisions of Section 4(1) of the Act and directed resumption of the land to the State and restoration to the legal heir of the original grantee.
4. Aggrieved Petitioner had carried the matter to the Deputy Commissioner, but the result was no different as in terms of the order dated 8.01.2001 in No. SCPTL(A) 58:99-2000 (copy produced as Annexure-A to the petition), the Deputy Commissioner found no occasion to interfere, as the order passed by the Asst. Commissioner was one attracting the provisions of Section 4 of the Act and therefore dismissed the appeal.
5. It is seeking for quashing of these orders, the present writ petition.
6. Submission of Sri Hosmath, learned Counsel appearing for the Petitioner is that the Deputy Commissioner has disposed of the appeal in a little hurry; that even when the counsel for the Petitioner wanted some time and was not ready to go on with the matter, the Deputy Commissioner has gone on with the hearing of the appeal and has dismissed and therefore submits that the impugned order be set; aside and the matter remanded to the Deputy Commissioner for one more opportunity and for proper disposal of the appeal before him.
7. Mr. R. Omkumar, learned Counsel appearing for Respondent Nos. 2 and 3 points out that the remand order will not serve any purpose particularly, in the facts and circumstances of the case and the law that prevailed at that relevant period, a grant of that nature carried with it a condition of permanent non-alienation and therefore the result cannot be any different whether on remand or otherwise and a remand order does not serve any purpose, it is proper that the matter should be given a quietus. Submission made by Mr. R Omkumar is very apt. The orders passed by the Asst. Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioner are fully in consonance with the provisions of the Act and in fact if there is any delay, it is only with regard to resuming the land to the State and restoration to legal heirs of the original grantee, but the available legal heir also having died and no steps having been taken, it is not known of the existing legal heirs of the original grantee.
8. Be that as it may, the Asst. Commissioner is hereby directed to resume the land to the State, hold an enquiry for ascertaining if there are any legal heirs of the original grantee and if so restore the land to them or else take it to the pool of the State and ensure that it is granted or distributed to a person belonging to the scheduled caste community.
9. However, Mr. Hosmath, learned Counsel submits that the Petitioner himself is a person belonging to the scheduled caste community, but that is not a question which can be examined by this Court in this petition.
10. With these observations, this writ petition is dismissed.
