Grant Of Jagir Not To Be Misconstrued As One Of Title Over The Property: Supreme Court
The Bench dismissed appeals over Miyapur lands in Telangana, holds that revenue entries made without proceedings after vesting are a nullity and upholds the State’s title.
Justice M.M. Sundresh, Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, Supreme Court
The Supreme Court has held that a grant of jagir confers only rights in respect of land revenue and cannot be treated as a grant of title over the land. Any limited interest a jagirdar held, it said, was extinguished once jagirs were abolished and vested in the State.
The Bench dismissed a batch of appeals by private claimants to lands in Miyapur village, Ranga Reddy District. It held that the revenue entries relied on by one set of claimants were made without authority after vesting, and are therefore a nullity. It also held that the claimants who traced title to the jagirdar were barred by concluded Atiyat proceedings and by the commutation amount received.
A Bench of Justice M. M. Sundresh and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma observed, “…we would like to clarify that the grant of paigah, would mean an estate granted for the maintenance of the army. A jagir would mean a grant of the estate qua the right in respect of land revenue. Therefore, a grant of jagir is not to be misconstrued as one of title over the property”.
Senior Advocate Mukul Rohtagi appeared for the appellant and Senior Advocate C.S. Vaidyanathan appeared for the respondent.
The lands lie in Survey Nos. 100 and 101 of Miyapur, spanning about 550 acres and 39 guntas. They were classified as sarkari poramboke after the 1912 survey. The claimants traced title through three sources: Nawab Mohammad Khaisaruddin Khan, who held a Muntakhib and a commutation award; Raheemunnisa Begum, wife of Abdul Salam, whose name appeared as pattedar in the pahanies of 1950-53; and Raheemunnisa Begum, wife of Nawab Moinuddowla Bahadur, who relied on the 1929 Firman.
The Special Court under the Andhra Pradesh Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 1982 had allowed LGC Nos. 21 and 22 of 1994 without impleading the State. It dismissed LGC Nos. 110 of 1994 and 131 and 136 of 1995, in which the State was a party, holding the lands belonged to the State. By judgment dated April 16, 2003, the Andhra Pradesh High Court upheld the latter findings, set aside the former, and declared the State the owner.
The Court noted that a jagirdar is not a title holder but enjoys that position at the Nizam’s pleasure. It held that under the Abolition of Jagirs Regulation, jagirs stood included in the Diwani, and that Regulations 17 and 18 protect only home farms and personal property, the onus of proving which lies on the person asserting it. The entitlement of a jagirdar or a Muntakhib holder, it said, is confined to the commutation sum.
The Court found the pattedar entries bogus, “a case of fraud” orchestrated in collusion with revenue officials. It observed there was “no power to record the name of an individual as a pattedar” through a mere entry. The Tehsildar’s permission to alienate was also held a nullity. Pleas of auction purchase, a will and Zat Jagir, raised for the first time or unsupported by evidence, were rejected. The Court added that “an act of fraud vitiates all solemn acts.”
The appeals were dismissed with no order as to costs, and all impleadment and intervention applications were dismissed. The Court clarified that the Land Grabbing Court’s decision in LGC Nos. 21 and 22 of 1994, to which the State was not a party, has no bearing. It declined to grant equitable relief and did not go into the inter se disputes among the claimants over lands transferred to HUDA.
Cause Title: Bandari Ramchander & Ors. v. Maitri Coop. Housing Society Ltd. & Ors. (Neutral Citation: 2026 INSC 1175)
Appearances:
Appellant: P.B. Suresh Kumar, Sr. Adv., Mukul Rohtagi, Sr. Adv., Pawanshree Agrawal, AOR, Kamana Divya Sree, Kriti Jain, Hari Sreedhar, Solanki Das, Advocates.
Respondent: B Adinarayana Rao, Sr. Adv., Byrapaneni Suyodhan, Tatini Basu, AOR, Obulapuram Keerthi, Kumar Shashank, Manu Shanker Mishra- 1436, AOR, Anirudh Ray, S. Nagamuthu, C.S. Vaidyanathan, Sr. Advs.