‘Totally illegal’: Karnataka HC on tahsildars changing land records before appeal period ends

Section 5 of the Act provides for resumption and restitution of granted lands after an inquiry, as deemed necessary by the assistant commissioner, is carried out. He can direct that such land be restored to the original grantee or his legal heir. The revenue records are maintained by tahsildars, and any changes must be carried out by the tahsildar. Section 5A of the Act provides an appeal against the order of the assistant commissioner before the jurisdictional deputy commissioner within three months.

Justice Devdas directed the principal secretary of the state revenue department to immediately issue a circular directing all the tahsildars in the state that no such action shall be taken in the matter of change in the revenue entries. Consequent to the orders passed by the assistant commissioner, the tahsildars will have to wait at least till the appeal period lapses, the court added.

Further, the court directed that all deputy commissioners have to be told that whenever appeals are filed by the aggrieved subsequent purchasers before them till final adjudication, they should pass an order of stay on the assistant commissioner’s order to avoid revenue entries being changed immediately.

The court gave the directions while disposing of a petition filed by one Jayalakshmi A S, a subsequent purchaser who sought to question the order of the deputy commissioner remanding her case back to the assistant commissioner, setting aside the restoration order of a land to the original grantee, after 45 years of delay without hearing her. The court permitted her to challenge the subsequent assistant commissioner’s order, which was passed after the petition was filed.