Full bench to study Stamps Act Section 22A

 

A division bench comprising Acting CJ Dilip B. Bhosale and Justice S.V. Bhatt was dealing with petitions moved by the farmers and aggrieved parties from AP and TS challenging revenue authorities who were showing their land as government land.

 

The petitioners said that revenue authorities are showing all land as government land and as a result most of the land is being shown as one that falls under the definition of Section 22A which means that this land cannot be transferred to third parties.

 

They also brought to the notice of the court that six HC judges had delivered contradictory judgements on this issue. Expressing surprise at the ambiguity, the bench asked why it has become such a problem when the state or its agents can delete the survey numbers of the landowners from the purview of Section 22A as and when it was shown to them that theirs was private land. 

 

The bench said that it would first frame the legal questions to be answered and sought the help of the counsels of both states and landowners to resolve the issue. The bench directed both states to come with their suggestions within a week.

 

 

The HC on Thursday directed the authorities of Prakasam district to allow Eadara Hari Babu, who was disqualified from holding the post of Prakasam ZP chairman under the anti-defection law, to vote in the MLC polls. 

 

The bench was dealing with a plea by Hari Babu challenging deletion of his name from the voters list. The bench said that his vote should be kept in a sealed cover and will be opened only if any of the contestants won the election with a margin of just one or two votes.