Andhra Pradesh Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 1982 – ss.2(d), (e) – ‘Land grabbing’; ‘Land grabber’ – Case of the applicant (predecessors-in-interest of the respondents) before the Special Court was that the appellant was in occupation of a portion of the land belonging to the applicant forming part of survey no.9 whereas the sale deed produced by the appellant showed his property to be in survey no.10 – Appellant was held to be a ‘land grabber’, eviction directed: Held: The term ‘land grabbing’ is employed in the statute conferring on it both a narrow and broad connotation – The broader meaning being of taking away unauthorisedly, greedily or unfairly and the narrow meaning being of snatching forcibly, violently or by unscrupulous means – It cannot be said that there should necessarily be criminality insofar as the encroachment or trespass carried out – The mens rea or intention required is only of illegally taking possession of land, through unlawful or arbitrary means, by oneself or through others, for creation of third party rights, carrying out constructions or use and occupation unauthorisedly – Undisputedly, the appellant had purchased land in survey no.10 – Applicant proved her possession by virtue of the title deed and also took out a Commission which identified the property in the possession of the appellant to be clearly in survey no.9 and not survey no.10 – Thus, the survey numbers in the sale deed produced by the applicant and the appellant, as also the failed attempts of the appellant to obtain an injunction against the applicant and the Municipality; in suits wherein the claim raised was against the very same property, together establish the allegation of land grabbing – Impugned judgment of High Court not interfered with. [Paras 7, 16, 17].
Andhra Pradesh Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 1982 – s.10 – Ownership of the land, burden of proof – Shifting of onus – Discussed. [Para 14]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Headnotes prepared by: Divya Pandey. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
This page is for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a qualified advocate for advice specific to your situation.