HON'ABLE SRI JUSTICE R. RAGHUNANDAN RAO

W.P.No.6665 of 2020

ORDER:

The 1st petitioner is the owner of Ac.11.53 cents in Sy.No.89/2 and the 2nd petitioner is the owner of Ac.0.54 cents in Sy.No.60/2, Ac.3.80 cents in Sy.No.61 and Ac.1.87 cents in Sy.No.41-5 of Kummarikuntla Village, A.Kondur Mandal.

2. They are aggrieved by the order dated 18.02.2020 in proceedings No.Rc.B.285/Easement/2019 issued by the Tahsildar, the 4th respondent herein, A.Konduru Mandal, Krishna District.

3. In the said order the 4th respondent took the view that there is a pathway through the land belonging to the petitioners to an area, which is now proposed to be provided as house sites to weaker sections people. On the basis of this assumption, the 4th respondent passed an order declaring that easementary rights had accrued to the farmers, and consequently the said easement rights are hereby extended to the house site beneficiaries also to reach their proposed plots in R.S.No.90/2 of Kummarikuntla Village, for a period of six months after which the required land will be acquired as per the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. The said orders are said to have been passed under the provisions of the Indian Easements Act, 1882.

4. A perusal of the Indian Easement Act, 1882 does not show any provision which empowers the Revenue Authority to either declare easementary rights or extend such easementary rights. The provisions of the said Act only provide as to how easements are created over the usage for long periods of time, extension, suspension or refusal of easements,

dispensation of easements etc. It is not clear as to which provision of law empowers the 4th respondent to extend easementary rights to the persons, who do not have such rights in the first place. The observation of the 4th respondent that the said easementary rights were available to the farmers in the area and therefore such easementary rights can be extended to the proposed allottees in R.S.No.90/2 of Kummarikuntla Village, is not a power which is stipulated by any provision of the Indian Easements Act, 1882. This is a clear case of over reach and the order is wholly without jurisdiction.

5. In these circumstances, the order dated 18.02.2020 in Rc.No.B.285/Easement/2019 issued by the 4th respondent is hereby set aside. Accordingly, the writ petition is allowed. There shall be no order as to costs.

6. As a sequel, pending miscellaneous petitions, if any, shall stand closed.

_________________________ R. RAGHUNANDAN RAO, J.

17th March, 2020 Js.

HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE R. RAGHUNANDAN RAO

W.P.No.6665 of 2020

17th March, 2020