A division Bench of the High Court (HC) comprising Chief Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Justice R. Raghunandan Rao granted an interim stay on the AP Land Titling Act, 2022 (Act 27/2023) and directed the civil courts to deal with the title suits, including fresh ones, as usual till further orders.
They were hearing petitions filed by the All India Lawyers’ Union (AILU), Kurnool District Bar Association (KDBA) and some members of Andhra Pradesh Bar Council against the legality of the impugned legislation.
Appearing for the State, Advocate-General S. Sriram told the court that the areas covered under the Act have not yet been notified, the rules were not framed and the required officers not appointed.
After hearing both sides, the HC said the civil courts can receive fresh suits, and need not return pending ones, and posted the matter to the first week of February. The contention of AILU, KDBA and members of the Bar Council is that certain provisions of the Act 27 / 2023 would increase litigation rather than streamline the process.
The petitioners insisted that the proposed transfer of property disputes from the jurisdiction of civil courts to revenue authorities was flawed, hence, it should be declared as illegal and violative of relevant articles of the Constitution, the Indian Succession Act of 1925 and the guidelines given by the Supreme Court of India.
