HC tells civil courts to hear civil suits till further orders

Nelapadu (Guntur district): The Division Bench of Andhra Pradesh High Court comprising Chief Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Justice R Raghunandan Rao, delivering the interim orders on the writ petitions filed against the Andhra Pradesh Land Titling Act of 2022, directed the civil courts on Wednesday to continue hearing the pending cases and also to entertain fresh civil suits pertaining to immovable property till further orders.

The Division Bench was dealing with a batch of writ petitions challenging the Andhra Pradesh Land Titling Act of 2022. The writ petitions were filed questioning the vires of the Act to the extent it ousted the jurisdiction of the civil courts from entertaining any disputes pertaining to immovable property.

The Act came into force October 31, 2023 and as a result, the civil courts have refused to entertain the civil suits.

Advocate General S Sriram informed the court that the machinery provisions of the Act have not yet come into operation. The state government has not yet issued the notification and title registration officer and the land titling appellate officer are yet to be appointed. The Advocate General pointed out that the civil courts ought not to have refused to entertain the disputes till the machinery is set in place.

The Division Bench, considering the statement of the Advocate General, ordered the civil courts to entertain the civil suits till further orders.

The Advocate General was told to file counter-affidavit to the writ petitions and ordered the next listing on February 7, 2024.