Judgement

AYYANGAR, J. : By a communication dated April 5, 1930, from the Secretary to the Government of the Central Provinces addressed to the Commissioner, Jabalpur Division, certain Nazul land was made available to the Municipal Committee of Jabalpur. In this letter the Secretary stated:

"I am directed by the Governor in Council with the previous sanction of the Government of India to communicate the following orders of the Government of the Central Provinces:-

Under Section 38 (1) (f) of the Central Provinces Municipalities Act, 1922, Government is pleased to transfer to the Municipal Committee, Jabbulpore, free of premium and ground rent nazul land measuring.......... of the Jubbulpore town. The land shall vest in the Municipal Committee subject to the following conditions:

(1) The land shall be used only for the purpose of a garden and no part of it shall be used for any other purpose without the previous sanction of the Local Government.

(2) If condition 1 is broken the land shall be liable to be divested under section 38 (2) and resumed by Government and no compensation whatsoever shall be payable to the Municipal Committee upon such resumption.

(3) If the land is resumed by Government for any Government purpose, the provisions of Section 38 (3) will apply."

Sub-sections (2) and (3) of s. 38 referred to ran:

"38. (2) The State Government may, by notification, direct that any property which has vested in the committee shall cease to be so vested, and thereupon the property specified in the notification shall cease to be so vested and the State Government may pass such orders as it thinks fit regarding the disposal and management of such property.

(3) Where any unmovable property is transferred, otherwise than by sale, by the State Government to a committee, for public purposes, it shall be deemed to be a condition of such transfer, unless specially provided to the contrary, that, should the property be at any time resumed by the Government, the compensation payable therefor shall, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (I of 1894), in no case exceed the amount, if any, paid to the Government for the transfer, together with the cost or the present value, whichever shall be less, of any buildings erected or other works executed on the land by the committee."

2. The land thus obtained was being used by the Municipal Committee in accordance with the condition of the transfer as a public garden.

3. The Central Provinces and Berar Municipalities Act, 1922 was repealed by the City of Jabalpur Corporation Act, 1948 (Madhya Pradesh Act III of 1950.) Under this later enactment the Municipal Committee was substituted by the Jabalpur Corporation, the appellant before us and all properties-movable and immovable - which were previously vested in the Municipal Committee were transferred to and vested in the Corporation (vide S. 71 of the Jabalpur Corporation Act), and by reason of the vesting, the appellant was in enjoyment of the transferred property.

4. A hostel or Boarding-house of a public institution-the Hitkarini Mahavidvalaya -had been located in a building constructed to the north of the Public Garden maintained by the Corporation. A public road ran to the south of the Public Garden and as there was not a proper and convenient access from the Boarding-house to the public road, the authorities of the Mahavidyalaya approached the State Government to obtain for them a narrow strip of land about 20ft. wide at the eastern extremity of the Public Garden for the purpose of laying a public road which would provide this access. The Government considered this request reasonable and forwarded this request of the Mahavidyalaya, with a covering letter of their own dated April 28, 1959, to the Corporation for being complied with. The request however was not acceded to and thereafter on February 11, 1960, the Government of Madhya Pradesh issued a notification under S. 81 of the Jabalpur Corporation Act notifying that