Judgment

B. P. JEEVAN REDDY, J.:- This Civil Appeal is preferred by the State of Rajasthan against the judgment of the Division Bench of the Rajasthan High Court in Special Appeal No. 41 of 1978: (reported in 1980 WLN 295). The Special Appeal was directed against the judgment of the learned single Judge in Writ Petition No. 1739 of 1973. The Writ Petition was filed by the second respondent in this Civil Appeal, Mrs. Mani Devi Ojha. The State of Rajasthan was the first respondent in the said writ petition. For the sake of convenience, we shall refer to the parties with reference to their ranking in the writ petition.

2. The writ petitioner Mrs. Mani Devi Ojha filed the writ petition with the following averments:

She has purchased a plot of Land, No. A-9, admeasuring 1066.2/3 sq. yards situated on the south of Bhawani Singh Marg in Jaipur city, under a sale deed dated July 18, 1965 executed by Maharaja Mansingh of Jaipur for a consideration of Rupees sixteen thousand. She was placed in possession thereof on the same day. In September, 1966, she applied to the Secretary, Urban Improvement Trust and the Municipal Commissioner for permission to construct a boundry wall on all the four sides of the said plot and for raising certain other constructions. The application was accompanied by a copy of the sale deed among other documents. There was no response from the Municipal Commissioner. The petitioner reiterated her request in September 1972. Certain information was asked for from her which she furnished. Still there was no reply from the Commissioner. She has reasons to believe that the Government of Rajasthan, the Urban Improvement Trust, Jaipur and other authorities have taken a stand that petitioner and similar purchasers of plots from Maharaja Bhawanisingh have no right to said plots and cannot be granted any permission to make constructions thereon. She, therefore, approached the High Court of Rajasthan by way of the said writ petition. The petitioner asked for several reliefs in the writ petition viz., to recognise her as the full owner of the said Plot No. A-9; to declare that the said plot is a part of the abadi land; to declare that the she has a right to construct buildings thereon and for a further direction to the respondents to grant her the requisite permission for construction. She impleaded Maharaja Bhawanisingh as the second respondent to the writ petition. The State of Rajasthan and its officers opposed the writ petition.

3. The learned single Judge who heard the writ petition allowed the writ petition with the following findings:

In the year 1944, an extent of 134 bighas and 4 bighas was acquired by the then Ruler of the State of Jaipur for construction of a palace for his eldest son Maharaja-Kumar Bhawanisingh. Parts of said land have been acquired by the Government from time to time. The plot purchased by the writ petitioner is a part of the said land. She is, therefore, entitled to claim to be the owner thereof. Further, the land not being agricultural land on 1-9-64, (the date specified as the date of vesting under the Rajasthan Land Reforms and Acquisition of Land Owners Estates Act, 1963) the land did not vest in the estate, as contended by the State. The relief granted finally in the writ petitions reads thus :

"In the result the writ petition is allowed. The respondents are hereby directed to consider the building plans submitted by the petitioner for making constructions over the plot of land No. 9-A specified in the writ petition, in accordance with the rules framed by the Municipal Council, Jaipur in that behalf and to decide the matter of sanction thereof within a period of three months, keeping in view the findings arrived at by this Court. In the circumstances of the case, the parties are left to bear their own costs."

4. Against the judgment of the learned single Judge, the State of Rajasthan filed Special Appeal No. 41 of 1978. It would be appropriate to notice the relevant findings of the Division Bench