Order

1. Leave granted.

2. The appellant has challenged the decision of the High Court by which the High Court has dismissed the appellant's writ petition which had been filed in the following circumstances. The appellant was desirous of setting up a mushroom plant. For this purpose they required 35.16 acres of land. At that time a ceiling of 12.50 acres was prescribed for all landholders. This was subject to an exemption. The relevant section was 154(2) of the D.P.

Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act (hereinafter referred to as "the Act"), as it then stood it read as follows:

"154. (2) Subject to the provisions of any other law relating to the land tenures for the time being in force, the State Government may, by general or special order, authorise transfer in excess of the limit prescribed in sub-section (1) if it is of the opinion that such transfer is in favour of a registered cooperative society or an institution established for a charitable purpose, which does not have land sufficient for its need or that the transfer is in the interest of general public." 3. The section was clarified by a Government Order which was issued on 30-5-1994 stating that the phrase "transfer in the interest of general public" would also include for the purposes of industrial development in the State.

The Regional Commissioner was, therefore, authorised to grant permission to purchase more than 12.50 acres of land by industries under the Act. On the basis of Section 154(2) read with the Government Order, the appellant applied to the Regional Commissioner for permission to purchase 35.16 acres. The Commissioner granted the permission on 27-9-1995 in the following language:

"With reference to your Letter No. 379/12-A-1l5(95-96) LP, dated 16-8-1995 on the aforesaid subject I have to inform that M/s Super Agrotech Limited, 405, Indira Nagar Colony, Dehradun, is being granted permission for purchasing 35.16 acres of land for industrial purpose, under Section 154(2) of the Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, under the rights conferred under Government Order No. 180/1-1(43)/1994 dated 30-5-1994 of Revenue Section 1, Uttar Pradesh Government." 4. The appellant accordingly purchased the land and took possession. On 21-8-1997, the Assistant Collector passed an order stating that the appellant had purchased the land without the permission of the State Government and, therefore, the land beyond 12.50 acres of land was treated to have vested in the State Government, free from all encumbrances. A copy of the order was sent to the Collector, Dehradun for the purpose of passing an order under the Act for dispossessing the appellant from the land in question.

5. Being aggrieved, the appellant filed the writ petition which was dismissed by the impugned order of the High Court.

6. The High Court construed Section 154(2) to mean that permission could be granted by the Commissioner only in favour of a cooperative society I and in favour of an institution established for charitable purposes. No permission could be granted for the purposes of establishing an industry. It was held that the Government Order dated 30-5-1994 was beyond the scope of Section 154(2) and void. The writ petition was therefore dismissed. 7. In our opinion, this appeal must be allowed. Section 154(2) clearly shows that the permission could be granted in case the State Government came to the conclusion that such transfer was in favour of (1) a registered cooperative society, or (2) an institution established for a charitable purpose, or (3) that the transfer was in the interest of the general public. The third clause did not qualify the first two clauses. The word "or" must be read as used consistently in the section disjunctively. The phrase "public interest" had been clarified by the State Government itself in its Government Order dated 30-5-1994 as including industrial development. The State Government was competent to do this and its action was wrongly held by the High Cour