IMPORTANT POINT
Interpretation and application of section 127, MRTP Act, 1966.

Judgment :-

G.S. Singhvi, J.

1. Leave granted.

2. Respondent No.1 is the owner of the land measuring 5300 sq. mtrs. comprised in Survey No.72, Penkarpada, Mira Road, within the municipal limits of Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (hereinafter referred to as, ‘the Corporation’). In the Development plan prepared under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966 (for short, ‘the 1966 Act’), which was sanctioned on 14.5.1997 and was enforced on 15.7.1997, a portion of the land belonging to respondent No.1 (2500 sq. mtrs.) was shown as reserved for extension of Royal College of Arts, Science and Commerce run by the Royal Society of Bombay (for short, ‘the Society’).

3. In December, 2005 the Corporation made an application to the District Collector for initiation of the acquisition proceedings. The latter asked the Corporation to submit detailed proposal for facilitating the acquisition. Thereupon, the Competent Authority prepared a detailed plan, which was submitted to the Collector on 26.7.2006.

4. In the meanwhile, the Society filed Writ Petition No.4341/2005 for issue of a direction to the State Government and the Corporation to expedite the acquisition proceedings. The Division Bench of the High Court disposed of the writ petition vide order dated 16.2.2006, the relevant portion of which is extracted below:

“From the affidavit filed by Sanjay Adhav, Special Land Acquisition Officer, the Learned G.P. points out that the Municipal Corporation has already forwarded the necessary documents to the Collector in the prescribed form. Considering that, the Special Land Acquisition Officer to pass an award within six months. It is further made clear that on the Special Land Acquisition Officer calling on the petitioners to deposit the compensation as computed by him, the same would be deposited by the petitioners within four weeks of such demand. It is only thereupon that the Special Land Acquisition Officer to proceed to pass an award and, thereafter, to take steps to hand over possession within one month after the award is passed. Rule made absolute accordingly.”

5. Since the Special Land Acquisition Officer did not take steps in furtherance of the directions contained in the aforesaid order, respondent No.1 issued purchase notice dated 25.7.2007 under Section 127 of the 1966 Act, which was duly served upon the Corporation. After one year, respondent No.1 submitted plan dated 28.7.2008 for construction of a library building on the land owned by it. The same was rejected by the Competent Authority vide order dated 29.9.2008 on the ground that the land was reserved for the college and the acquisition proceedings had already been initiated.

6. Respondent No.1 challenged the rejection of its plan in Writ Petition No.36/2009. The pleaded case of respondent No.1 was that reservation of the land had lapsed and the reason assigned by the Competent Authority for rejecting the building plan was legally untenable. In paragraphs 11 to 16 and 21 to 26 of the writ petition, respondent No.1 made the following averments:

“11. By their letter dated 28th April, 2006, the petitioners forwarded a copy of the aforesaid order of this Hon'ble Court dated 16th February, 2006 to the respondent No.1 and inter alia, requested it to demarcate the land area admeasuring 0.25 hectors to enable the petitioners to comply with the aforesaid order of this Hon'ble Court. Hereto annexed and marked Exhibit C is a copy of the said letter dated 26th April, 2006.

12. The petitioners by their further letter dated 6th May, 2006 inter alia, requested the respondent No.1 to expedite the process of demarcation and intimate in writing to enable the petitioners to comply with the aforesaid orders of this Hon'ble Court within the stipulated time. Hereto annexed and marked as Exhibit D is the copy of the said letter dated 6th May, 2006.

13. By the letter dated May 31, 2006, the Advocates for the petitioners, after setting out the relevant fact inter alia requested the respondent No.