IMPORTANT POINT
Section 126 deals with Plans as well as Schemes, but Section 127 does not refer to Town Planning Schemes.

JUDGMENT

Prafulla C. Pant, J.

This appeal is directed against judgment and order dated 23.12.2004, passed by the High Court of Judicature of Bombay, Bench at Aurangabad, whereby said Court has dismissed the Writ Petition No. 1924 of 1992. And for the reasons given in the said order, the other two Writ Petition Nos. 1925 of 1992 and 1228 of 2001 were also dismissed.

2. In the above Writ Petitions (Nos. 1924 of 1992 and 1925 of 1992), Town Planning Scheme in respect of survey No. 431/A (new plot No. 287) and survey No. 431/B (new plot No. 288) situated at Mehrun area within the limits of Municipal Council Jalgaon, was sought to be quashed.

3. Brief facts of the case are that appellants were admittedly owners of survey No. 431/A-1, A-2 and A-3 and survey No. 431/B. On 15.12.1971, Jalgaon Municipal Council which is a Planning Authority under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966 (for short "MRTP Act"), published Draft Development Plan in respect of certain lands including the aforementioned plots owned by the appellants and reserved the same for public purpose, renumbering them as plot No. 288 in reservation site No. 107 (for garden) and plot No. 287 reserved in site Nos. 104 and 105 (for the purposes of construction of library, maternity home and dispensary). Final Development Plan was sanctioned in respect of above area which came into operation on 16.12.1974. According to the appellants, this date is the starting point for taking steps for acquisition within a period of ten years under MRTP Act, as the owners got restricted/prevented from carrying out any developmental activities over their land. It is pleaded by them that the procedure for acquisition of the land reserved for public purpose is provided under Chapter VII, which allowed at the relevant point of time only two modes of acquisition under Section 126 (1) of the MRTP Act, namely - (i) by agreement, and (ii) by making an application to the State Government for acquiring such land under Land Acquisition Act, 1894.

4. Section 127 of the MRTP Act, provides that if any land reserved, allotted or designated for any purpose specified in any plan under the Act, is not acquired by agreement within ten years from the date on which the final Regional Plan or final Development Plan came into force or if proceedings under Land Acquisition Act, 1894, are not commenced within such period, the owner or any person interested in the land, may serve notice on the Planning Authority, Development Authority or Appropriate Authority, as the case may be, and if within six months of such notice, the land is not acquired or no steps, as aforesaid, are commenced for the acquisition, the reservation, allotment or designation shall be deemed to have lapsed, and thereupon the land shall be deemed to be released from the reservation, allotment or designation, and shall become available to the owner for the purpose of development as otherwise permissible in the case of adjacent land under the relevant plan.

5. The appellants' case is that on 15.12.1984 ten years stood expired from the date coming into operation of final Development Plan, and the respondents failed to acquire the land. As such, the original appellants/land owners sent a notice under Section 127 of the MRTP Act to the Planning Authority, Jalgaon Municipal Council on 7.10.1986, but even after receipt of such notice, the Municipal Council failed to take steps for acquisition of the appellants' land reserved for public purpose within the period of six months, and consequently, the land stood released from the reservation. But when in spite of repeated representations no orders were passed by the Planning Authority releasing the land, the appellants filed Writ Petition Nos. 1924 of 1992 and 1925 of 1992 qua survey Nos. 431/A and 431/B respectively, seeking writ of mandamus to quash the reservation of the appellants' land for Town Planning Scheme.

6. On the other hand, on behalf of the Planning Authority/Jalgaon Municipal Council,