Andhra Pradesh High Court
Judges : V.RAJAGOPALA REDDY
Ushodaya Enterprises Ltd. - Appellant
Versus
State OF A.P. - Respondent
Decided On : 01-02-98
Constitution of India - Article 226 - Urban Areas Development Act, 1975 - Section 59 - Section 12 - Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad Rules, 1967 - Rule 13 - commercial purposes including printing and publishing of newspapers - Broad facts of case, which are relevant for disposal of writ petition first petitioner entered into an agreement of lease with owner of a premises - Thereupon he constructed a printing press and administrative block came into force - Development plan was sanctioned by MCH as per rules in force, which is deemed to be Master Plan under said Act - As per said Master Plan, premises was earmarked in public and semi-public use zone - Zoning regulations permitted, on appeal, commercial use of land in public and semi-public use zone and Bhagyanagar Urban Development Authority Mulli-Sloreyed Building Regulations were brought into force - Zoning Regulations supersede zoning regulations contained in Master Plan and introduced changes in Land Use Zones - Government issued impugned memo making certain amendments to Land Use Zones thereby areas marked as public and semi-public use zones were treated as purely residential - By change of Zoning Regulations, construction of building for printing press by petitioner is not permitted – petitioner therefore, made an application in 1983 for permission 10 construct four additional floors to building, granting relaxation Zoning Regulations - Government accordingly issued relaxation in G. O exercising power under Regulation Zoning Regulations and Regulation 19 of Building Regulations, thus changing land use in Master Plan – Held , Court of view that writ petition is liable to be dismissed for nonjoinder of necessary parties - Law is well settled that petitioner, seeking discretionary remedy of a writ, which should be issued to meet ends of justice, should approach this Court with clean hands and with bonafide intention - landlady has been agitating for recovery of her land for about two decades. Several civil suits are pending for long between petitioners and landlady - It is landlady who questioned relaxation given to petitioners and it is in her writ petition this Court has set aside relaxation - She was a party again in writ appeal as well as in SLP before Supreme Court, There cannot be any doubt in minds of petitioners that any order in this case will vitally effect interest of their landlady - In such circumstances landlady should be held as a necessary party in this writ petition - There should be no reason for petitioners not to have impleaded her in writ petition - Learn senior Counsel has taken me through all provisions of Act and rules and advanced prima facie valid contentions for considerable time - But in view of above reasons, Court decline to appreciate contentions raised and give my decision on merits - Writ petition dismissed
( 1 ) THE petitioners seek a writ of mandamus or other appropriate order or direction declaring Bhagyanagar (Hyderabad) Urban Development Authority Regulations, 1981, Bhagyanagar (Hyderabad) Multi-storeyed Building Regulations, 1981 and the Government Memo No. 2116/1 (1)/81-1 MA, dated 2-2-1982 as null and void and consequently to declare that the 1 st petitioner s use of the premises bearing No. 6-3-570, Somajiguda, Hyderabad, for commercial purposes including printing and publishing of newspapers and various structures raised therein are in accordance with the Development Plan sanctioned by the Government vide G. O. Ms. No. 414, dated 27-9-75 and published under Rule 13 of the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (Development Plan) Rules, 1967, which is the Master Plan under the said Act and therefore in accordance with law; and consequently to direct the respondents not to take any action against the constructions and use thereof in respect of premises bearing No. 6-3-570, Somajiguda, Hyderabad or any part thereof.
( 2 ) THE broad facts of the case, which are relevant for the disposal of the writ petition are as under: The first petitioner entered into an agreement of lease in 1975 with the owner of a premises in Somajiguda, Hyderabad. Thereupon he constructed a printing press and the administrative block. A. P. Urban Areas Development Act, 1975 (for short the Act ) came into force from 1-10-1975. The development plan was sanctioned by the MCH as per the rules in force, which is deemed to be the Master Plan under the said Act. As per the said Master Plan, the premises was earmarked in the public and semi-public use zone. The zoning regulations permitted, on appeal, commercial use of the land in the public and semi-public use zone. Subsequently the Bhagyanagar Urban Development Authority Zoning Regulations. 1981 (for short, the 1981 Zoning Regulations ) and Bhagyanagar Urban Development Authority Mulli-Sloreyed Building Regulations, 1981 (for short the 1981 Building Regulations ) were brought into force from 5-9-1981. The 1981 Zoning Regulations supersede the zoning regulations contained in the Master Plan and introduced changes in the Land Use Zones. The Government issued the impugned memo dt. 2-2-1982 making certain amendments to the Land Use Zones thereby the areas marked as public and semi-public use zones were treated as purely residential. By the change of the Zoning Regulations, the construction of building for printing press by the 1 st petitioner is not permitted. The 1st petitioner therefore, made an application in 1983 for permission 10 construct four additional floors to the building, granting relaxation of 1981 Zoning Regulations. The Government (R1 herein) accordingly issued relaxation in G. O. Rt. N0. 1062 M. A. , dated 13-12-1983, exercising the power under Regulation 12 of Zoning Regulations and Regulation 19 of Building Regulations, thus changing the land use in the Master Plan. Thereafter the 1 st petitioner constructed the additional 4 floors.
( 3 ) THE owner of the land Smt. Ramanamma, in WP 10270/85 questioned the grant of relaxation as illegal and void on various grounds. One of the grounds raised was that the mandatory procedure under Section 12 of the Act was not followed. The writ petition was allowed by judgment dated 30-11-1988, accepting the contentions raised by the petitioner-landlady. Aggrieved by that judgment, the 1st petitioner filed Writ Appeal 454/89. However, the same was dismissed by judgment dated 29-4-1997. The 1st petitioner preferred SLP before the Hon ble Supreme Court, which was also dismissed on 17-10-1997.
( 4 ) NOW the petitioner comes up with the instant writ petition questioning the validity of the 1981 Zoning Regulations and 1981 Building Regulations, under which the petitioner was granted exemption for construction of four floors.
( 5 ) THE questions are urged before me by the learned senior Counsel: (1) The 1981 Zoning Regulations are void on the gr
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