PART-I

INTRODUCTION:

This common Judgment shall dispose of these petitions involving common questions for consideration. There are mainly three categories of petitioners. First category of petitioners (W.P.Nos.9458, 10491, 1 0304 and 10773 of 2005) are the wholesale merchants of Vijayawada, who are also members of a society called Vijayawada Wholesale Commercial Complex Members Welfare Society (Merchants Association, for brevity). The petitioners in this sub-group are also members of their respective trade associations. Second category of cases is filed by the wholesale merchants, who are allegedly not members of the Merchants Association, but they are members of their respective trade associations. Vijayawada Daily Parcel Lorry Office Owners Welfare Association and other Lorry transporters filed third category of cases. The alleged restraint imposed on the right to carry on business by seizing their respective business places/shops brought them together for redressal. This was allegedly done by the authorities of the respondents, namely, Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC); Vijayawada, Guntur, Tenali and Mangalagiri Urban Development Authority (hereafter called, the Urban Authority) and Commissionerate of Vijayawada City Police. All the businessmen in this group of writ petitions mainly allege that the high handed action of various authorities is not a reasonable restraint on the business right and therefore, impinges the fundamental right under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India. The petitioners are also aggrieved by the orders given by the respondent authorities to shift their wholesale business to Wholesale Commercial Complex constructed outside the city of Vijayawada.

PART - I

BACKGROUND FACTS:

2. Vijayawada is a historic city and more often than not dubbed as business capital of State of Andhra Pradesh. The wholesale business in various commodities is concentrated in the area, which is called I-Town area. It is a part of the old city. The Government approved General Development Plan of 1969 under A.P. Town Planning Act, 1920 (Town Planning Act, for brevity), classifying the I Town area (surrounding famous Indrakiladri Hills) as mostly residential with few areas as light commercial zone. The effect of such plan is that no wholesale business is permissible in a residential-cum light commercial zone. This was, however, followed more in breach. Over a period of time, large wholesale enterprises set up their shops in I Town. This naturally resulted various problems for the residents with regard to basic infrastructure facilities.

3. Vijayawada Urban Development Authority was constituted under A.P. Urban Areas (Development) Act, 1975 (Urban Development Act, for brevity). In 1980, the said authority adopted zoning regulations earmarking I Town area consisting of-ward numbers 1 to 7 of the then Vijayawada Municipality as residential area/zone. This means wholesale business cannot be permitted in that area. The continued suffering by the community and peoples opinion for shifting the wholesale trade from I Town resulted in VMC and Urban Authority as well as Police initiating steps in that direction.

4. Shifting the wholesale market to less congested outskirts of the city was mooted. As a first step, it was thought to construct mega wholesale commercial complex. All the wholesalers - at least most of them; formed into Merchants Association and took up the task of acquiring the land, developing and constructing wholesale market complex. An extent of Acs.30.00 of agricultural land in R.S.No.498/2 in Gollapudi village falling within Vijayawada Urban Agglomeration was purchased by the Merchants Association. As the land was purchased for construction of wholesale market complex, VMC as well as Urban Authority pursued with the Government to exempt the land from the provisions of Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976 (ULC Act, for brevity). Though the request for exemption was initially declined, due to timely interve