The cancellation of the allotment of a public property is justified when there is non-compliance with the stipulated conditions, particularly when the purpose of the allotment relates to the educational needs of society. Financial difficulty is not a legally tenable justification for non-compliance. Leniency in matters of breach would be placing a premium on illegality and setting a bad precedent.

JUDGMENT :

This intra-Court appeal seeks to call in question a learned Single Judge’s order dated 04.07.2023 whereby appellant’s W.P.No.50859/2018 (GM-RES) challenging the cancellation of allotment of the subject land has been dismissed, with a direction to the respondent Karnataka Housing Board to pass orders determining the quantum of forfeiture and refund of remaining amount to the appellant within a period of four weeks.

2. Learned Senior Advocate argues that the allotment of subject civic amenity site was made vide letter dated 16.12.2003 and that the appellant has paid the allotment price of Rs.53,10,293/-along with interest of Rs.7,11,157/-; a conditional sale deed dated 20.10.2005 has been executed and registered by the Housing Board on 20.10.2005, subject to the condition that the allottee should construct the school building within a period of 5 years and that should he fail to do it, the allotment would stand rescinded. The counsel submits that because of “shortage of funds and unavailability of loans or credit”, the structure could not be constructed though BBMP had issued the khata. He also highlights his client’s application dated 09.01.2014 for the grant of BBMP Approval and Sanction of Building Plan. Lastly, he argued that the impugned order which ignores several relevant factors that resulted into the building having not been put up within the stipulated period, have remained unconsidered and therefore the impugned order is liable to be voided.

3. Having heard learned counsel for the appellant and having perused the appeal papers, we decline indulgence in the matter being broadly in agreement with the reasoning of the learned Single Judge. Admittedly, the subject property is a huge civic amenity site formed in the layout concerned. The allotment of the same was made to the appellant vide allotment letter dated 16.12.2003 followed by the sale deed dated 20.10.2005. The allotment was for the specified purpose of establishing an educational institution by constructing a building therein within a period of five years. That has not happened, admittedly.

4. There is no dispute that the subject property is a public property that was earmarked as a civic amenity which obviously includes establishment of school. Catering education to the masses is a constitutional imperative in terms of Article 21 and 21A as expansively interpreted by the Apex Court in a catena of decisions, beginning with UNNI KRISHNAN J.P. vs STATE OF A.P., (1993) 1 SCC 645 and reiterated as recently in JANHIT ABHIYAN vs UNION OF INDIA (EWS RESERVATION), (2023) 5 SCC 1. When the State is not in a position to cater to the educational needs on its own, it does it with the mediation of private agencies and that is how the civic amenity sites are earmarked for allotment to the intending caterers. This site has remained unutilized for a period of more than two decades that is, till date after it was allotted to the appellant. As a consequence, the right to education of those who would have studied, should the school or educational institution was established in this site in terms of stipulation of allotment, has been brutalized, to say the least. All such persons are the inarticulate stakeholders in the allotment and the execution of the purpose for which such allotment was made. Had the site in question been allotted to some worthy person, that would have served the public purpose for which it was earmarked.

5. It is pertinent to reproduce what Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, a great Social Reformer of yester century in his “Shetkaryaca Asud” (1881 publication) had profoundly said in Marathi:

fo|sfouk erh xsyhA

efrfouk uhrh xsyhA

uhfrfouk xrh xsyhA

xfrfouk foRr xsysA

foRrkfouk 'kwnz [kpysA

brds vuFkZ ,dk vfo|sus dsys

Its near English translation is “Without education, wisdom was lost; without wisdom, morals were lost; without morals, development was lost; without development, wealth was lost; without wealth, misfortune was brought upon the mistreated and the downtrodde