2006 Supreme(Bom) 691
IN THE HIGH COURT OF BOMBAY
Marlapalle B.H. & Bhosale D.B., JJ.
Subhash Vithal Khaire & ors . ... Petitioners
Versus
State of Maharashtra & ors . ... Respondents.
Writ Petition No. 4899 of 1995,
Decided on 24/25-4-2006.
Advocates appeared:
Kiran Bhagalia with Asha Bhombwani, for petitioners.
P.M. Patil, A.G.P. for respondent Nos. 1, 2 & 4 to 6.
V.S. Dighe, for respondent NO.3. (Absent) Y.S. Jahagirdar, Sr. C. with V.G. Mujumdar, for respondent Nos. 7, 9 & 10.
S.G. Anney, Sr.C. with S.V. Pitre, for respondent No.8.
A.Y. Sakhare, Sr.C. with Sarang Arandhye & M.S.
Khadilkar, for respondent Nos. 12 to 14.
G.S. Godbole, for respondent No. 15-A.
Headnote:Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act (37 of 1966) - Section 50(2) - Notification under - Validity of - Land reserved in Draft Development Plan of Pune City since 1978 for Pune Telephones - Issuance of notification under Section 50(2) of Act - Deletion of designated reservation not sought by appropriate authority from State Government - Notification issued by State Government illegal and null and void ab initio - It cannot be an order/notification issued in exercise of powers of Section 50(2) of Act. - It is thus clear that at no point of time Mr. Paranjape gave up the claim of Pune Telephones for the entire land in final Plot Nos. 477 and 477-A and on the other hand he was clearly made to accept an area admeasuring 6000 sq. meters with permissible FSI at 1.87 and with further permission to make use of basement for installing the machineries and equipments in accordance with the D.C. Rules. it is thus beyond doubt that the appropriate authority at no point of time approached the State Government for deletion of the designated reservation for public purpose viz. Pune Telephones and, therefore, the notification dated 3.8.1998 issued by the Department of Urban Development. Government of Maharashtra is illegal, null and void ab initio. It cannot be an order/ notification issued in exercise of powers under Section 50(2) of the MRTP Act.
Urban Land (Celling and Regulation) Act, 1976 - Section 10(3) - Transfer of Property Act, 1882, Section 52 - Transfer/Alienations of Land - Transaction contrary to provisions of Section 52 of T.P. Act - Transferee not protected - Not required to be heard by writ Court - Transferee may have separate civil or criminal remedy against transferors concerned. - The transfer of the land or its alienations in any form by any of the respondents were hit by Section 52 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882. It was necessary for the parties concerned to approach this Court for any transfers/alienations of any portion of the subject land from both the plots and to seek leave of this Court in that regard. All these transaction or alienation by whatever mode have taken during the pendency of this petition and are against the provisions of Section 52 of the Transfer of Property Act and, therefore the transferees cannot be protected and need not be heard by us. They may have a separate civil or criminal remedy against their transferors concerned.
Per MARLAPPALE B.H., J.: - The petitioners, who are the residents of Pune City, have moved this public interest petition under Article 226 of the Constitution and challenged the order dated 6.2.1991, which is stated to be a compromise order in terms of the Minutes of the meeting dated 6.2.2001 and the order dated 24.4.1991 passed by the Minister for Urban Development, Government of Maharashtra. The petitioners have also challenged the subsequent orders/directions flowing from the order dated 24.4.1991, namely, the order dated 20.12.1994 passed by the Additional Collector and Competent Authority and the order dated 15.6.1995 passed by the Special Land Acquisition Officer No. 14. In short, the petitioners claim that the land in Final Plot Nos. 477 and 477A of Parvati under the Municipal Corporation area of Pune city which was entirely reserved for the Pune Telephones (Department of Telecommunication-Government of India) in the Development Plan sanctioned by the State Government, and admeasuring about 3 acres and 3 guntha (14,000 sq. meters) was illegally released to the extent of two acres (8000 sq. meters) by handing over only 6000 sq. meters of the plot area to the Pune Telephones and the remaining land was handed over to the Co-operative Housing Societies who had no title legally enforceable as the owners of the plot of land located in Final Plot No. 477-A. As per the petitioners, pursuant to the order passed by the Minister on 24.4. 1991, the Collector, Pune was called upon to take fresh steps for acquisition of 6000 sq. meters of land for Pune Telephones and the Land Acquisition Officer passed the Award on 8.11.1995. Under the said Award, the compensation amount which ought to have come to the State Government, was directed to be or in fact paid by the Land Acquisition Officer to respondent Nos. 7, 8, 9, 12 to 14 and 15A and this amount is required to be recovered from the said respondents as they had no title to claim the said land either as owners, tenants or the persons interested. In addition, it is the case of the petitioners that the land in final Plot No.4 77-A was declared surplus under the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976 (for short hereinafter referred to as "the ULC Act") and it could not have been released by the Minister for Urban Development by the impugned order dated 24.4.1991 or any orders flowing from the said direction, more so when there was no appeal preferred under section 33 of the said Act by the land owners, i.e. respondent Nos. 1 to 14 or respondent No. 15-A at any time.
FACTS
2. The land in Final Plot No. 477 admeasured about 3850 sq. meters, whereas the land in final Plot No. 477-A admeasured about 3 Acres and 3 Gunthas, i.e. 12000 sq. meters. The land in Final Plot No.4 77 was owned by one Patwardhan family and in terms of the special execution decree No. 150/1981 filed in Civil Suit No. 185 of 1981, the said land was purchased by a society named Ramyanagari Co-operative Housing Society registered under the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, 1960 as per the sale deed dated 13.11.1981. Whereas the land in Final Plot No. 477-A admeasuring 12000 sq. meters was owned by the present respondent Nos. 12 to 14. The said land in Final Plot No. 477-A was shown in the declaration submitted by the landlords under section 6 of the ULC Act sometimes in the year 1976 itself. The owners had filed the written statements on 30.8.1976 under section 6(1) of the ULC Act and an application for exemption under section 20 of the said Act was also filed by them sometimes in the year 1979. The said application came to be rejected by the Competent Authority under the Act on 26.4.1979. The owners, thereafter, filed an application under section 21 of the ULC Act seeking permission for construction on the excess land and the application was rejected by the Competent Authority on 31.10.1983 on the ground that the said land was sought to be reserved for the purposes of Pune Telephones. On 20.1.1987, the Competen
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