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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
S.J. Kathawalla, Milind N. Jadhav, JJ.
Suhas Shridhar Shahane and Others – Appellants
Versus
State of Maharashtra and Others – Respondents
Writ Petition No. 5382 of 2019
Decided On : 23-03-2022
Mandamus - Regional Planning Act - 16, 17, 18 - The court held that the relevant cut-off date in the impugned M-3 Modification regarding committed development is the date of passing of the resolution in the 7th Meeting convened on 28.03.2017 granting approval for publication of the draft Regional Plan. Admittedly the draft Regional Plan has been published for the first time in the Gazette on 30.03.2017. The statutory provisions discussed above do not support the date of passing of the resolution by the Regional Planning Board as a restrictive cut-off date which is accepted and passed by the State Government as a policy decision in the present case. It is stated that any policy decision introduced by the State is required to have the mandate of law which we find absent in the present case. The fixation of the relevant cut-off date as on 28.03.2017 in M-3 therefore does not satisfy the provisions of Section 16 to 18 of the said Act and is therefore held as ultra-vires. It is held that fixation of the relevant cut-off date in condition M-3 has to be the date on which the notice of the draft Regional Plan is published in the Maharashtra Government Gazette in the first instance bringing it to the notice of the public at large and calling for objections and suggestions from any affected person as prescribed in Section 16(1) of the said Act. We therefore hold that the relevant cut-off date as appearing in clause M-3 of the Notification dated 08.01.2018 be read as 30.03.2017 in place of 28.03.2017. In view of the above findings we quash and set aside the communications dated 24.08.2018 and 19.12.2018 addressed by the Respondent No.4 - Assistant Director - Town Planning, Satara and Respondent No.5 - Additional Collector, Satara respectively which are impugned in the present Writ Petition. The necessary consequences in respect of the Petitioners' case shall follow. With the above directions, the Writ Petition is disposed of. However, there shall be no order as to costs.
Fact of the Case:
The Petitioners are owners of agricultural land and have challenged the rejection of their proposal for conversion of the said land from agricultural user to non-agricultural user. The Petitioners have also challenged Modification - M-3 of the Development Control and Promotion Regulations for Satara Region as being ultra-vires and contrary to the provisions of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966 and the Rules made thereunder.
Finding of the Court:
The court held that the relevant cut-off date in the impugned M-3 Modification regarding committed development is the date of passing of the resolution in the 7th Meeting convened on 28.03.2017 granting approval for publication of the draft Regional Plan. Admittedly the draft Regional Plan has been published for the first time in the Gazette on 30.03.2017. The statutory provisions discussed above do not support the date of passing of the resolution by the Regional Planning Board as a restrictive cut-off date which is accepted and passed by the State Government as a policy decision in the present case. It is stated that any policy decision introduced by the State is required to have the mandate of law which we find absent in the present case. The fixation of the relevant cut-off date as on 28.03.2017 in M-3 therefore does not satisfy the provisions of Section 16 to 18 of the said Act and is therefore held as ultra-vires. It is held that fixation of the relevant cut-off date in condition M-3 has to be the date on which the notice of the draft Regional Plan is published in the Maharashtra Government Gazette in the first instance bringing it to the notice of the public at large and calling for objections and suggestions from any affected person as prescribed in Section 16(1) of the said Act. We therefore hold that the relevant cut-off date as appearing in clause M-3 of the Notification dated 08.01.2018 be read as 30.03.2017 in place of 28.03.2017. In view of the above findings we quash and set aside the communications dated 24.08.2018 and 19.12.2018 addressed by the Respondent No.4 - Assistant Director - Town Planning, Satara and Respondent No.5 - Additional Collector, Satara respectively which are impugned in the present Writ Petition. The necessary consequences in respect of the Petitioners' case shall follow. With the above directions, the Writ Petition is disposed of. However, there shall be no order as to costs.
Issues: The issues in the present case revolve around the rejection of the Petitioners' proposal for conversion of their agricultural land to non-agricultural use and the challenge to Modification - M-3 of the Development Control and Promotion Regulations for Satara Region as being ultra-vires and contrary to the provisions of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966 and the Rules made thereunder.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the relevant cut-off date in the impugned M-3 Modification regarding committed development is the date of passing of the resolution in the 7th Meeting convened on 28.03.2017 granting approval for publication of the draft Regional Plan. Admittedly the draft Regional Plan has been published for the first time in the Gazette on 30.03.2017. The statutory provisions discussed above do not support the date of passing of the resolution by the Regional Planning Board as a restrictive cut-off date which is accepted and passed by the State Government as a policy decision in the present case. It is stated that any policy decision introduced by the State is required to have the mandate of law which we find absent in the present case. The fixation of the relevant cut-off date as on 28.03.2017 in M-3 therefore does not satisfy the provisions of Section 16 to 18 of the said Act and is therefore held as ultra-vires. It is held that fixation of the relevant cut-off date in condition M-3 has to be the date on which the notice of the draft Regional Plan is published in the Maharashtra Government Gazette in the first instance bringing it to the notice of the public at large and calling for objections and suggestions from any affected person as prescribed in Section 16(1) of the said Act. We therefore hold that the relevant cut-off date as appearing in clause M-3 of the Notification dated 08.01.2018 be read as 30.03.2017 in place of 28.03.2017. In view of the above findings we quash and set aside the communications dated 24.08.2018 and 19.12.2018 addressed by the Respondent No.4 - Assistant Director - Town Planning, Satara and Respondent No.5 - Additional Collector, Satara respectively which are impugned in the present Writ Petition. The necessary consequences in respect of the Petitioners' case shall follow. With the above directions, the Writ Petition is disposed of. However, there shall be no order as to costs.
Final Decision: The court quashed and set aside the communications dated 24.08.2018 and 19.12.2018 addressed by the Respondent No.4 - Assistant Director - Town Planning, Satara and Respondent No.5 - Additional Collector, Satara respectively which are impugned in the present Writ Petition. The necessary consequences in respect of the Petitioners' case shall follow. With the above directions, the Writ Petition is disposed of. However, there shall be no order as to costs.
JUDGMENT :
S.J. Kathawalla, Milind N. Jadhav, JJ.
By the present petition, the Petitioners have prayed for the following reliefs :
(i) be pleased to hold and declare that the Rule M-3 of Development Control and Promotion Regulations for Satara Region in Notification No.TPS-1917/1585/C.R.150/17/UD-13 dated 08.01.2018 published by the Government of Maharashtra, Urban Development Department, Mantralaya, Mumbai which is subsequently published in Government Gazette, Part 1, Pune Divisional Supplement dated 08 to 14.02.2018 is ultra-vires and contrary to the provisions of Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966 and Regional Planning Board Regulations, 1967 and Rules made there under and the same may be struck down;
(ii) be pleased to quash and set aside the letter/communication dated 24.08.2018 bearing No. P.Y. Satara/Report/Non Agricultural/SCC/2666 issued by the Assistant Director, Town Planning, Satara i.e. Respondent No. 4;
(iii) be pleased to quash and set aside the order/letter dated 19.12.2018 bearing No. MH/3/J/G/N.A./SR-14/17 passed by the Additional Collector, Satara i.e. Respondent No. 5 and further direct the Respondents to allow the Petitioners proposal dated 14.03.2017 submitted u/sec. 44 of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966.”
2. The Petitioners are owners of agricultural land bearing Gat No.268 admeasuring 66 Ares in Village Shirval, Taluka - Khandala, District - Satara (“the said land”).
3. The Petitioners have challenged the letter dated 24.08.2018 issued by the Respondent No.4 - Assistant Director - Town Planning, Satara (“ADTP”) rejecting the Petitioners' proposal for conversion of the said land from agricultural user to non-agricultural user and the letter dated 19.12.2018 issued by the Respondent No.3 - Additional Collector, Satara rejecting the Petitioners' applications for development of the said land. The Petitioners have further challenged Modification - M-3 of the Development Control and Promotion Regulations (“DCPR”) for Satara Region issued vide Notification No.TPS-1917/1585/C.R. 150/17/UD-13 dated 08.01.2018 published by the Government of Maharashtra, Urban Development Department in the Schedule appended to the notification as being ultra-vires and contrary to the provisions of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966 (“the said Act”) and the Rules made thereunder read with the Regional Planning Board Regulations, 1967.
4. Before we advert to the submissions made by the Advocates representing the respective parties, it will be apposite to refer to the facts in brief:
4.1. The Respondent No.1, Government of Maharashtra through the Urban Development Department vide Notification dated 03.12.2012 issued under Section 4(1) of the said Act constituted a Regional Planning Board called as the “Satara Regional Planning Board” (“the Board”) for preparing a Regional Plan for Satara region.
4.2. As stated above, Petitioners are owners of the said land which was originally classified as Deshmukh Watan Unalienated Condition II-Inam Class V land. On 04.07.2016, the Petitioners made an application to the Tahasildar for seeking conversion of the said land to Class I Cultivator (Bhogvatdar) under the provisions of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966 (“MLR Code, 1966”). The Petitioners were directed to pay Najarana amount as per Government Resolutions dated 28.03.1998 and 09.07.2022 as conversion charges. The Petitioners paid Najarana amount of Rs.8,31,000/-, upon which by order dated 02.02.2017 the Tahasildar allowed the application for conversion to Class I Cultivator and further directed to give the effect in the 7/12 extract pertaining to the said land.
4.3. On 14.03.2017, the Petitioners submitted an application to the Respondent No.2 - Collector, Satara (“Collector”) under the pro
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