State of West Bengal vs K. C. Das Pvt. Ltd.

Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation

2023 Supreme(Cal) 1636

IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA
SUBRATA TALUKDAR, SUPRATIM BHATTACHARYA, JJ.
State of West Bengal & Ors. - Appellants
Versus
M/s. K.C. Das Pvt. Ltd. - Respondent
FMA 302 of 2019 with IA No. CAN 3 of 2021
Decided On : 19-06-2023

Advocates Appeared:
For the Appellants : Mr. S.N. Mookherjee, Ld. A.G., Mr. T.M. Siddiqui, Mr. Soumitra Bandopadhyay, Mr. Aniruddha Sen.
For the Respondent:Mr. Saktinath Mukherjee, Ld. Sr. Adv., Mr. Saptangsu Basu, Ld. Sr. Adv., Mr. Tapas Sil, Ld. Advocate, Mr. Subhabrata Datta.

Headnote:(A) Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976 - Sections 2(g), 2(q)(i) - Determination of land status as vacant - Court ruled that land with any structure, including a tank, cannot be considered vacant - The Competent Authority declared excessive land without proper consideration of existing structures, violating statutory guidelines - Only the land properly assessed as vacant can be declared as excess under the Act, with the emphasis on statutory definitions provided - Appellant must substantiate claims regarding the existence of structures on the appointed date. (Paras 34, 35, 27)

Facts of the case:
The case involved the appellant State challenging a lower court's ruling that a certain plot of land was not vacant on the appointed day under the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976, due to the presence of a tank and privy, which were deemed as structures, thus affecting the calculation of excess land. (Paras 1-26)

Findings of Court:
The Court held that the entire land could not be classified as vacant due to the presence of structures, thereby reversing the lower court's decision. (Paras 26-28)

Issues: Whether the land in question was vacant or not on the appointed day and whether the Competent Authority was entitled to declare it as excess under the Act. (Paras 1, 35)

Ratio Decidendi: The definition of vacant land under Section 2(g) of the Act was clarified, affirming that any structure, including a tank, excludes the classification of the land as vacant. The competent authority's determination was flawed due to failure to consider statutory guidelines appropriately. (Paras 26, 35)

Result: Appeal allowed; judgement of the lower court set aside.

Table of Content
1. determination of land's vacant status. (Para 1 , 2)
2. arguments against designation as excess land. (Para 4 , 5 , 6)
3. interpretation of section 2(g) of the act. (Para 18 , 21)
4. final order regarding judgment enforcement. (Para 24 , 27)
5. conclusion regarding land status and appeal success. (Para 26 , 28)

JUDGMENT :

(Subrata Talukdar, J.)

The short point to be decided in this appeal is whether the land in issue (hereinafter referred to as the said land) was a vacant land and, if that was so on the appointed date of coming into force of the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976 (for short, the 1976 Act) which was the 14th of February 1976, whether the Competent Authority (for short, referred to only as the CA) was entitled to declare the said land to be in excess.

2. The Hon’ble Single Bench by its Judgement and Order dated 14th of March 2017 in WP 11004 (W) of 2011, which is impugned in this appeal, has, inter alia, discussed as follows:-

26. It is also evident from the KMC record appearing at Page 42 of the writ petition which is a certified copy of inspection book in respect of 4 Tara Sankar Sarani with effect from 3/79-80, relevant portion whereof is quoted below :-

Premises No.4	Description	Name and address of recorded owner
4	Cor D.H. & Land	4 M/s. K.C. Das Ltd, 3, Ram Krishna Lane, Cal-3

Details

Corner plot

Total Area= 1B-15CH-25 Sft.

Addn.

Cor/BW-1r+Ver-Muraridhar Tewari (Owner‘s Darwan) )

R.T. /B.W. –1r++1r (Sm) Thakurghar )--730-p.m. + Tax +1P !Asb/B.W-1r )

Land 1B-8CH @ 40/- P.K. P.M. = 9840/-

Certified copy of Inspection Book in respect of Premises No.4 TarasankarSarani.Wd-005, Qtr.3/73-74.Assessee No.11-00524000090.Challan No.A0261729 Dt. 28/2/2011.

Premises No.	Nature of use	Name and address of recorded owners
4	Land +Tank	M/s. K.C. Das Ltd, 3, Ramkrishna Lane, Cal-3

“3-That with a view to expansion of its business both at home and abroad, your petitioner purchased vacant land at No.2 Jogendra Nath Bose Lane, now No.4, Talla Park Avenue, Calcutta-700 002, measuring 2355.94 sq. metres in 1951 in order to construct a new and modern factory with Research and Development Division, Export Division, Laboratory, Staff and Director‘s quarters. That the said land was improved upon after purchase by building 1-‘ft high boundary wall, tube well and Darwan‘s quarters. Your petitioner has been unable to construct the proposed new factory due to lack of adequate funds and other factors beyond its control.

4. That your petitioner has constructed a factory and opened a showroom in Bangalore in 1972. Your petitioner has a plan to set up a factory in or around Bombay in the near future. Your petitioner desires to set up the proposed new factory in Calcutta on its own land before setting up anymore factories in other States, because of the increasing demand for your petitioner products in West Bengal, and it will