Legislation impairing accrued rights of transferees cannot operate retrospectively, protecting vested property rights from legislative re-imposition of restrictions.

JUDGMENT :

PARTHA SARATHI SEN, J.

1. By filing the instant writ petition, the writ petitioners have prayed for issuance of appropriate writ/writs against the respondents/authorities more specifically; against the respondent no.4/authority commanding him to revoke and/or rescind and/or cancel the order dated 23.06.2014 whereby and whereunder the said respondent no.4/authority declined to allow the writ petitioners’ representation for mutation in respect of plot no. BC, Sector I, Bidhannagar, Kolkata 700064 (hereinafter referred to as the said ‘premises’ in short) by holding that the writ petitioners’ application for mutation will be governed under the notification dated 22.06.2012.

2. For effective adjudication of the instant lis some chronology of events leading to the filing of the instant writ petition are required to be dealt with and those are stated hereinbelow in seriatium:-

i. On 24.02.1969 one lease deed was executed by the respondent/State as lessor in favour of one Monoranjan Bhowmick (lessee) in respect of the said premises for residential purpose for a period of 999 years.

ii. The said lease contained various clauses including some restrictive clauses. Out of those, some of such restrictive clauses are required to be looked into and those are under:-

a. The lessee shall not assign or transfer the demised land or any part of the demised land and/or the structure erected thereon without the previous permission of the Government in writing. In case of transfer or assignment of the land the lessor shall have the right to preemption and upon exercise of this right, the building constructed by the lessee on the land shall be taken over by the lessor at a valuation of the building made by the lessor on the basis of the cost of construction of the building such depreciation at the usual rate or the market value thereof whichever is less. The value of the land will be the amount of the Salami or premium paid by the lessee. In the event of difference between the parties to the value of the building, the matter in dispute shall be referred to the arbitration of an arbitrator if the parties can agree upon one or otherwise to two arbitrators, one to be appointed by each party with an umpire. The award of the arbitrator or arbitrators or the Umpire, as the case may be, shall be final and binding on both the parties.

b. The lessee shall not have the right to mortgage or charge the leasehold interest in the land and/or building to be erected thereon without the previous consent in writing by the Government.

c. If the lessee dies after having made a bequest of the lease hold premises and the building thereon, if any, in favour of more than one person or die intestate having more than one heir, then in such case the persons to whom the lease-hold premises with the building thereon be so bequeathed or the heirs of the deceased lessee, as the case may be, shall hold the said property jointly without having any right to have a partition of the same by metes and bounds or they shall nominate one person amongst their number in whom the same shall vest.

iii. On 25.11.1971 the Irrigation and Waterways Department, Government of West Bengal issued a memo dated 25.11.1971 whereby and whereunder it has been decided by the Govern