( 1 ) THE petitioner is a marketing co-operative society registered under the provisions of Gujarat Co-operative Societies Act. It owned and possessed the land admeasuring 5 acres 11 gunthas of Revenue Survey No. 79 Paiki permission for its uses for non-agricultural purposes was granted on 28-4-1980. The petitioner applied for grant of adjoining land which was also part of Survey No. 79. Out of that survey number, the petitioner was granted 12,425 sq. m. of the land on 17-8-1982, on payment of Rs. 24,850. 00. The terms of the grant inter alia included that in case the purchaser transfers the unearned land as a part of its business as a going concern or as a result of its inability to redeem the mortgage he shall be liable to pay 75% of unearned profit on the transfer of such land to the State government. The condition also envisages that if the land were to be utilized for any other industrial purpose other than for which it has been allotted, the allottee shall have to obtain a prior approval from the State Government for such change in user and in that event also he shall be liable to surrender 75% of the unearned profit on such transfer of land in question, to the State Government which the collector shall be entitled to recover. With these conditions appended to the grant, the petitioner decided to sale out the plant existing on the land in question by its resolution dated 5-10-1994, and the contract came to be executed in pursuance thereof on 7-11-1994. On 19-12-1994, the petitioner surrendered its manufacturing licence and applied for transfer of the sale in favour of M/s. Khedut Sovex Private limited. The Collector vide his order dated 5-4-1995 passed prohibitory order against the petitioner not to dispose of the land admeasuring 12,425 sq. mtrs. The petitioner society made another application on 26-1-1995 for granting permission for handing over the land admeasuring 12,425 sq. mts. to Khedut Sovex Private limited. On 17-1-1997, the Collector determined 75% of the unearned profit on the transfer of the land at Rs. 10,66,425. 00 by valuing the land at Rs. 110. 00 per sq. m. This amount the petitioner has paid. It may be noticed that this determination by the Collector quantifying 75% of the unearned profit on the proposed transfer made while application of the petitioner for granting permission to transfer land along with plant existing thereon, on hire-purchase basis was pending. The market rate of the land has been determined on ad hoc basis, subject to final determination. Thereafter, the licence was temporarily granted in favour of the transferee for a period upto 30-9-1997. However, when the application for renewing the licence after 30-9-1997 was made, the licensing authority rejected the said application on 22-10-1997 and thereafter vide letter dated 29-11-1997 the petitioner was informed that the Chief Town Planning Officer, Gandhinagar has finally assessed the price of the land in question as on date at Rs. 130. 00 per sq. m. However, it further said that after deducting the price paid by the time of allotment the unearned profit on transfer would be Rs. 15. 90. 400. 00, and made an order that 150% of this unearned profit amounts to Rs. 23,85,600. 00. The petitioner should pay after deducting amount already paid by him under order dated 19-1-1997 which he should pay as agreed by him before the Chief Town Planning Officer, Gandhinagar failing which same shall be recovered as arrears of land revenue. In these circumstances, petitioner has filed this petition challenging the demand of 150% of unearned profit quantified by the Collector on 29-11-1997.

( 2 ) IT is contended that the respondents have acted arbitrarily and unreasonably in exercise of their power to extract from the petitioner more amount as a price for permitting the transfer of land than what is permissible under law. In fact demand made is more than the market price of the land in question. Learned Counsel for the State Mr. Desai drew my