( 1 ) BY means of this petition, the petitioner has sought a direction to the respondent - Surat Municipal Corporation (hereinafter referred to as "respondent" for the sake of brevity and convenience) to hand over the peaceful and vacant possession of the land in question admeasuring 3166 sq. mtrs. of final plot no. 36 of the Draft Town Planning Scheme No. . 36 (Althan) and to grant development permission in toto as prayed for in the application dated 9-2-2000 and to quash and set aside the action of the respondent - Corporation of continuing their possession over the land in question as illegal, arbitrary, null and void and against the provisions of the Gujarat Town Planning and Urban Development Act, 1976 (hereinafter referred to "the Act" for short ).

( 2 ) THE petitioner is a registered cooperative society and has purchased the land bearing surveys No. 77, 79/1/p (at present block no. 96) situated at village Althan in the year 1981 at the auction held by the competent authority and pursuant to the auction sale, name of the petitioner was mutated in the village forms No. 6 and 7-12. The Althan Gram Panchayat passed the resolution No. 7 dated 24-9-1991 granting permission to the petitioner to develop the said land as per the building plans prepared and submitted by the petitioner. The draft development plans prepared by the Surat Urban Development Authority (for short "suda") was sanctioned on 31-1-1986 by the State Government and it came into force on 3-3-1986. The land in question was earmarked in the draft development plan for the purpose of education more particular for South Gujarat University. In the said final development plan, it is stated that under the provisions of Section 20 (1) of the Act the appropriate development authority or any other authority for whose purpose the land is designated in the final development plan for any purpose specified in clause (b), (d), (f), (k) or clause (n) or (o) of Subsection 2 of Section 12 of the Act, may acquire the land either by the agreement or under the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act. Section 20 (2) contemplates that if the land referred to in Sub-section 2 is not acquired, by the agreement within a period of 10 years, from the date of coming into force of the final development plan or if the proceedings under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, are not commenced within such period, the owner or any person interested in the land may serve a notice on the authority concerned requiring it to acquire the land and if within six months from the date of service of such notice, the land is not required, or no steps are commenced for its acquisition, designation of the land as aforesaid shall be deemed to have lapsed. In the present case, the said land was not acquired by the authority concerned within stipulated period of 10 years from 3-3-1986 to 3-3-1996. Meanwhile, the limits of the respondent Corporation was extended and the area comprising old village Althan came to be included in the limits of the respondent Corporation. On expiry of 10 years, SUDA sought to revise the existing final development plan u/s 21 of the Act. After following the procedure, the revised draft development plan u/s 9 of the Act, SUDA had not designated the said land for any purpose, as specified in clause (b), (d) (k) and (n) of Subsection 2 of Section 12. Thus, in the revised draft development, the said land is stood dereserved and deleted from the reservation. Thereafter, SUDA published draft development plan on 3-3-1996 in the official gazette. After the revised draft development plan was published in the official gazette on 29-2-1996. The respondent Corporation declared on 23-7-1997 its intention to frame town planning scheme in respect of the land situated in village Althan. By passing the resolution in consultation with the Chief Town Planning Officer as required u/s 41 of the Act. The revised draft development plan was submitted on 26-8-1997 to the State Government u/s 16 of t