K.S. Jhaveri, J.

1. This Letters Patent Appeal, originally, was filed against the judgment and order dated 28.04.1994 passed by the learned single Judge in the captioned writ petition. The coordinate Bench of this Court disposed of this Letters Patent Appeal vide judgment and order dated 17.06.2008 whereby, the judgment and order dated 28.04.1994 passed by the learned single Judge was quashed and set aside and the matter was remitted to the competent authority for appropriate decision on the request of the appellant-petitioner for exemption u/s. 20 of the Urban Land Ceiling Act, 1976 (for short, "the Act"). The State Government preferred Appeals being Civil Appeals No. 3593-3594 of 2012 before the Apex Court. The Apex Court partly allowed both the appeals, vide judgment and order dated 17.04.2012 whereby, for consideration of only one point, which shall be discussed elaborately at a later stage, the matter was remitted to this Court. Hence, this Letters Patent Appeal is taken up for consideration in light of the judgment and order dated 17.04.2012 passed by the Apex Court.

2. The facts in a nutshell are as under;

"The original petitioner was holding certain properties within the urban agglomeration of Rajkot as on 17.02.1976. After the Act came into force on 17.02.1976, the original petitioner filled up Form-6 on 13.08.1976. It appears that his holding included the disputed lands. The petitioner appears to have made an application u/s. 20(1) of the Act for grant of exemption with respect to the disputed lands. By order dated 15.12.1983, the application of the petitioner came to be rejected by respondent No. 1. This order was challenged by the petitioner before this Court in Special Civil Application No. 1145 of 1984 whereby, the same was allowed and the matter was remanded to the respondent-authority for decision afresh. Pursuant thereto, the respondent-authority again rejected the application of the petitioner for exemption, vide order dated 23.08.1984."

2.1 After rejection of the application of petitioner, the respondent-authority initiated proceedings arising out of the prescribed Form filled in by the petitioner u/s. 6(1) of the Act. A draft statement in accordance with Section 8 of the Act was served upon the petitioner, to which, the petitioner filed his objections. After hearing the petitioner, by order dated 27.02.1986, the respondent-authority declared the holding of the petitioner to be in excess of the ceiling limit by 54,886.44 sq. metres.

2.2 The above order was challenged in appeal before the ULC Tribunal vide Appeal No. 49 of 1986. By order dated 28.12.1988, the ULC Tribunal rejected the appeal of the petitioner. Being aggrieved by and dissatisfied with the above orders, the petitioner preferred the captioned writ petition before this Court.

2.3 During the pendency of writ petition before this Court, it appears that certain developments took place. The Notification u/s. 10(3) of the Act came to be issued on 18.01.1989, which was published in the Gazette on 02.03.1989. Thereafter, Notice u/s. 10(5) of the Act was issued on 21.03.1989, which is reported to have been served upon the petitioner on 01.04.1989.

2.4 It appears that possession of the land covered by the aforesaid Notifications was taken on 27.06.1989. Thereafter, on 26.07.1989 the Deputy Collector, ULC addressed a communication to the original land owner informing that the land is vested in the State Government, by drawing panchnama on 27.06.1989. On 21.08.1989 award u/s. 11 of the Act came to be passed. Pursuant to the award, Revenue Entry No. 107 dated 28.09.1990 was mutated in the revenue records showing the land in question in the name of the State Government.

2.5 It is not in dispute that an area of 10,000 sq. metres of land out of Survey No. 59 came to be allotted in favour of respondent-Society u/s. 23 of the Act, by order dated 05.11.1990, pursuant to which the respondent-Society paid up the specified amount to the Government within the stipulat