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SUNITA AGARWAL, PRANAV TRIVEDI
LH OF LATE DHARMABHAI MADHABHAI – Appellant
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT – Respondent
ORDER :
1. The present Letters Patent Appeal is directed against the judgment and order dated 20.02.2024 passed by the learned single Judge in Special Civil Application No. 25939 of 2022, whereby the writ petition has been dismissed being hopelessly time barred and that no case was made out to entertain the writ petition invoking the extraordinary jurisdiction of this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.
2. The learned single Judge has rejected all the claims of the writ petitioners being poor and illiterate, not aware of the proceedings under the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976, which have led to passing of the order, noticing that the petitioners have been indolent and cannot be permitted to invoke the equitable extraordinary jurisdiction of this Court after waking up from slumber, without offering plausible explanation.
3. There is no dispute about the fact that in the proceedings initiated under the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976, the notice under Section 10(5) of the Act was issued on 30.06.1990. The challenge in the writ petition was to the proceedings undertaken under the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976, the first orde
Inordinate delay in filing a writ petition can bar the consideration of merits, especially when prior proceedings have reached finality.
The court established that proceedings under the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act abate if possession is not taken before the Repeal Act, but claims can be dismissed on grounds of delay.
The main legal point established in the judgment is the significance of physical possession under the Repeal Act and the inapplicability of delay and laches after the repeal of the parent Act.
An order declaring land surplus issued in the name of a deceased person is a nullity and violates principles of natural justice, warranting its quashing.
The court emphasized that the repeal of the principal Act does not affect the vesting of vacant land and concluded proceedings, except for pending proceedings, as provided under the Repeal Act.
The court held that disputed questions of title and possession cannot be resolved in a writ petition, and the petitioners were entitled to remain in possession of the land despite ULC proceedings.
Civil courts are barred from hearing suits related to land under Urban Ceiling proceedings, emphasizing the need for utilizing statutory remedies instead.
Delay in asserting rights under land ceiling regulation impacts maintainability of writ petitions; the court dismisses claims due to laches but permits civil recourse.
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