1. By way of this petition, the petitioners have prayed for the following reliefs :-
"[A] Your Lordships may be pleased to issue a writ of mandamus or a writ in the nature of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction declaring order dated 30.07.1990 passed by Competent Officer and Deputy Collector, Surat in case no. U.L.C./419/85/ Bhestan as well as order dated 27.01.1992 passed by the Urban Land Tribunal and the Secretary Revenue Department are inoperative and ineffective in view of the provisions of the Repeal Act and further be pleased to restore the paper possession of the land situated at Survey No. 97/2, Village Unn, admeasuring 9308 sq. mtrs. to the petitioners as they are in actual possession of the same;
[B] During the pendency and final disposal of the present petition, Your Lordships may be pleased to direct the respondent authorities to maintain status quo with regard to the land situated at Revenue Survey No. 97/2, Village Unn, admeasuring 9308 sq.mtrs.;
[C] ...."
2. The short facts of the case are that the land bearing Survey No. 97/2, admeasuring 9308 sq.mtr. situated at Village Unn, was originally occupied by one Shri Thakorebhai @ Chhanabhai Kanjibhai Patel. The said land was granted exemption u/s. 20 of the Urban Land Ceiling Regulation Act, 1967 ["the Act" for short]. The original owner of the said land executed a sale deed dated 19.07.1988 in favour of the father of the petitioners. After the death of the father of the petitioners, the petitioners being the legal heirs, became the owner and occupier of the land in question and that they are in possession of the same. In view of the cancellation of the agricultural exemption granted u/s. 20 of the Act, the Competent Officer & Deputy Collector, Surat, in case No. U.L.C./419/85/Bhestan vide order dated 30.07.1990 ordered that the land in question admeasuring 9308 sq.mtrs. along with other lands of the original owners being the excess vacant land, procedure as contemplated under the Act shall be undertaken as there is breach of condition of agricultural exemption. Against the said order, the original owner preferred Appeal No. 45 of 1990 before the Urban Land Tribunal. The Tribunal vide order dated 27.01.1992, dismissed the said appeal. The petitioners thereafter made representation dated 17.07.1995 to the competent officer and Additional Collector, Surat, inter alia stating that he is the owner of the land in question and the said land is an agricultural land and the same may be considered as excess vacant land. Hence, this petition.
3. Heard learned counsel for the respective parties and perused the documents on record. It transpires from the record that pursuant to the proposal made by the respondent Corporation, the State Government had alloted the excess land declared under UCL Act, for the purpose of EWS housing to the Corporation. The Collector vide order dated 28.03.2007 allotted land admeasuring 74854.54 sq.mtrs of different survey numbers to the Surat Municipal Corporation-respondent no. 3 herein. The respondent Corporation after allotment of the land in question invested huge amount for the same. Thus, the land bearing Survey No. 97/2 admeasuring 9308 sq.mtr. had been included in the order dated 28.03.2007 passed by the Collector and the possession of the said land has been handed over to the respondent Corporation. Looking to the facts and circumstances of the case, and in view of the fact that the said land had been handed over to the respondent Corporation, I am of the opinion that the reliefs claimed by the petitioner in the present petitoner cannot be granted.
4. Consequently, the petition is dismissed. Notice is discharged.
[K.S.
JHAVERI, J.] /phalguni/ Top