Shri Chandragauda
Ramgonda Patil & Anr Vs. The State of Maharashtra & Ors [1996] INSC 1059 (2 September 1996)
Ramaswamy,
K.Ramaswamy, K.G.B. Pattanaik (J)
ACT:
HEAD NOTE:
WITH SPECIAL
LEAVE PETITION [C] NO. 19030 OF 1996 [CC - 4204/96]
O R D
E R
These Special
Leave Petitions have been filed against the orders passed in W.P. No.5196/89 on
March 12, 1990 and W.P. No.1552/96 on April 26, 1996. There is absolutely no merit for condonation
of delay in the the first writ petition. As regards the second writ petition,
the facts are not in dispute. Way back in 1974, notification under Section
126(4) of the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act ["MRTP Act", for
short] was issued after the approval of the Scheme by the State Government, for
acquiring the land for utilisation thereof for the stated Scheme. Pursuant
thereto, an award came to be passed by the Land Acquisition Officer under
Section 11 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (for short, the "Act")
on November 11, 1977. Possession was taken earlier on October 21, 1974. After the utilisation of the land,
surplus land was sought to be used for allotment to some of the Councilors and
the employees of the Kolhapur Municipality. Consequently, the first writ petition came to be filed
which was dismissed on merits on March 12, 1990.
Thereafter,
the petitioners filed a suit challenging the acquisition and suit came to be
dismissed as withdrawn being not maintainable. Writ Petition No. 1552/96 came
to be filed. That writ petition was also dismissed on the ground that the
earlier order in the writ petition operated as res judicate. Therefore, the
second writ petition was held to be not maintainable.
Shri Naik,
learned senior counsel appearing for the petitioners, contended that in the
second writ petition, the petitioner sought restitution of the possession
pursuant to the Resolution of the State Government dated October 10, 1973 under
which Government directed that the surplus land was to be utilised first for
any other public purpose and in the alternative it was to be given back to the
erstwhile owners. Since he had sought enforcement of the said Government
Resolution, the writ petition could not be dismissed on the ground of
constructive res judicate. He also seeks to rely upon certain orders said to
have been passed by the High Court in conformity with enforcement of the
Government Resolution. We do not think that this Court would be justified in
making direction for restitution of the land to the erstwhile owners when the
land was taken way back and vested in the Municipality free from all
encumbrances. We are not concerned with the validity of the notification in
either of the writ petitions. It is axiomatic that the land acquired for a
public purpose would be utilised for any another public purpose, though use of
it was intended for the original public purpose. It is not intended that any
land which remain unutilised, should be restituted to the erstwhile owner to
whom adequate compensation was paid according to the market value as on the
date of the notification. Under these circumstances, the High Court was well
justified in refusing to grant relief in both the writ petitions.
The
special leave petitions are dismissed.
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