ANANT MILLS COMPANY LIMITED Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These petitions represent one more round in an almost unending litigation which seems to be going on between owners of mills and factories on the one hand and the Municipal Corporation of the City of Ahmedabad (hereinafter referred to as the Corporation) on the other since the last several years. The Corporation has been worsted in every round and every time it has tried to make good the legal in firmities in its claim by amendatory legislation but the attempt has been unsuccessful and the Courts have almost consistently struck it down. The question in these petitions is whether one more attempt made by the Corporation to resuscitate its position by Ordinance No. 6 of 1969 and Act No. 5 of 1970 is destined to be successful.

(2.) Though the main questions which arise for consideration In these petitions are identical it is possible to divide the petitions broadly into two groups one group consisting of petitions relating to the official year 1969 and the other group consisting petitions relating to the official year 1970-71. The petitions in each group follow the same pattern both as to facts and also as to law and therefore instead of dealing with each petition separately we propose to take up Special Civil Application No. 233 of 1970 as representative of the first group and Special Civil Application No. 300 of 1971 as representative of the second group. Both these petitions were argued as main petitions and It was agreed between the parties that the affidavits in these two petitions may be treated as affidavits in all the other petitions. Even so far as these two petitions are concerned there is hardly any difference in the material facts save for the official year and we would therefore be content to state the facts only in regard to Special Civil Application No. 233 of 1970.

(3.) The first petitioner in Special Civil Application No. 233 of 1970 is a limited Company deemed to be registered under the Companies Act 1956 and owns a textile mill situate within the limits of the Corporation. The textile mill consists of land buildings plant and machinery. The land admeasures about 1 36 138 square meters and has been taken by the first petitioner on a long term lease at the rent of Rs. 2 656 per annum. The textile mill is closed since 1st October 1966 on account of financial difficulties and the first petitioner has been ordered to be wound up by an order made by this Court on 11th September 1967. The third petitioner is the Official Liquidator of the first petitioner. The second petitioner is joined in the petition because at one time a scheme of reconstruction was submitted by him to the Court and the scheme of reconstruction was sanctioned and he was appointed Director of the first petitioner by the Court. But subsequently the scheme of reconstruction fell through and the winding up of the first petitioner continued under the direction and supervision of the Court. That is why the second petitioner though party to Special Civil Application No. 233 of 1970 has not joined as a petitioner in Special Civil Application No. 300 of 1971 which is a subsequent petition because by the time the latter petition came to be filed the scheme of reconstruction had been superseded and he had ceased to be a Director.