PRABHUDAS MAVJIBHAI BAROT Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The question involved in this petition is whether the 22 transactions of sale of plots of land admeasuring 8550.51 sq. mts. and the four transactions of gift of eight plots admeasuring 4900.63 sq.mts. are bonafide transaction under registered deed for valuable consideration under section 4 (4) of the Urban Land (Ceiling & Regulation) Act 1976 (hereinafter referred to as the Act). Section 3 provides that no person shall be entitled to hold any vacant land in excess of the ceiling limit. The ceiling limit is prescribed by section 4 and section 4(4) provides that for the purpose of calculating the extent of vacant land held by such person the land so transferred shall be taken into account. The said provision reads as follows :

(2.) The competent Authority by its order dated August 2 1979 in para 6 of his order held that these transactions were saved by the provisions of section 4 (4) (a) as bonafide transactions observing that these transactions were for valuable consideration and that the land holder had no business relations with the purchasers and the gifts were also by registered deeds and they were in favour of near relatives out of natural affection and they were also hold to be bonafide All these transactions are during the specified period from February 17 1975 to January 20 1976 In fact except three transactions of sale dated September 15 1975 all other transactions of sale are of January 10 1976 or January 16 1976 and all of them are executed and registered at Bombay. The four gift deeds are of October and November 1975 Statement A and B are in respect of the sale deeds and the gift deeds respectively. The Sale deeds are in respect of plots in survey no - 128/1 of Jamnagar and the gin deeds are in respect of 10 plots of survey no. 243 of Jamnagar. From those statement the following summary can be looked at: <FRM>JUDGEMENT_903_GCD1_1994Html1.htm</FRM>

(3.) The Competent Authority after excluding these lands held that the petitioners holding of vacant land in the urban agglomeration was 1956.76 sq.mts. and it was loss than the ceiling limit of 2000 sq.mts. for Jamnagar urban agglomeration and therefore the proceedings were closed.