ARUNKUMAR RAMANLAL PATEL Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) . Heard learned Counsel.

(2.) . The exemption under Section 21 of the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976 (`the Act' for short) was granted to the petitioner in respect of Plot Nos. 525 and 511, on 20th December 1983, subject to the condition that the petitioner shall have to commence the work within a period of one year from the date of the order of exemption and shall be required to complete the construction within a period of five years from the date of the order of exemption. The petitioner did not start the construction work within a period of one year and a show-cause notice dated 14th April 1986 and a further show-cause nhotice dated 21st July 1989 were given to him, that the petitioner had failed to comply with the condition on which the exemption was granted. The Competent Authority then passed an order on 16th March 1993, cancelling the exemption in respect of Plot No. 525 only. The exemption was not cancelled in respect of Plot No. 511 because the petitioner had completed the construction work within-the time limit of five years in Plot No. 511.

(3.) . The argument of the learned Counsel for the petitioner is that the respondents had no power to impose the condition that the construction work was not commenced in respect of Plot No. 525, within a period of one year and he has placed reliance on a decision rendered by this Court on 17th November 1994 in Special Civil Application No. 1390 of 1983, following an earlier reported decision of this Court, reported in AIR 1994 Gujarat 130 (K. M. Sheth v. Competent Authority and Addl. Collector (Ceiling) Rajkot and Anr.), and has submitted that even if the construction work was not started within a period of one year, the exemption granted under Section 21 of the Act could not be cancelled because the prescription of time limit of one year for commencement of the construction work is illegal and merely because the petitioner had agreed to abide by these conditions imposed by the Competent Authority is not relevant.