AMBARAM NATHURAM PURANI Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition was originally filed for the relief of granting the surplus land under the Urban Land (Ceiling & Regulation) Act 1976 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) to the petitioners belonging to backward class and economically weaker section of the society. Prayer (b) was for ordering the respondents to allot 8157 sq. mts. out of Final Plot No. 32 for constructing houses for the members of the petitioner No. 2-Society. This land originally belonged to a textile mill of which the members of the petitioner No. Society were or are employees. At the hearing of this petitions prayer (b) was deleted at the request of the learned Counsel for the petitioners and the petition has been prosecuted as public interest litigation on the ground that the auction of the surplus land at market value is contrary to the public interest common good and ultra vires the provisions of the Urban Land (Ceiling & Regulation) Ace and its purposes. There is also a prayer for declaring Constitution 40th Amendment Act insofar as it protects explanation (b) to sec. 23(i) of the Urban Land (Ceiling & Regulation) Act as ultra vires and for declaring that explanation as unconstitutional. There is also a prayer to quash and set aside resolution By that Resolution the State Government had laid down the policy for rehabilitating closed and sick textile undertakings which have surrendered their surplus lands under the said Act and by auctioning such surplus lands a rationalisation a fund is sought to be created for rehabilitating and reviving closed and sick textile undertakings.

(2.) The petitioners contend that the members of the petitioner- Society belong to Scheduled Caste and are mill workers working under the 4th respondent Company which owns and manages the textile mill known as Sarangpur Mill and the petition was directed against the act of the second respondent of giving a public notice on 11-2-1986 inviting public offers for purchase of land of Final Plot No. 31 and 32 of T. P. Scheme No. 18 admeasuring 13152 sq. mts. These lands are surplus lands vesting in the Government under the said Act and according to the petitioners these lands ought to have been allotted to the petitioners for construction of residential houses as per the provisions of the said Act. Since the prayer for allotment of this land to the petitioners is given up as the petitioners have no legal right to claim this particular land it is not necessary to deal with the facts and history regarding the claim by the petitioners to get this land in distant past.

(3.) As a public interest litigation the learned Counsel for the petitioners has raised the following contentions: