RANCHHODBHAI V PATEL Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners, the owners and holders of the land bearing Survey No. 857 comprised in revenue village Vavol of Taluka-District Gandhinagar, filed this Special Civil Application and prayer has been made to quash and set aside the order dated 29th October, 1985, of respondent No. 3, annexure 'F' to the petition.

(2.) There is no dispute that the land in question is comprised in the controlled area declared under the Gujarat New Capital (Periphery) Act, 1960 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Act I960'). However, the respondents have disputed the fact that the land in question is situated in the existing village zone (Gamtal) of village Vavol. The petitioners were intending to construct residential houses for their own personal use and occupation on the said lands and for this purpose on 25.1.1985 they submitted an application to the respondent No. 1 purporting to be under Sec. 11 of the Act 1960 for grant of non agricultural permission in respect of the said land. The learned counsel for the petitioners submitted that the whole of the land is not to be converted but the petitioners wanted to raise construction only on a reasonable part of the land. However the petitioners have not disclosed on how much area, out of this land, they were intending to raise construction of their own houses. On this application of the petitioner, order has not been passed by the respondents. The petitioners sent a letter dated 21.8.1985 to the respondent No. 1 copy whereof has been sent to respondents No. 2 and 3 under which necessary facts as well as legal position were stated to be brought to their notice. All such facts and legal consequences thereof have specifically been mentioned in the said letter that in case any order on the application is not made, then by legal fiction, the permission shall be deemed to have been made. They further stated that they are going ahead with construction of residential houses on the said land in accordance with lay out and building plans which were annexed with the application for non agricultural permission. This application of the petitioners was rejected by respondent No. 1 under its order dated 29th October, 1985, however, after filing of this Special Civil Application. The petitioners have come up before this Court at the stage when that application was not decided. They amended this Special Civil Application and challenged the validity of that order. This application of the petitioners was rejected by respondents on the grounds namely, (i) population of village Vavol as per Census taken in 1981 is 4612 and (ii) as per "use zone" table published under Sec. 4(1) of the Act 1960, permission for natural development can be granted in respect of land within 100 mts. from the village site in villages whose population is upto 5000 and within area of 200 mts. from the village site of the village whose population is more than 5000. The land of the petitioners was stated to be at a distance of 300 mts. from the village site.

(3.) Reply to the Special Civil Application has been filed by respondents and the justification of rejecting the application of the petitioner for non agricultural permission has been given on the very grounds on which that application has been rejected under the impugned order.