GUJARAT HOUSING BOARD Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) All these appeals, which are filed under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent, are directed against the common oral judgment dated 11.10.2017 rendered by the learned Single Judge in Special Civil Application No.7147 of 2008 and allied matters, by which, the learned Single Judge has allowed the petitions filed by the original petitioners.

(2.) The issue involved in these appeals is similar and as the learned Single Judge has disposed of all the three petitions by common judgment, these appeals are heard together and are being disposed of by this common order.

(3.) For the sake of convenience, the facts stated in Special Civil Application No.7149 of 2008 are considered. It is the case of the respondent No.3 herein - original petitioner that he has purchased the land bearing Block No.86, Revenue Survey Nos.95/1 and 95/3 of village Vareli, Taluka Palsana, District Surat, by a registered sale deed executed on 20.02008. The petitioner has purchased the said land from Minaxiben, widow of Bharatbhai Nanubhai Desai and others after payment of consideration and thereby the petitioner is the bona fide purchaser of the land in question. It is further stated that predecessors-in-title of the petitioner have suffered the reservation for a period of more than 20 years. The land in question was reserved for housing purpose and though the period of more than 10 years has expired, after the development plan was sanctioned by Surat Urban Development Authority (SUDA), the land was not acquired by the Housing Board. It is stated that on 31.01.1986 Principal Development Plan was sanctioned. Thereafter, SUDA passed a resolution proposing a revised development plan in the year 1993, and in the year 1996, SUDA prepared a draft revised plan and submitted to the State Government. The land in question was reserved for the Gujarat Housing Board. Thereafter, the same was modified and ultimately the State Government has suggested modified draft development plan on 17.05.2001 and on 15.09.2004, revised development plan came into force. It is stated that in the notification dated 02.09.2004, the land of the petitioner is not shown as reserved for the alleged public purpose of Housing Board. However, when the petitioner applied for zoning certificate regarding the land in question, while issuing zoning certificate on 17.04.2007, SUDA has shown the land in question as reserved for public housing by Gujarat Housing Board. Thus, the petitioner filed the captioned petition in which various contentions were raised and the petitioner, by filing the petition in the year 2008, prayed that the zoning certificate dated 17.04.2007 issued by SUDA regarding the land in question be quashed and set aside. It was also prayed that the Draft Revised Development Plan submitted by SUDA under Section 16 of the Gujarat Town Planning and Urban Development Act, 1976 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act' for short) for sanction to the State Government showing rereservation of the land in question for the same purpose of public housing by Gujarat Housing Board, be declared as illegal. Petitioner also prayed that the final notification dated 02.09.2004 with regard to the land in question be declared as illegal. At this stage, it is required to be noted that during the pendency of the petition, the petitioner issued a statutory notice dated 01.08.2016 and pursuant to the said notice, no action was taken by the Gujarat Housing Board for acquisition of the land in question. The petitioner sought amendment which was granted by the learned Single Judge by which the petitioner also prayed that this Court may declare that the reservation of the land in question has lapsed under Section 20(2) of the Act and therefore the respondents be restrained from enforcing the reservation.