PREM KUMARI AGARWAL Vs. STATE OF U P THROUGH SECRETARY AVAS AVEM NAGAR VIKAS VIB HAG NAGAR BHUMI ANUB HAG LUCKNOW

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present writ petition arises out of proceedings initiated against the petitioner under the provisions of Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act 1976. By means of the present petition, the petitioner has sought the quashing of the orders dated 11.1.2000 and 3.6.1982 passed by the Competent Authority appointed under the Act and writ of mandamus commanding the State Government to decide the petitioner's application filed under Section 20 of the said Act on merit taking into consideration the recommendation dated 13.8.1982 as also to exercise revisional power under Section 34 of the Act.

(2.) The petitioner is a co-sharer in Plot No. 283 alongwith two persons namely Atma Ram S/o Hari Ram resident of Kandaila Tehsil Kairana District Muzaffar Nagar and Baru Mal son of Dhandhan Rai Resident of Kanoongoyan, Meerut. The area of the said plot is 4 Bighas 16 Biswa. It was purchased by the afore stated three persons from Shri Satish Chandra Jain S/o Shri Sumat Prasad Jain resident of Civil Lines, Ram Bagh, Bareilly and Shri Hamid Ullah son of Shri Hazi Abdullah resident of Mohalla Sailani, Bareilly through a registered Sale-deed. Proceedings to declare the share of the petitioner as surplus land was initiated by serving a draft statement on the petitioner to which she did file an objection disputing the correctness of the draft statement. She stated that the petitioner has five members in her family and she has already filed an exemption application under Section 20 of the Act. It was further pleaded that there was no master plan for Bareilly in the year 1976 and as such the land in question cannot be declared surplus under the provisions of the said Act being agricultural land. Reliance on various revenue extracts in this regard was made. It was also pleaded that the total area of the land in the share of the petitioner is 3035.04 sq.mtr. and she is entitled to retain 1500 sq.mtr. and for the rest she has already applied for grant of exemption before the Competent Authority (namely State Government) on the ground that land is agricultural land. The said objection was not found favour with the Competent Authority who by the order dated 3.6.1982 declared 2546.72 sq.mtr. as surplus land. It has been further pleaded in the petition that the petitioner's application for grant of exemption was processed by the State Government and a favourable recommendation was made in her favour by the competent authority and the matter remained pending before the State Government for a considerable period of time.

(3.) Challenging the aforesaid order it was pleaded that the Competent Authority illegally without serving a notice on her passed the impugned order ex parte. She is wife of Rajendra Kumar Agarwal, Resident of Madho Wari near Ramayan Mandir, Bareilly but her husband's name and address was wrongly shown in the notice and as such she was not served. On coming to know of the ex parte order she filed an application before the Competent Authority for recall of the said order which has been rejected by the impugned order dated 11.1.2000 on the short ground that after the repeal of the said Act by the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation Act) Repeal Act 1999, no order can be passed on the application. The petitioner has further alleged in the petition that she is in actual physical possession of the land in question on the spot and in view of the aforesaid Repeal Act 1999, all the proceedings initiated under the said Principal Act stands abated as she is still continuing in physical possession of the land in question.