GOVERNMENT OF MAHARASHTRA Vs. ASHOK KHOT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner-State has approached this Court challenging the order dated 9-12-1982 passed by the Collector, Nagpur acting as an Appellate Authority in Urban Land Ceiling Appeal No. 3/1982-83 whereby the Collector had declared that the present respondent held no surplus land so as to invoke the provisions of the Urban Land Ceiling and Regulation Act, 1976. The State also has in the same petition challenged the order dated 22-9-1982 passed by the same authority in that appeal, whereby the delay which had occurred in filing the appeal, was condoned by the said authority. The facts relevant and necessary for the purpose of the present decision in nutshell are as under:

(2.) IN pursuance of the section 6 of the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976 (hereinafter referred to as the "act" for the purpose of brevity) the present respondent filed his return showing the following lands:

(3.) THE Competent Authority i. e. the Deputy Collector (U. L. C.), Nagpur who dealt with the matter by his order dated 26-7-1979 declared the holding of the respondent to be in excess to the extent of 3985. 836 sq. meter and directed the respondent to surrender the same as surplus. This case was registered before the Competent Authority as the case No. ULC/c/79 of 1976. In pursuance of the provisions of section 8 (3) of the Act the Competent Authority also issued a notice to the respondent-declarant which was duly served on him. The respondent raised objections on 10-7-1979 before the competent authority contending that he had purchased the land in question Survey No. 68 Jaripatka in 1964 from Maske Brothers alongwith built up structures then existing thereon. According to the declarant i. e. present respondent these structures were already standing there on the plot right from the beginning i. e. since the year 1949 and, therefore, according to the respondent this could not be treated to be a vacant land, and he therefore, claimed that he was entitled to retain 1500 sq. meter area besides the area covered by structures standing on that land.