SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT REVENUE ENDOWMENTS DEPARTMENT ANDHRA PRADESH HYDERABAD Vs. SWAMY AYYAPPA COOPERATIVE HOUSING SOCIETIES LIMITED HYDERABAD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This batch of writ appeals and writ petitions may be disposed of by a common Judgment, since the question that arises for consideration in all these matters is one and the same. The facts are stranger than fiction. An institution founded by noble men, whose management was entrusted to a Trust Board, disappeared into thin air not on account of any onslaught and difficulties created by the strangers but on account of the death wish of those who were entrusted with the duty of managing the affairs of the institution. The movable and immovable properties, worth crores of rupees, gathered by the noble men were parceled out to private buccaneers who masqueraded themselves as the trustees of the properties. Factual matrix: One late Pandit Bansilal Radhelal Vyas, his colleagues and associates successfully persuaded philanthropic minded people to give and donate movable and immovable property and in the process they have been able to gather and receive donations and gifts including considerable extents of lands for the purpose of establishing a 'Gurukul'. That various buildings were built and certain lands and properties were fully purchased and/or acquired for the Gurukul and such Gurukul was established, maintained and conducted at Anantagiri Rambagh, Hyderabad in the first instance and thereafter moved to Ghatkesar in Taluka East of Hyderabad District (presently Ranga Reddy District) about 16 miles away from the city of Hyderabad. It is popularly known as 'Gurukul Ghatkeshwar'. The institution had been imparting education and functioned as a regular educational institution under the able supervision of the said late Pandit Bansilal Vyas and his selfless colleagues and teachers. Pandit Bansilal Vyas, who gave up everything for Gurukul Ghatkeshwar, breathed his lost on the night between 1st and 2nd September, 1956 in a train accident that took place between Jadcherla and Mahabubnagar.

(2.) Thereafter, it was thought fit and expedient to prepare a regular trust deed inter alia describing the functions, rights and obligations of trustees and regulating the procedure of their meetings and various other activities and functions which they or any one of them is called to perform as such a trustee and to make a formal declaration of the trust. That is how the trust known as "Gurukul Ghatkeshwar Trust" had come into existence with the same object of establishing, maintaining, managing and taking over and conducting schools, colleges, multipurpose schools, hostels, libraries, reading rooms and to aid and assist all kinds of educational and philanthropic institutions for which purpose huge movable and immovable properties were acquired in the manner referred to hereinabove. Even by the early fifties the Trust had owned and possessed the landed properties of Ac.649.02 guntas in Izzatnagar, Khanamet, Hyderabad West in the State of Andhra Pradesh and some properties in Nanded of Maharastra State. The landed properties, except that are situated at Nanded, are in the vicinity of Hyderabad Metropolis. One B.Kishan Lal, became the managing trustee and was managing the trust properties from 1960 onwards. He sold away the entire immovable properties belonging to the trust admeasuring Ac.627-00 either by himself or through his General Power of Attorney agents and accordingly executed the sale deeds and got them registered in favour of the purchasers. Various Cooperative House Building Societies and individuals have purchased different extents of lands. One Sri Swamy Ayyappa Cooperative Housing Society Limited (petitioner in W.P.No.14387 of 1999 out of which W.A.Nos.1769 and 1792 of 2001 arise) purchased a total extent of Ac.140-20 guntas of land in Survey Nos.11/8 to 11/18 situated in Khanamet village near Madhapur in Ranga Reddy District during 1982 from the Trust represented by its President under three different registered documents dated 22-5-1982, 2-7-1982 and 2-8-1982 respectively and took possession of the same from the vendor. One Visveswaraya Engineers Cooperative Housing Society Limited (petitioner in W.P.No.2398 of 2001) purchased an extent of Ac.49-24 guntas of land situated in the same village under several registered sale deeds on 18-12-1982 and on various subsequent dates. The last sale deed is being dated 30-3-1989. It appears that both the above Cooperative Housing Societies have divided the said land into small housing plots and allotted/sold them to its members. That apart, various other individuals, who are the petitioners in this batch of writ petitions, have also purchased various extents of lands from the Trust represented by its President - B.Kishan Lal. The whole operation alienation for the disposal of the land of the Trust situated in Izzatnagar and Khanamet villages of Ranga Reddy District commenced under the Resolution purported to have been passed by the Trust on 11-3-1981 under the Presidentship of B.Kishan Lal, President of the Trust. The said resolution makes an interesting reading which says that the issue relating to disposal of Gurukul Trust lands situated at Izzatnagar and Khanamet villages was discussed in a meeting at length and the members present were of the unanimous view that it would be more beneficial to dispose of the lands "as the President informed that fair offers are coming for purchase of all the lands by certain Societies.......The present position of law also does not help keeping of lands over and above the land ceiling and retention of possession on the lands has also become highly impossible because of illegal encroachers (sic.)". It is under those circumstances, the Committee of the Trust gave its approval for sale of the entire extent of land situated in those two villages and accordingly recommended to its President - B.Kishan Lal to proceed further in the matter for the sale of the lands in his capacity as the President of the Gurukul Committee.

(3.) That by another Resolution passed on 16-4-1982, B.Kishan Lal, President of the Gurukul Ghatkeshwar Trust, was further authorised to effect the sales of lands at Khanamet and Izzatnagar villages and to execute agreements for sale, sale deeds and power of attorneys for registration before the registering authority and to convey possession of the said agricultural lands to the purchasers/agreement holders and to do all that is necessary and/or incidental for the transfer of the said agricultural lands by way of sale. It is under those two resolutions purported to have been passed by the Committee of the Trust; the whole extent of Ac.627-00 of land belonging to the Trust, which was acquired by the noble men, was alienated. In neither of the resolutions, the purpose for which the lands have been permitted to be sold is revealed. It is not difficult to discern that the whole operation obviously was conceived and executed with an extraordinary finesse by the President of the Trust for his own personal benefit without any concern whatsoever to the noble aims and objects for which purposes the Trust was founded. The President of the Trust in order to facilitate the smooth operation alienation of lands belonging to the Trust applied for and obtained the Certificate dated 20-4-1982 from the Special Officer and Competent Authority, Urban Land Ceilings, Hyderabad declaring that the 'Gurukul Ghatkeswar' Trust satisfies with the conditions laid down in Clause VI of sub-section (1) of Section 19 of the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976 (for short 'the ULC Act') and as such the vacant lands held by the Trust are entitled to get the benefit of exemption provided in Section 19 (1) subject to the provisions of Section 19 (2) of the ULC Act. The said certificate has been issued in respect of an extent of Ac.421-17 guntas of vacant land in Khanamet village and Ac.167-11 guntas of vacant land in Izzatnagar village, totally for an extent of Ac.588-28 guntas. That is how; initially the operation alienation was commenced by transferring the lands in favour of the chosen Cooperative House Building Societies and as well as some individuals. Sri Swamy Ayyappa Cooperative Housing Society Limited (petitioner in W.P.No.14387 of 1999) having purchased the land referred to supra got the layout prepared dividing the said land into plots and the same has been temporarily approved by the Gram Panchayat, Kondapur during the year 1982. The said plots were in turn allotted to the individual members of the Society. That some of the allottees approached Serilingampalli Municipality seeking permission and approval of the building plans in order to enable them to proceed with the construction of the buildings in the plots allotted to them by the Society. It appears that some of the plot owners applied for regularisation of the unauthorised constructions already made by them in terms of G.O.Ms.No.419, M.A., dated 13-7-1998 and G.O.Ms.No.503, M.A., dated 2-9-1998. The Municipal Council, Serilingampalli informed the applicants vide its letter dated 29-12-1998 to get No Objection Certificate from the Revenue Department for taking further action in the matter. That such a stand has been taken by the Municipal Council on the basis that the Government of Andhra Pradesh, Revenue (Endts-II) Department as well as the Collector, Ranga Reddy District instructed the Municipality not to sanction any building permissions on the land belonging to Gurukul Ghatkeshwar Trust situated at Khanamet village. It is under those circumstances, Sri Swamy Ayyappa Cooperative Housing Society Limited filed W.P.No.14387 of 1999 with a prayer to issue a writ, order or direction more particularly a writ of Mandamus directing the authorities not to insist for No Objection Certificate from the Revenue Department for the purpose of considering its application for grant of building permission or even for the purpose of alienation of the land by the plot owners. That curiously not the members of the said Society who were aggrieved, but the Society itself has filed the said writ petition. The whole case set up by the said Society is based upon the certificate dated 20-4-1982 issued by the Special Officer and Competent Authority referred to hereinabove declaring that the lands held by the Trust are entitled to get the benefit of exemption provided under Section 19 (1) of the ULC Act subject to the provisions of Section 19 (2) of the ULC Act. That the Society having purchased the said land applied for and got the layout approved and thereafter allotted the plots to its members and got them registered in their favour and in such view of the matter there is no justification to raise any objection at a later stage questioning the validity of sales and transfers. The whole burden of the song is that the land held by the said Society is exempted from the operation of the provisions of the ULC Act. The sale deeds were executed by the Trust for a valid consideration and there were no legal impediments for purchasing the said lands belonging to the Trust. That is all what has been stated in the affidavit filed in support of the said writ petition. The Government as well as the Fit Person representing the Trust filed detailed counter affidavits opposing the claim of the said Society and we shall briefly advert to the salient features of the counters filed by them. The case set up by the Government is that the purchase of the lands from the Trust is one of the unauthorised transactions of the management of the Trust.