KANTILAL Vs. CHAIRMAN TOWN IMPROVEMENT TRUST RATLAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners, who are residents of Ratlam and some of the holders of the plots situated in the Colony known as 'Lal Bahadur Shastri Nagar' have filed this petition in their individual capacity as also on behalf of the plot holders of the said colony in a representative capacity under Arts. 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India, to quash part 2 of the Resolution dated 18-4-1983 (Annexure-M) passed by respondent No. 1 and that the lease granted on 1-7-1983 by Respondent No. 1 in favour of Respondent No. 3 in pursuance of the said Resolution be quashed being void and thus the Res. No. 1 be directed not to act upon it, in the matter of M.P. Town Improvement Trust Act, 1960.

(2.) The facts giving rise to this petition, which are no longer in dispute, may be stated, in brief, thus: the plot holders of Shastri Nagar Colony, Ratlam have an Association named 'Nagar Vikas Samiti, Shastri Nagar, Ratlam' of which the plot holders and the residents in the said colony are its members. Res. No. 1 under the M. P. Town Improvement Trust Act, 1960 prepared a Housing accommodation scheme known as Scheme No. 20 which was duly sanctioned by the State Government for the town of Ratlam. The lay out plan of the said scheme No. 20 is Annexure-A. In pursuance of this scheme the Res. No. 1 started granting lease for the open plots of land in the said scheme for the purpose of construction of houses, in the year 1968, at the rate of Rs. 2 per sq.ft. Accordingly the petitioners were also granted lease patta in respect of the plots purchased by them, each measuring 30 ft. X 50 ft. as mentioned in para 5 of the petition. A copy of the lease deed has been filed as Annexure-B along with an extract of the map Annexure-C in which also the open land has been shown. Thus, all the open plots in scheme No. 20 have been given on lease by Res. No. 1 and houses have been constructed on most of them, after obtaining the permission from respondent No. 2, the Municipal Corporation, Ratlam to whom they have been paying property taxes and other taxes.

(3.) In the said scheme, as per the map Annexure-A, open land measuring 56,539 sq.ft. has been set a part as an open land as per Annexure-R1 filed by respondent No. 1. The petitioners have got their plots in front of the said open land.