JAWAHAR LAL Vs. AMRITSAR IMPROVEMENT TRUST

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The plaintiff-petitioners owned 10 Kanals of land comprising Knasra No. 309 situated in the urban area of village Tung Bala within the Municipal limits of Amritsar. The Improvement First respondent, prepaired a development scheme under section 24 read with section '8(2) of the Punjab Town improvement Act, 1922 (for short the Act') and notified the same wider section 36 of the Act. Later the scheme was sanctioned by the State Government under section 41 of the Act and notified under section 42 thereof vide notification dated 2nd June, 1966. The Land Acquisition Collector made his award on 13th October, 1966 determining the compensation for the land acquired. However, no steps were taken thereafter to take possession of the land from the petitioners. To this extent the facts are not disputed.

(2.) The petitioners filed a suit in the trial Court alleging that on 20th March, 1972 the respondent passed a resolution by virture of which the lay-out plan of the scheme was changed and it was resolved that the building Plans, received upto 20th March, 1972 from the owners of the land should be sanctioned after accepting development charges from them. The petitioners also submitted their plan for building on the land in dispute and were prepared to pay the development charges. Later, however, another resolution was passed by the respondent and it was decided that houses for low-income group persons shall be constructed on the land and sought sanction of the State Government for effecting changes in the scheme. Earlier to that, petitioner No. 1 had submitted the plan for constructing the building on the land in dispute which was forwarded by the respondent to the Municipal Committee, Amritsar. To meet with some conditions, petitioner No. 1 also filed an affidavit dated 13th December, 1963. The plan was sanctioned on 3rd January, 1964. The petitioners claim that they started construction on their plot of land but the same was stopped by the respondent. They asked to move an application to the respondent for exemption of land from acquisition. They moved an application to this effect on 20th May, 1968 but no action was taken thereon. At this the petitioner filed suit on 18th May, 1977 for permanent injunction retraining the respondent from dispossessing them from the land in dispute, which was decreed in their favour with the observation that the petitioners could construct the building over the plot. It was, however made clear that the respondent shall be entitled to take possession of the land in accordance with law and not otherwise.

(3.) The respondent, however, entered into an agreement with Manav Kalyan Trust to sell certain part of the land acquired and included in the same 730 square yards of land which belonged to the petitioners. The respondent thus, contravened the provisions of the scheme. They therefore, brought the instant suit for permanent injunction restraining the respondent from dispossessing them from the land in dispute. Along with the suit an application under Order 39, rules 1 and 2 read with Section 151, Code of civil Procedure, was filed for grant of ad-interim injunction on the same terms during the pendency of the suit. This application was opposed by the respondent and was dis missed by the learned trial Court vide order dated 17th October, 1984. The petitioners filed an appeal against this order which his met the sane fate and has been dismissed by the learned Additional District Judge Amrit are vide judgement dated 24th October 1986. The petitioners have, thus, filed the present revision petition.