USHA ARORA Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) COMMON questions of law arise for consideration in this bunch of six petitions, four out of which assail the validity of an improvement scheme and consequent acquisition proceedings nearly 27 years after the scheme was sanctioned by the State Government. What adds an interesting dimension to the controversy is that during the intervening period, the State Government has permitted 'Change of Land Use' qua a portion of the land covered by the scheme which change has been assailed by the petitioner in Writ Petition No. 893 of 2007 filed in public interest on the ground that the same is fraudulent and an abuse of the powers vested in the authorities concerned. The said petition accordingly assails not only the validity of orders passed by the authorities permitting 'Change of Land Use' but even the relaxation of the Building Bye-Laws granted in favour of M/s. R.P. Empires Pvt. Ltd. who claims to have acquired a piece of land measuring 19 Kanals out of a total of 51 Kanals and 14 Marlas in Khasra No. 447 Min admittedly owned by Akhara Braham Buta, one of the respondents. The said company has in turn challenged the orders passed by the respondents by which the 'Change of Land Use' earlier granted has been cancelled apart from challenging the recall of the sanction to the Building plans for the building which the company proposed to construct over the site in question. The entire controversy regarding validity of the scheme and the multiple rounds of litigation regarding its implementation has a chequered history which needs to be briefly set out before we formulate the propositions that fall for consideration and advert to the rival contentions urged before us by learned counsel for the parties.

(2.) IMPROVEMENT Trust Amritsar prepared what was known as 'Ajnala Road Development Scheme' under Section 36 of the Punjab Town Improvement Act, 1922, (for short 'the Act' )as early as on 04.05.1962. Approval to the said scheme was granted by the State Government under Sections 41 and 42 of the Act aforementioned on 24.02.1964. The scheme comprised a large area including an area measuring 51 Kanals 14 Marlas situate in Khasra No. 447 Min, Inner Circular Road, Amritsar, owned by respondent-Akhara Braham Buta. An award for the acquisition of the aforementioned area was announced by the Land Acquisition Collector on 29.03.1965. Aggrieved by the scheme and the consequent acquisition, Akhara Braham Buta filed Civil Writ Petition No. 2053 of 1965 in this Court, inter-alia, challenging the validity of the scheme on the ground that the area owned by it did not fall within the municipal limits of Amritsar and could not, therefore, be included in the scheme.

(3.) WRIT Petition No. 2053 of 1965 challenging the scheme and the acquisition was finally allowed by this Court on 3.1.1966 which decision was upheld in appeal on 17.11.1971. The result was that the entire process starting with formulation of the scheme stood obliterated. The Improvement Trust however formulated a fresh scheme covering an area measuring 323 acres including 51 Kanals 14 Marlas of land owned by Akhara Braham Buta situate in Khasra No. 447 Min mentioned earlier, notified under Section 41 of the Act on 18.12.1972.