JAWAHAR PRASAD Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS writ petition was orginally filed seeking a direction from this court to the officers of the Mahnar Municipality asking them to restrain respondent no.4 from operating a bus and truck stand and from realising toll from the Bus and truck operators parking their vehicles in the stand.

(2.) THE background in which such a direction was sought was that the petitioner had entered into some kind of a settlement with the Mahnar Municipality under which the Municipal authorities purported to give the petitioner the right to collect tolls from the buses and trucks being parked within the limits of Mahnar Municipality. During the pendency of this writ petition the Special Officer of the Municipality, on 26.2.1997 issued a communication to the petitioner abrogating the settlement made in his favour. An amendment petition was then filed seeking to challenge the action of the Municipality in abrogating the earlier settlement.

(3.) ACCORDING to the petitioner's case on 30.10.1996 the Municipality issued a notice for holding a bid for the settlement of the right to collect tolls from the bus and trucks being parked within the limits of the Municipality. In the bid held pursuant to that notice the petitioner was the highest bidder and the right to collect tolls was accordingly settled with him for a period of five years commencing from 15.11.1996 to 31.3.2002 on payment of a total of Rs. 50,000/ - as the settlement money. An agreement was executed between the petitioner and the Municipality on 7.11.1996 and the petitioner deposited half of the total settlement amount as demanded by the Municipal authorities. In pursuance of the agreement the petitioner arranged to take some lands on an 'agreement for lease' from a third party and was preparing it to be used as a Bus stand when this controversy arose prompting the petitioner to come to this court in this writ petition.