GHULAM NABI BHAT Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioners have sought a writ of certiorari for quashing the No Objection Certificate granted vide Order No. DCB/ SC/12/4678 dated 25-4-2012 by respondent No. 2 permitting respondents 4 and 5 to put up the retail outlet of Bharat Petroleum Corporation at village Krimshore. The petitioners have further prayed for a writ of prohibition restraining the official respondents from converting the agricultural land for commercial purposes.

(2.) It appears that the respondent No.3 vide application dated 29-8-2011 applied to respondent No.2 for grant of No Objection Certificate (NOC for short) for putting up a new MS/HSD retail outlet of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited at Village Krimshore, Budgam - Khan Sahib Road, Tehsil Khan Sahib, District Budgam on the land falling under Khasra Nos. 515 and 517 and Kewat No. 38. It is submitted that respondent No. 2, intentionally and with mala fide motive, kept the application for grant of NOC pending on his dockets and issued the NOC on 25-4-2012 just six days before his superannuation, i. e., 31-4-2012. It is contended that the said NOC is illegal and has been granted without seeking reports from the other concerned and competent authorities. It is further contended that the permis-sion/NOC so granted has the effect of accord of a permission to respondent No.3 to convert the agricultural land for commercial purposes. It is specifically averred in paragraph 9 of the writ petition that the petitioners have not filed any other writ petition of like nature before this Court or any other competent Court.

(3.) It is curious to note that the petitioners had not impleaded the owner(s) of the land in question as party respondents in this petition. During the pendency of the writ petition, two persons, namely, Ghulam Nabi Wani and Parvaiz Ahmad Wani, stated to be owners of the land in question, made an application for arraying them as party respondents on the ground that the said retail outlet has to be run by them. In the application, it was stated that the writ petitioners have already filed a civil suit against them as also against respondents in the writ petition, but, sensing the imminent fate of their suit, they have filed the present writ petition, and have intentionally not made them as party respondents. In the application, it was further stated that they have deliberately suppressed the material fact from this Court, in as much as they have not made any mention of the filing of civil suit by them or its pendency before the learned Munsif, Budgam. The said application of the applicants was allowed and they were made parties to the lis at hand and are figuring as respondents 4 & 5 in the array of respondents.