SWAIKA PROPERTIES PVT LTD Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY this writ petition, petitioner No. 1, Sawaika Property Private Limited, a private limited company registered under the Companies Act, 1956 in Calcutta and petitioner No. 2, Chairman of the Company, has challenged the land acquisition proceedings under the Rajasthan Urban Imprisonment Act, 1959 in respect of its land measuring 37038. 5 sq. mtrs equivalent to 14 Bigas and 16 Bishwas situated at village Madrampura, Tehsil Jaipur which is now as a matter of fact in the heart of capital city of Rajasthan and its area is adjoining the Civil Lines just behind Ministers' Bungalows.

(2.) THE case set up by the petitioner company is that the proceedings for acquisition of land in question was initiated by a notice under section 52 (2) of the Rajasthan Urban Improvement Act, 1959 (hereinafter referred as "the Act of 1959") vide Annex. 1 dated 25. 6. 1975. By the said notice under section 52 (2) of the Act, the preamble of which read as "because the under noted land is desired to be acquired for improvement and purpose of development of Jaipur Town and extension of Civil Lines area for construction of building" and in the body of the said notice the description of the land in question was given. Another notice dated 23. 8. 1975 was issued by the same authority namely; Special Officer of Town Planning Department, Jaipur which was addressed to the petitioner's company at Calcutta address and the name was also purported to have been issued under section 52 (2) of the Act calling upon the petitioner company to show cause within 20 days as to why the said land in question be not acquired for the aforesaid purpose.

(3.) THIS last argument was also emphasised by Shri G. L. Pareek, learned Senior Counsel appearing for applicant M/s. Ashirwad Real Estate Pvt. Ltd. who had applied to intervene in the matter on the basis of a Memorandum of Understanding dt. 14. 10. 1996 between the petitioner company and the applicant company to develop the land in question and to pursue the litigation and also to make efforts for de-acquisition for the land in question. However, it appears that these two parties also fell apart during the course of time as the petitioner company claimed that the applicant company was to complete the purported exercise before 31. 3. 1997 and since it had failed to do so, the period of alleged Memorandum of Understanding lapsed and therefore the petitioner company opposed the application seeking intervention in the present writ petition filed by the aid applicant company. Shri G. L. Pareek fairly submitted that the inter se dispute between the parties cannot be made subject matter of this writ petition but however since it had interest in the land in question and the present dispute, he should be allowed to make submissions in support of the petitioner company against the land acquisition in question which he was allowed. Therefore, the Court without going into inter se dispute between the parties, only allowed Shri G. L. Pareek to make submissions to the extent of challenge to the land acquisition in question and in this context, the made the submissions on the last point as enumerated above on the strength of a Division Bench judgment of this Court in the case of Bishwambar Dayal & Ors. vs. State of Rajasthan, reported in 1991 (1) WLC 686 by which judgment section 60 (A) (3) of the UIT Act was found to be repugnant to the provisions of section 11-A of the Central Land Acquisition act, 1894. However the State Government after the pronouncement of the said judgment on 23. 1. 89 enacted an amendment and validation law in the form of Rajasthan Urban Improvement (Amendment and Validation) Act, 1990 which received the assent of President and thus, the defect pointed out by the Division Bench was cured and thereafter the matter came up before the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Pratap vs. State of Rajasthan, (1996 (3) SCC 1) which answered completely the contentions raised by the petitioner to the extent of applicability of Central Land Acquisition Act to the State of Rajasthan which would be dealt with hereinafter.