BALJIT SINGH BEDI Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN this writ application filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India the petitioner has sought for a direction against Respondent No. 6 to auction Keshare Hind Land recorded in the Survey Record of Rights bearing Khata No. 358, Plot No. 1178 having an area of 7.32 acres situate at Ramgarh in pursuance of the Auction Notice No. P/4/29 dated 13.6.2002 published in the dally newspaper 'Hindustan' dated 8th November, 2002, regarding proposed and under construction shops over the same and also direction to Respondent Nos. 1 to 4 to get the encroachment removed over the said land.

(2.) THE brief facts leading to the filing of this application are that R.S. Plot No. 1178 appertaining to Khata No. 358 having an area of 7.32 acres situate at Ramgarh is Keshare Hind Land recorded as such in the Khatiyan and the said land has not been settled by the Government in favour of Ramgarh Cantonment Board and as such Executive Officer of Ramgarh Cantonment Board has got no right to auction Keshare Hind Land in pursuance of the auction notice published in 'Hindustan' on 8.11.2002. It is alleged that Respondent Nos. 5 and 6 have illegally encroached upon the said Keshare Hind Land in respect of which they have got no right and they have also no right to auction the said land. The petitioner claims to have made representation to the Sub - Divisional Magistrate, Ramgarh Sub -Division at Hazaribagh on 18.9.2002 and the copy of the same was sent to the Commissioner as well as Deputy Commissioner, Hazaribagh and also to the Circle Officer, Ramgarh, Hazaribagh wherein it has been requested that the Executive Officer, Ramgarh Cantonment Board be directed to stop construction over Keshare Hind Land aforesaid and on representation that matter was enquired into by the Sub - Divisional Officer through Circle Inspector and Karamchari and they have submitted their report to the Circle Officer wherein they have categorically stated that the said land is a Keshare Hind Land recorded in the Khatiyan and inspite of the said report the Sub -Divisional Magistrate, Ramgarh did not restrain Respondent Nos. 5 and 6 for making construction over the said land. Lastly it has been alleged that the citizens of Ramgarh have been seriously affected by the encroachment made by Respondent Nos. 5 and 6 over the land aforesaid and the petitioner being a social worker and active member of All India Congress Committee as well as President of Ramgarh Chamber of Commerce and Industries in the interest of citizen of Ramgarh has filed this writ application.

(3.) THE contesting Respondent Nos. 5 and 6 in their counter - affidavit have stated that R.S. Plot No. 1178 of Khata No. 358 aforesaid having an area of 7.32 acres of land stands recorded in the survey record of rights as Keshare Hind Land and the said land was transferred in favour of Ministry of Defence in the year, 1951 and thereafter it has become the defence land and said plot was shown as camping ground from the very beginning and the extract of Military Land Register, Annexure -G to the second supplementary counter -affidavit, shows the details of the transfer of the said land and the then market value of the concerned land was Rs. 150/ - per acre vide Land Acquisition Officer, Hazaribagh No. 5468 G dated 27.6.1952 (File No. 0 -1/8/A) and apart from Plot No. 1178 aforesaid, the other plots are also included in the Government Land Register and altogether 1535 acres was included in the G.L.R. The entire land measuring 7.32 acres of Plot No. 1178 was divided into two plots in the year 1951 and numbered as Class A1 and A2 and G.L.R. Survey No. 142 and 142/1. The area of G.L.R. Survey No. 142 under Class A2 comprised of 2.95 acres and G.L.R. Survey No. 142/1 under Class Al comprised of 4.37 acres of land. It is stated that there is furniture yard of the Military Engineering Service over 4.37 acres of land under Class Al, G.L.R. Survey No. 142/1 for the last more than 50 years (Annexure -B) and there is camping ground over the area of 2.95 acres of land bearing G.L.R. Survey No. 142 under Class A2 (Annexure -B). It is also stated that Ramgarh Cantonment Board proposed to construct the shopping complex on Class A2 land comprised of 2.95 acres of land under G.L.R Survey No. 142. According to Rule 3 of the Cantonment Land Administration Rules, 1925 framed in exercise of the power under Section 280 of the Cantonment Act, 1924 the Military Estate Officer of the Cantonment shall prepare and maintain General Land Register of all lands in the Cantonment in the form prescribed in Schedule 1 and no addition or alteration shall be made except as provided therein and Rules 4 and 5 deal with the classification of the land, Rule 10 of the said Rules provides that M.B.O. will register all the mutation in Column No. 1 of the G.L.R. and shall enter every transfer of right or interest in the land in the Cantonment on information under Section 287(2) of the Cantonment Act, 1924 or by the Board when such transfer necessitates an alteration of the entries in any column of the said register. Rule 10 of the said Rules further provides that Military Estate Officer shall also make entry in the said register respecting the transfer of any right or interest as aforesaid which he has reason to believe has taken place and of which no report has been made to him. It is also stated that the General Land Register as per Rules shall be re -written on every 5th year so as to include all the changes to the rights or interests in land and a fresh register of mutation shall be opened simultaneously. It is stated that the re -classification of the land aforesaid under Rule 7 of the C.L.A. Rules, 1937, was done with the concurrence of the President of India and 2.95 acres of land aforesaid was handed over in favour of Ramgarh Cantonment Board for the purpose of construction of new bus stand and shopping complex by the Ministry of Defence and the Central Command vide letter dated 21.3.2002 has sanctioned, to construct 172 shops on self -finance basis and the Cantonment Board by earlier two phases of auction has approved 39 shops to the highest bidder among those allotment of 21 shops has already been approved by the G.O.C. in Central Command, Lucknow to those persons who had deposited the security money as per the terms of the auction. It is stated that the Cantonment Board has already proposed to construct 40 shops - 20 in the ground floor and 20 in the first floor - on self -finance scheme on the said land near the Subhash Chowk. It is also stated that third phase of the auction was scheduled to be held on 22nd November, 2002 and on earlier occasion the Cantonment Board had invited tenders from 27th May, 2002 to 31st May, 2002 and the second phase auction was also held from 25th June, 2002 to 27th June, 2002 and at that point of time no objection was raised by the writ petition. It is stated that the writ petitioner is one of the interested part to get some allotment of shops from the Cantonment Board but since the Cantonment Board refused to oblige him this writ petition has been filed with mala fide motive in the garb of public interest litigation. It is stated that the construction of a bus stand as well and the shopping complex cannot be treated against the interest of the public rather it is a public interest of which the Cantonment Board is taking steps for such construction and the land stands transferred in favour of Cantonment Board with concurrence of the President of India and the Cantonment Board was sanctioned for construction of the new bus stand and shopping complex and no relief can be granted to the petitioner as G.L.R. Survey Plot Nos. 142 and 142/1 carved out of R.S. Plot No. 1178 is the land under the Ministry of Defence and the Government of India being the landlord and the said land stands transferred in favour of the Cantonment Board under the C.L.A. Rules, 1937.