Resumption of municipal land upheld where grant source was admitted and estoppel barred denial of the original transferor.

A resumption notification was upheld where the land had originally been granted by the predecessor of the State Government and the Corporation had accepted that footing. The Court held that the matter had to be decided on the pleadings, so the Corporation could not raise a new factual basis at argument stage to deny the source of the grant. Because the transferor was properly identified as the State Government's predecessor, the resumption power under Section 81 of the Jabalpur Corporation Act applied. The Corporation was also estopped from disputing the source and character of the grant after taking the benefit of it, and the challenge to the notification failed.

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Issues: Whether the State Government could validly resume the land from the Corporation under Section 81 of the Jabalpur Corporation Act, and whether the Corporation could displace the validity of the notification by asserting that the original transfer had been made by the Central Government.

Analysis: The transfer document showed that the land had been granted by the Government of the Central Provinces, the predecessor of the State Government, and the Corporation had accepted the grant on that footing. The Court held that the case had to be decided on the pleadings and that the Corporation could not be permitted to advance a new factual foundation at the argument stage. The making of a public road was a public purpose, and once the transferor was correctly identified as the State Government's predecessor, the resumption power under Section 81 squarely applied. The Court also held that the Corporation was estopped from denying the source and character of the grant after having taken the benefit of it.

Conclusion: The notification resuming the land was valid and the challenge failed.

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