TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2010 (8) TMI 1071
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....tion of the surplus land and transfer thereof in favour of the State after drawing the final statement under Section 9 of the Act, 1976, and the State would acquire the vacant land in excess of the ceiling limit under Section 10 of the Act, 1976. The Act came into force on 17 th February, 1976. On the said date, the suit land was not within urban limits, however it was included in the urban area residential zone only with effect from 17.05.1976, by extending the limits of the Municipal Corporation. The suit land was acquired under the Act, 1976, in the years 1978-1979 and its possession was taken and handed over to Pune Municipal Transport (for short PMT) for establishing a bus depot and staff quarters. In 1988, the bus depot was constructed on a part of the suit land, however, the appellant preferred a revision under Section 34 of the Act, 1976, dated 6.4.1998 contending that the land ought not to have been acquired under the Act, 1976, on the ground that on the date of commencement of the Act, 1976, i.e. 17.2.1976, the suit land was not within the limits of urban area. In order to substantiate the claim, reliance was placed on the Judgment of this Court in Atia Mohammadi Begum Vs....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... (supra) laid down the correct law. The order passed by the prescribed authority dated 23.05.1979 attained finality as it was not challenged by the appellant by filing an appeal under Section 12 before the Urban Land Tribunal, though the Act, 1976, also provides for a second appeal to the High Court. The appellant could not maintain the Revision after expiry of about two decades. The Government of Maharashtra could not have entertained the Revision at such belated stage. The revision was liable to be rejected only on the ground of delay. The land, after being declared surplus under the Act, 1976, was acquired under Section 10 of the Act, 1976, and it vested in the State absolutely free from all encumbrances. The land once vested cannot be divested. After vesting the land in the State, in case, the State authority allots the land to any other department or corporation for a specific purpose, it does not loose the competence to change the user of the land and in case, it is changed, the original tenure holder cannot be heard raising any grievances whatsoever. The Act, 1976, stood repealed, but this fact would have no bearing on this case for the reason that possession of the suit lan....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....imited purpose or limited duration." (Emphasis added). 10. "Encumbrance" actually means the burden caused by an act or omission of man and not that created by nature. It means a burden or charge upon property or a claim or lien on the land. It means a legal liability on property. Thus, it constitutes a burden on the title which diminishes the value of the land. It may be a mortgage or a deed of trust or a lien of an easement. An encumbrance, thus, must be a charge on the property. It must run with the property. (Vide Collector of Bombay Vs. Nusserwanji Rattanji Mistri & Ors., AIR 1955 SC 298; H.P. State Electricity Board & Ors. Vs. Shiv K. Sharma & Ors., AIR 2005 SC 954; and AI Champdany Industries Ltd. Vs. Official Liquidator & Anr., (2009) 4 SCC 486). 11. In State of Himachal Pradesh Vs. Tarsem Singh & Ors., AIR 2001 SC 3431, this Court held that the terminology `free from all encumbrances' used in Section 16 of the Act 1894, is wholly unqualified and would en-compass the extinguishing of "all rights, title and interests including easementary rights" when the title vests in the State. Thus, "free from encumbrances" means vesting of land in the State without any charge or b....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ndian Glass Industries Vs. Jaswant Singh & Ors., (2003) 1 SCC 335, this Court held that, the land user can be changed by the Statutory Authority after the land vests in the State free from all encumbrances. 16. In view of the above, the law can be summarised that once the land is acquired, it vests in the State free from all encumbrances. It is not the concern of the land owner how his land is used and whether the land is being used for the purpose for which it was acquired or for any other purpose. He becomes persona non grata once the land vests in the State. He has a right to get compensation only for the same. The person interested cannot claim the right of restoration of land on any ground, whatsoever. 17. In the instant case, there is no pleading by the appellant in respect of the receipt of compensation. No explanation could be furnished as to under what circumstances the appeal was not filed if the appellant was so aggrieved by the order of final assessment under Section 9 of the Act, 1976. 18. The suit land was acquired in 1979. Revision was preferred in 1998, after expiry of about two decades. Section 34 reads as under :- "The State Government may, on its own motion,....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....hority to exercise suo moto revisional power at any time. The Court held as under :- Use of the words "at any time" in sub- Section (4) of Section 50-B of the Act only indicates that no specific period of limitation is prescribed within which the suo moto power could be exercised reckoning or starting from a particular date advisedly and contextually. Exercise of suo moto power depended on facts and circumstances of each case. In cases of fraud, this power could be exercised within a reasonable time from the date of detection or discovery of fraud. While exercising such power, several factors need to be kept in mind such as effect on the rights of the third parties over the immovable property due to passage of considerable time, change of the provisions of other Acts (such as Land Ceiling Act)......... Use of the words "at any time" in sub-section (4) of Section 50-B of the Act cannot be rigidly read letter by letter. It must be read and construed contextually and reasonably. If one has to simply proceed on the basis of the dictionary meaning of the words "at any time", the suo moto power under sub- Section (4) of Section 50-B of the Act could be exercised even after decades and....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... some diligent person. 25. In State of Karnataka & Ors. Vs. S.M. Kotrayya & Ors., (1996) 6 SCC 267, this Court rejected the contention that a petition should be considered ignoring the delay and laches, on the ground that the petitioner therein filed the petition just after coming to know of the relief granted by the Court in a similar case, as the same cannot furnish a proper explanation for delay and laches. The Court observed that such a plea is wholly unjustified and cannot furnish any ground for ignoring delay and laches. 26. The same view has been reiterated by this Court in Jagdish Lal & Ors. Vs. State of Haryana & Ors., AIR 1997 SC 2366, observing as under:- "Suffice it to state that appellants may be sleeping over their rights for long and elected to wake-up when they had impetus from Veerpal Chauhan and Ajit Singh's ratio..........desperate attempts of the appellants to re-do the seniority, held by them in various cadre.......are not amenable to the judicial review at this belated stage. The High Court, therefore, has rightly dismissed the writ petition on the ground of delay as well." 27. In M/s. Rup Diamonds & Ors. Vs. Union of India & Ors., AIR 1989 SC 674, th....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....sion, inter alia, contemplates the master plan prepared under any law for the time being in force for development of an area. The plan shall also provide for the stages by which such development shall be carried out. It is evident from the aforesaid definition of master plan that it takes in view any plan prepared even subsequent to the coming into force of the Act. Further, the explanation to Section 6(1), as noticed above, very significantly provides that every person holding vacant land in excess of the ceiling limit at the commencement of the Act shall file a statement before the competent authority and "the commencement of the Act" under clause (2) would be when the land becomes vacant for any reason whatsoever. Therefore, the date of commencement of the Act in a case where the land, which was not vacant earlier, would be the date on which such land becomes vacant land. It, thus, contemplates a situation of land, not being vacant, becoming vacant due to preparation of a master plan subsequent to 17th February, 1976. Further, the provisions of the Act require filing of a statement under Sections 6 7 15 and 16 from time to time as and when land acquires the character of a vacant....