TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2006 (8) TMI 647
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....udge-cum-Spl. Judge for SPE & ACB Cases, City Civil Court, Hyderabad, was set aside. 2. The Defendant in the suit together with his other co-sharers were owners of Survey No.71, West Marredpalli, Secunderabad. A proceeding under the Urban Land (Ceiling & Regulation) Act, 1976 (for short, 'the 1976 Act') was initiated against them. In the said proceeding at the hands of the landholders, excess land was directed to be vested in the Central Government. The owners were allowed to retain 1000 sq. metres of land each. Allegedly, on that premise a piece of vacant land bearing Plot No.2 in Survey No.71 measuring 1000 sq. metres which had been allotted to the defendant was allowed to be retained by him. On or about 27.06.1978 he (original Owner) entered into an agreement with the Plaintiff for sale in respect thereof on a consideration of Rs. 50/- sq. yard . As on the said date, a proceeding under the 1976 Act was pending, the agreement to sell was subject to the grant of permission by the competent authority under the said Act. It stipulated that in the event of refusal on the part of the competent authority to grant such permission, the advance paid to the Defendant would be re....
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.... Act; (ii) The decree for specific performance granted by the Division Bench is contrary to the statutory provisions contained in the 1976 Act; (iii) The Division Bench could not have interfered with the judgment by the learned Trial Judge as also the learned Single Judge of the High Court refusing to exercise their jurisdiction under Section 20 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963, and interference therewith by the Division Bench was unwarranted; and (v) The High Court could not have directed cancellation of the deed of sale in favour of the subsequent purchaser. 6. Mr. L. Nageshwara Rao, the learned Senior Counsel appearing on behalf of the Respondents, on the other hand, submitted that : (i) Although some of the findings arrived at by the High Court cannot be supported, but having regard to the fact that 1000 sq. metres of vacant land, which was the subject-matter of the agreement for sale being outside the purview of the vacant land under the 1976 Act, the learned Trial Judge and consequently the learned Single of the High Court committed a manifest error in so far as they failed to take into consideration that Section 20 of the 1976 Act would....
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....rst party. If the first party fails to execute the sale deed by the due date, after the permission is granted, the first party shall not only refund to the second party the advance sum of Rs. 15,000/- but shall also pay to the party an additional sum of Rs. 15,000 as damages. In case permission to sell to the second party is refused by the ceiling authority, then the first party shall refund to the second party, the advance sum of Rs. 15,000/- (fifteen thousand only) within one month from the date of refund." 8. The lands in question admittedly were described in the plan annexed to the agreement which shows that the same was lying west to a 30 ft. road. The Respondents themselves had annexed a plan, from a perusal whereof it appears that six co-sharers were allotted 6000 sq. metres of lands four in one block and two in another, apart from their house properties situate on the eastern side of the said road. The plots in question were marked with the letters '1', '2', '3', '4', '5' and '6'. A big chunk of land was held to be the excess land under the 1976 Act at the hands of the Appellants and their co-sharers. The lan....
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....urn by selling the vast extent of property along with other family members which was declared as surplus land to Murthy Housing Cooperative Society Limited with the active connivance of the competent authority in obtaining a letter Ex.A-16/ B10 dated 26.6.1980 wherein the competent authority says that area sought to be sold include built up area which is absolutely false and the competent authority made such a statement in collusion with the defendant who in fact helped him in alienating about 30,000 square metres of land which is declared as surplus land circumventing the provisions of Urban Land Ceilings Acts more so after the entire procedure contemplated under the Act is over .Hence the order of competent authority is only camouflage to avoid the completion of the sale transaction. In the light of the foregoing discussion, we cannot agree with the reasoning given by the trial court as well as the Learned Single Judge in dismissing the suits, since the land offered for sale do not contain any built up area either as per the agreement of sale or any of the maps that were filed before various authorities " 12. The competent authority under the 1976 Act was not impleaded as a pa....
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....ent authority to be retained by him under the Act. While actually it includes a portion of the building and the contracted land is land outside the ceiling area. When Ex.A1 land is not land within the ceiling limit, Section 26 of the Act does not apply " It further observed : "69. Thus, defendant by making a false declaration in Ex.A1 has induced the plaintiff to enter into Ex.A1 contract and has not been made any efforts to perform the contract or at least make amends for that fraud played by him. It may be mentioned that making a false declaration knowing it to be false and having no intention to perform is nothing short of fraud. 70. On account of this fraud perpetuated on the plaintiff, plaintiff can either insist upon specific performance or seek damages. I have already stated above that directing specific performance would prolong the stalemate and uncertainty for good length of time and that it is not interests of even the plaintiff to have such a relief because it depends upon a contingency and the relief may or may not ultimately materialize. The best remedy under the circumstances would be to grant the alternative relief of damages asked for by the pl....
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....uctuous by his own filing of an affidavit giving up his claim for the interest of reversioners. In such a situation where the vendor was not in any manner guilty of not obtaining the sanction and the clause of the contract requiring the Court's sanction for conveyance of full interest, being for the benefit of both the parties, the contract had been rendered unenforceable with the dismissal of the sanction suit." The said observations were made in the fact situation obtaining therein. 17. In this case, we are concerned with a situation where the sanction, it will bear repetition to state, has expressly been refused. Dharmadhikari, J. in that case itself has noticed a judgment of the House of Lords in New Zealand Shipping Co., Ltd. v. Scoiete Des Ateliers Et. Chantiers De France [(1918-19) AER 552] wherein it was held that a man shall not be allowed to take advantage of his own wrong which he himself brought about. 18. The parties were aware of the proceedings under the 1996 Act. The Plaintiff-Respondents were also aware that sanction under the said Act is necessary. The consequence for non-grant of such sanction was expressly stipulated. Even the parties were clear in ....
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....ompetent authority in exercise of its power under Section 20 of the 1976 Act. The land sold to the cooperative society which might have included the vacant land and which was the subject-matter of the agreement but was not the subject-matter of the suit. They were not parties thereto. The sanction accorded in their favour by the competent authority had never been put in question. 21. The Advocate-Commissioner appointed by the Trial Court, observed : "Opinion and Observation : Taking all the aforesaid facts and circumstances I conclude that the plot no.2 in Survey no. 71 as mentioned in agreement of sale Ex.A-2 in the trial court and the house no. 3-9-51/A,B,C and D situated in Survey no.71/part, west Marredpally on which I conducted the local inspection are the same." The learned Commissioner, therefore, only inspected Plot No.2 situated in Survey No.71 and not the lands which were the subject-matter of sale in favour of the subsequent purchasers. 22. The High Court, in our considered view, also committed a manifest error in opining that the Appellants should have questioned the orders passed by the competent authority. If they have not done so, the same ....