CASE TITLE – T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad v. Union of India & ORS.
M/S Shewalkar Developers Ltd. (Applicant)
CASE NUMBER – IA NO(S). 2930 OF 2010, 3963 OF 2017, 160714 OF 2019, 77320 OF 2023 AND 79064 OF 2023 IN WRIT PETITION(CIVIL) NO(S). 202 OF 1995
DATED ON – 16.05.2024
QUORUM – Justice Sandeep Mehta & Justice B.R. Gavai
FACTS OF THE CASE
These interlocutory applications have been preferred by the applicant M/s Shewalkar Developers Limited being aggrieved by the inaction of the Respondents in deciding the application filed by the Applicant seeking permission to construct a health/eco-resort on the subject land, Plot Nos. 14/3 and 14/4, falling in Sheet No. 20, Civil Station, Pachmarhi, District Hoshangabad, Madhya Pradesh. The total area of these two plots is around 59,265 sq. ft. and 49,675 sq. ft., respectively. The Applicant herein approached the Madhya Pradesh High Court by filing Writ Petition No. 14478 of 2006 seeking a direction to the respondents to favourably consider the prayer of the applicant. Vide order dated 22nd November, 2006, the Division Bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court permitted the applicant to approach the Central Empowered Committee(hereinafter being referred to as ‘CEC’) constituted under the directions given by this Court in Writ Petition(Civil) No. 202 of 1995. Consequently, the applicant preferred an application to the CEC seeking permission to construct the health/eco-resort on the land mentioned above asserting that the said chunk of land was not a forest land and had been acquired under valid title deeds and thus, the prayer for permission to construct may be allowed. However, the prayer made by the applicant was not accepted whereupon, the applications under consideration came to be filed before this Court. Much water has flown during pendency of the original application(I.A. No.2930 of 2010) which has remained pending for almost 14 years.
ISSUES
Whether plot No.14/3, 14/4 is excluded from the Panchmarhi Wildlife Sanctuary, and if so, can the Applicant proceed to construct their desired health/eco-resort on the subject land?
CONTENTIONS BY THE PETITIONER
The Learned Senior Counsel representing the Applicant drew the Court’s attention to an order dated 15th December, 2000 passed by the Department Officer (SDO), Pipariya on the application preferred by the applicant seeking mutation based on a registered sale deed dated 13th September, 1991 executed by the land owner Dennis Torry in favour of the applicant. The SDO accepted the said application taking note of the fact that Plot No.14 admeasuring 3,23,365 sq. ft. was entered in the name of Dennis Torry who sought and was granted permission to sell the plot in question, by the Government of Madhya Pradesh vide order dated 1st May, 1991. Thereafter, by a registered sale deed dated 13th September, 1991, Dennis Torry had sold the subject plots of land to Ashutosh Shewalkar on behalf of the applicant company. Consequently, the SDO directed that the land sold by Dennis Torry should be mutated in the name of M/s Shewalkar Developers Ltd. through Ashutosh Shewalkar, resident of Nagpur. There is no dispute that the aforesaid order passed by the jurisdictional Revenue Officer in favour of the applicant has not been questioned in any Court of law. The Learned Counsel also drew the Court’s attention to the report of the CEC dated 16th June, 2020, as per which the permission to construct has been denied to the applicant on the ground that the State of Madhya Pradesh had filed an affidavit stating that the land falls in the Pachmarhi Wildlife Sanctuary and that the same had been purchased in violation of the provisions of the Wild Life(Protection) Act, 1972. He contended that this objection raised by the State with reference to the Eco Sensitive Zone (hereinafter being referred to as ‘ESZ’) notification dated 9th August, 2017 is totally against the material available on record. He drew the Court’s attention to the site map dated 26th December, 2023(Annexure A-1 annexed with the compliance affidavit dated 12th February, 2024 filed by the respondent-State of Madhya Pradesh) to contend that as a matter of fact, the land owned by the applicant is located right on the periphery of the Nazul land, at a distance of about 10 kms. from the forest area and therefore, the same is well beyond the ESZ area. It is clear that the plots in question are located in the urban area of Pachmarhi and thus, there is no question of these plots being covered either under the wildlife sanctuary or the ESZ area. He thus urged that the applicant deserves the relief sought for.
CONTENTIONS BY THE RESPONDENT
The Learned Counsel for the State of Madhya Pradesh urged that the plots in question are subject matter of litigation in the writ appeal pending before the Division Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court and thus, the applicant should await the outcome of the aforesaid writ appeal before seeking permission to construct the health/ecoresort on the land in question. They further brought in Mr. K. Parameshwar, learned Amicus Curiae appearing on behalf of the CEC submitted that in view of the ESZ notification dated 9th August, 2017, permission to raise a new construction on the land in question cannot be granted and whatever permissions are sought for, have to be routed through the CEC. Furthermore, The Learned Counsel appearing for the Union of India adopted the submissions advanced by the standing counsel for the State and learned Amicus Curiae.
COURT ANALYSIS AND JUDGEMENT
After going through the facts presented before the Hon’ble Supreme Court, they noticed that It is not in dispute that the applicant herein was never impleaded in any of the proceedings before the Revenue Courts or the High Court as has been emphatically stated in Para-9 of the compliance affidavit dated 12th February, 2024. It is thus, clear that irrespective of the fact that the order passed by the District Collector dated 9th August, 2004, purportedly covers entire area of the Plot No. 14 and the transactions done in favour of and by Dennis Torry, the sale deed executed in favour of the applicant and the mutation made in its name had never been questioned in any Court of law. Neither the Revenue Department nor the State Government authorities took the trouble of impleading the applicant as party in any of the abovementioned litigations. The title acquired by the applicant over the subject plots not having been challenged, attainted finality and thus the State cannot claim a right thereupon simply because at some point of time, the plots came to be recorded as Nazul lands in the revenue records. The categoric stand in the compliance affidavit filed by the State(reproduced supra) fortifies the claim of the applicant that these plots are falling under the urban area. The Hon’ble Supreme Court were of the firm opinion that the permission sought by the Applicant for raising the construction of the health/ecoresort cannot be opposed only on account of the pendency of the writ appeal before the Madhya Pradesh High Court. However, it can be said without a cavil of doubt that activities, if any, on the Plot Nos. 14/3 and 14/4 purchased by the applicant from Dennis Torry would have to be carried out strictly per the ESZ notification dated 9th August, 2017, issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Furthermore, since the writ appeal pending before the Madhya Pradesh High Court arises out of the orders passed in relation to the title rights of Dennis Torry, from whom the applicant purchased the plots in question, the activities, if any, undertaken by the applicant on the said plot of land would also remain subject to the outcome of the said writ appeal.
Therefore, the Hon’ble Supreme Court directed that the application filed by the Applicant for raising construction on plot Nos. 14/3 and 14/4 shall be decided objectively by the CEC/Competent Authority of the local body keeping in view the location of the land with reference to the notified boundaries of the ESZ, and that the Application shall be decided within a period of two months from today. And further stated that in the event of any adverse orders being passed, the applicant shall be at liberty to challenge the same as per law.
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Judgement Reviewed by – Gnaneswarran Beemarao
