Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning Act, 1972 – ss.37 and
38 – For a creation of a Nagar various plots were formed by one N – In a Layout plan, a portion of land was earmarked for public purpose for welfare of the residents – That earmarked site is the suit land/property – N died on 29.04.2004 – Appellants case that after the death of N, the suit property was sold by his legal heirs to appellants – The cause of action arose when appellant no.1 started construction of a building on the suit property – Respondents no.1 and 2/original plaintiffs are the office-bearers of the Resident Welfare Association, who filed suit and sought relief of permanent injunction, restraining the defendants from encroaching upon the suit property and putting up construction – Trial Court decreed suit – The First Appellate Court dismissed the suit – However, the High Court restored the judgment and decree of the Trial Court – Correctness:
Held: In the case at hand, although the Layout (originally 1978 and revised in 1981) shows that it has been earmarked for a public purpose – However, admittedly, nothing happened thereafter in terms of Section 37 of the Act, namely, neither was the land acquired under land acquisition laws nor any agreement was made with the person(s)/owners – Neither the State Government nor Respondent no.3 acted to takeover or gain ownership of the suit property – No steps were taken either by the planning authority or the State Government to acquire the land which as per the Act was required to be done within 3 years from publication – This apart, ultimately in the year 2005, the Layout itself was revised showing it as a mixed residential area – Be that as it may, on the core issue, the original owner of the suit property, never lost right, title, interest and usage therein – The deeming provision under Section 38(b) of the Act would operate to release the suit property, as the 3-year period would have lapsed, latest in 1984, counted from the year of revision i.e., 1981, after the initial Layout in the year 1978 – The original owner, thus, was competent in law to transfer the suit property to any other person on 20.04.2009 (date of the first Sale Deed) – Thus, the suit filed by the respondents had absolutely no cause of action evincible from a reading of the plaint – The First Appellate Court rightly interfered and dismissed the suit – The reasoning given by the Trial Court as well as the High Court, is erroneous, and cannot be sustained. [Paras 22, 24]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Headnotes prepared by: Ankit Gyan. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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