TMI Blog2004 (4) TMI 597X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... was executed in its favour by the authority on or about 29.6.1985. The appellant was also put in possession thereof. A licence for fencing the property was also obtained by the appellant. In 1988, a public interest litigation was filed by the First Respondent herein, inter alia, on the ground that the impugned alienation was against public policy and, thus, illegal and void having regard to the fact neither any public auction was held therefor; nor any tender was called for; nor any public advertisement for sale of the said land was issued. The contention of the appellant in the aforementioned writ petition, inter alia, was that the said writ petition in the nature of public interest litigation was in fact filed by the First Respondent at the instance of one S.A. Krishnappa who had been unsuccessful at earlier stages in his attempt to stall the acquisition proceedings. It was contended that one Mohd. Ibrahim had also filed a suit to achieve the same purpose but it was dismissed. In the said writ petition the locus of the writ petitioner was also questioned. A learned Single Judge of the High Court allowed the said writ application by an order dated 29.1.1996 holding that ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... was enacted for the establishment of a development of a Development Authority for the development of the City of Bangalore and areas adjacent thereto and for matters connected therewith. 'Development' has been defined in Section 2(j) to mean : Development with its grammatical variations means the carrying out of building, engineering, or other operations in or over or under land or the making of any material change in any building or land and includes redevelopment' Chapter III of the Act provides for development schemes. In terms of Section 15 of the Act, the Authority may draw up detailed schemes for the development of Bangalore Metropolitan Area and with the previous approval of the Government undertake from time to time any works for the Bangalore Metropolitan Area and incur expenditure therefor and also for framing and execution of development schemes. It is also entitled to take up any new or additional scheme from time to time. Sections 38 of the Act reads thus : 38. Power of Authority to lease, sell or transfer property.-Subject to such restrictions, conditions and limitations as may be prescribed, the authority shall have power to lease, se ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... sation payable therefor. The Division Bench of the High Court, in our opinion, misconstrued and misinterpreted the provision of Section 38 of the Act. A bare perusal of the of the said provision would demonstrate that the Authority has power to lease, sell or otherwise transfer any movable or immovable property belonging to it, subject to such restrictions, conditions and limitations, as may be prescribed. The State of Karnataka has framed three rules under the Act, namely, (i) Bangalore Development Authority (Allotment of Sites) Rules, 1982; (ii) Bangalore Development Authority (Allotment of Buildings under Self Financing Housing Scheme) Rules, 1982; and (iii) Bangalore Development Authority (Disposal of Corner Sites and Commercial Sites) Rules, 1984. It is beyond any cavil that the provisions of the aforementioned three sets of rules were not applicable to the allotment in question. If the provisions of the said rules are not applicable in the instant case, the question of power of the Authority being restricted, conditioned or limited in selling or otherwise transferring the property would not arise. In Surinder Singh Vs. Central Government and Others [(1986) 4 SCC 667] ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... #39;s Law Dictionary, Fifth Edition at page 1278 the expression Subject to has been defined as under : Liable, subordinate, subservient, inferior, obedient to; governed or affected by; provided that; provided, answerable for. Homan v. Employers Reinsurance Corp,., 345 Mo. 650, 136 S.W. 2d 289, 302 Reliance placed by Mr. Bhat in K.R.C.S. Balakrishna Chetty and Sons Co. vs. The State of Madras [AIR 1961 SC 1152] is misplaced. In that case, an exemption provision contained in Section 5 of the Madras General Sales Tax Act was invoked which could be granted only subject to such restrictions and conditions, as may be prescribed and in that context it was held : ...On a proper interpretation of the section it only means that the exemption under the licence is conditional upon the observance of the conditions prescribed and upon the restrictions which are imposed by and under the Act whether in the rules or in the licence itself; that is, a licensee is exempt from assessment as long as he conforms to the conditions of the licence and not that he is entitled to exemption whether the conditions upon which the licence is given are fulfilled or not. The use of the words sub ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s been passed without complying with the principles of natural justice. (See Whirlpool Corporation Vs. Registrar of Trade Marks, Mumbai and Others (1998) 8 SCC 1). Exercise of self-restraint, thus, should be adhered to, subject of course to, just exceptions. Dawn Oliver in Constitutional Reform in the UK under the heading 'The Courts and Theories of Democracy, Citizenship, and Good Governance' at page 105 states: However, this concept of democracy as rights-based with limited governmental power, and in particular of the role of the courts in a democracy, carries high risks for the judges - and for the public. Courts may interfere inadvisedly in public administration. The case of Bromley London Borough Council v. Greater London Council ([1983] 1 AC 768, HL) is a classic example. The House of Lords quashed the GLC cheap fares policy as being based on a misreading of the statutory provisions, but were accused of themselves misunderstanding transport policy in so doing. The courts are not experts in policy and public administration - hence Jowell's point that the courts should not step beyond their institutional capacity (Jowell,2000). Acceptance of this approach ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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