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TMI Blog2014 (4) TMI 1138X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... wing the dissolution of Cachar Tea Farming and Industrial Cooperative Society, the Cachar Ex- Officio liquidator, Cachar Tea Farming and Industrial Cooperaive Society Ltd, (in short the 'Liquidator'), issued a notice inviting tenders for the sale of Chincoorie Tea Estate owned by Cachar Tea Farming and Industrial Cooperative Society Ltd. The concerned tea estate measured 9951 bighas. 6. As on 5.1.2007, no tender had been cast in response to the tender notice issued. Therefore, a fresh tender notice dated 5.1.2007, was issued by the liquidator with minor modifications made on the previous tender notice. The land mentioned in the modified notice admeasured 9000 bighas. The last date for submission of tenders was fixed at 29.1.2007 which was further extended to 26.2.2007 upto 2 p.m. by another modified tender notice dated 28.1.2007. 7. It is pertinent to note that the tender of the sale of the concerned land was floated without the prior approval of the government as required by instructions issued in respect of alienation of tea garden land from time to time, particularly, letter no. RSS 573/94/25 dated 26.3.2001 of the Government of Assam Revenue (Settlement) Department. The other ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he sale of the tea garden was transferred by that time. His successor vide letter dated 2.7.2009, sought permission/approval of the Registrar of the Co-operative Societies to dispose of the land in question in favour of the respondent herein in the light of the Order of the High Court dated 27.4.2007 in W.P. (c) No. 1928/ 2007. 14. Thereafter, vide Order dated 23.7.2009, the Registrar of the Co- operative Societies, permitted the Liquidator to dispose of the property involved in favour of the respondent herein. 15. The Deputy Registrar issued an award letter dated 27.8.2009 and thereafter, signed the agreement for sale of the tea garden land on 2.9.2009 and sent a draft copy of the Deed of Agreement for the sale of the land in question. The respondent was required to make an initial deposition of 25% of the total bid initially within a week of issuance thereof, as per the terms laid in Clause 3 of the Deed of Agreement. The remaining 75% of the total consideration amount was required to be paid by the respondent at the time of execution of the sale deed, subject however, to the withdrawal of W.P. (C) No. 1928/2007 by the respondent. The Writ Petition was closed subsequently since ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... to submit a report in order to accord approval for alienation of the land. Another letter was issued to the Deputy Commissioner, Cachar to submit proposal as per Government land policy and guidelines for alienation of garden land. 21. The Review Petition No. 112/2010 filed by the appellant was dismissed by the High Court on 2.2.2011. On 29.6.2011, the letter dated 24.5.2011 was put up before the Principal Secretary. The Principal Secretary in turn, forwarded the proposal to the Minister, Revenue and Disaster Management Department for obtaining necessary approval from the Chief Minister of Assam State on the condition that the land under transfer will be used only for the purpose of tea cultivation and no bona fide worker or the erstwhile Co-operative Society should be adversely affected by the transfer of ownership. 22. The Chief Minister of the State observed that there are various discrepancies in the proposal forwarded to him and therefore, directed the Revenue Department to examine the matter and to consult the Legal Remembrancer for further course of action in case discrepancies are found. The Legal Remambrancer observed that since loss of huge amount of public money ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ants contended that the delay was due to unavoidable government procedure involved. 27. It has been held by this Court in the case of G. Ramegowda, Major and Ors. v. Special Land Acquisition Officer, Bangalore[(1988) 2 SCC 142] that: "15. In litigations to which Government is a party there is yet another aspect which, perhaps, cannot be ignored. If appeals brought by Government are lost for such defaults, no person is individually affected; but what, in the ultimate analysis, suffers is public interest. The decisions of Government are collective and institutional decisions and do not share the characteristics of decisions of private individuals. XXX XXX XXX 17. Therefore, in assessing what, in a particular case, constitutes "sufficient cause" for purposes of Section 5, it might, perhaps, be somewhat unrealistic to exclude from the considerations that go into the judicial verdict, these factors which are peculiar to and characteristic of the functioning of the government. Governmental decisions are proverbially slow encumbered, as they are, by a considerable degree of procedural red tape in the process of their making." Therefore, regarding the matter of delay in t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... law. There will not be any impediment for the appellants to evict trespassers from the land in question without considering the above relevant aspects of the case. The High Court granted the relief in favour of the respondent in its writ petition by quashing the order of cancelling the tender process by the officer of the appellant No. 1 and further directing the appellants to execute the sale deed accepting the offer of the respondent. 30. Further, according to the material placed on record, the land concerned involves significant amount of public money. Therefore, its transfer in favour of the respondent attracts the greatest amount of responsibility and caution. The competent valuer had already determined the registered value of land at Rs. 4,24,72,124/-. Therefore, it was the responsibility of the concerned authority to ensure all steps which should have been undertaken to sell the land at a minimum cost of Rs. 4,24,72,124/- or above instead of its attempt to sell the same at a lower price merely on the pretext that no one would come up to purchase the land at the valuer's price or that since the land is an encroached land, the lower price is justified cannot be accepted. The ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... st important, is the innovation and development of the trust. Thus, trust has been and is being applied for all purposes mentioned by Prof. Issac and many others as device to accomplish different purposes. Trusteeship is an institution of elasticity and generality. The broad base of the concept of property or its management vested in one person and obligation imposed for its enjoyment by others is accepted in Hindu jurisprudence. Therefore, when the property of the debtor stands transferred to the Corporation for management or possession thereof which includes right to sell or further mortgage etc., the Corporation or its officers or employees stands in the shoes of the debtor as trustee and the property caste que trust. In N. Swyanarayan Iyer's Indian Trust Act, Third Edition, 1987 at page 275 in Section 37 it is stated that, "Where the trustee is empowered to sell any trust property...by public auction or private contract and either at one time or at several times..." the duty of trustee is to obtain the best price. He should, therefore, use reasonable diligence in inviting competition to that end. Where a contract of sale has been entered into bona fide by a trustee the cour ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ions. However, the principle of Public Trust Doctrine referred to in Mahesh Chandra's case (supra) shall be applied to fact situation at hand as the public interest has adversely affected in this case. Notwithstanding the aforesaid decision in Jagdamba Oil Mills's case (supra) in overruling guidelines laid down in Mahesh Chandra's case keeping in view the reasonableness and fairness in action shall be adhered by the state and its instrumentalities is the ratio laid down by this court to pass the test of Article 14 reiterated after referring to three Judge Bench decisions in case of Ramana Dayaram Shetty v. International Airport Authority of India & Ors.[ (1979) 3 SCC 489] M/s Kasturi Lal Lakshmi Reddy & Ors. v. State of Jammu and Kashmir & Anr.[ (1980) 4 SCC 1] and other catena of cases which were mentioned in the case of Akhil Bhartiya Upbhokta Congress v. State of Madhya Pradesh & Ors. (2011) 5 SCC 29 are aptly applicable to the fact situation of the case on hand. 32. Therefore, in the light of the legal principle laid down by this Court with regard to Public Trust Doctrine in Mahesh Chandra's case (supra) and the cases mentioned supra, we are inclined to observe that the liquid ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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