TMI Blog2001 (11) TMI 1056X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... to be taken into consideration to determine if land is vacant land held in excess of the ceiling limit fixed under the Act. 2. The High Court, by the impugned judgment and order, relying upon the decision of a Bench of two Judges in Atia Mohammadi Begum (Smt.) v. State of U.P. and Ors. , has held that when the land was not vacant land in the date of the commencement of the Act, the authorities cannot convert that land into vacant land by their unilateral act by including it in the master plan for a purpose other than agriculture. On this view, the proceedings taken under the Act have been declared null and void by the High Court. 3. Since reconsideration of the decision in Atia Begum's case was sought, it was directed by a Bench of Two Judges that these matters be placed before a three judges' Bench. Therefore, these appeals have been placed before us. 4. Atia Begums case also came to be considered in Her Highness Maharani Shantidevi P. Gaikwad v. Savjibhai Haribhai Patel and Ors. (2001) 3 SCC 101 before a three Judges Bench of which two of us (Bharucha, CJ and Sabharwal, J.) were members. Since, in the said case, the matter was not concerning quantification of ex ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... (i) the urban agglomeration specified in the corresponding entry in Col.(2) thereof and includes the peripheral area specified in the corresponding entry in Col.(3) thereof, and (ii) any other area which the State Government may, with the previous approval of the Central Government, having regard to its location, population (population being more than one lakh and such other relevant factors as the circumstances of the case may require, by notification in the official Gazette declared to be an urban agglomeration and any agglomeration so declared shall be deemed to belong to category D in that Schedule and the peripheral area therefore shall be one kilometer; (B) in relation to any other State or Union territory, means, any area which the State Government may, with the previous approval of the Central Government having regard to its location, population (population being more than one lakh) and such other relevant factors as the circumstances of the case may require, by notification in the official Gazette, declare to be an urban agglomeration and any agglomeration so declared shall be deemed to belong to category D in Schedule I and peripheral area therefore s ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... in force in the area in which such land is situated; (ii) in an area where are building regulations, the land occupied by any building which has been constructed before, or is being constructed on, the appointed day with the approval of the appropriate authority and the land appurtenant to such building; and (iii) in an area where there are no building regulation, the land occupied by any building which has been constructed before, or is being constructed on, the appointed day and the land appurtenant to such building: Provided that where any person ordinarily keeps his cattle, other than for the purpose of dairy farming or for the purpose of breeding of live-stock, on any land situated in a village within an urban agglomeration (described as a village in the revenue records), then, so much extent of the land as has been ordinarily used for the keeping of such cattle immediately before the appointed day shall not be deemed to be vacant land for the purposes of this clause. Section 3 provides ceiling on vacant land. It reads as under: 3. Persons not entitled to hold vacant land in excess of the ceiling limit. - Except as otherwise provided i ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... f the District Judge was challenged by both, i.e., the owner and the State by filing writ petition in the High Court. The owner's writ petition was dismissed and that of the State was partly allowed. In appeal before this Court, the owner sought restoration of the order of the District Judge which had been set aside by the High Court on the interpretation of the provisions of the Act. The Act came into force in the State of Uttar Pradesh on 17th February, 1976. At that time, there was no master plan for the area of Aligarh. The master plan for Aligarh was made on 24th February, 1980. In that master plan, the land in dispute was shown. The High Court took the view that virtue of explanation (c) of Section 2(o) defining 'urban land', the land of the appellant could not be treated as mainly used for the purpose of agriculture because it was shown in the master plan made on 24th February, 1980. The correctness of this view was in issue in Atia Begum's case. The decision, though it notices that determination of the area of vacant land in excess of ceiling limit under the Act is to be made with reference to the date of commencement of the Act, fails to notice the explanat ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the excess vacant land by a similar action. 10. The observations that the authorities by their subsequent action after 17th February, 1976 cannot alter or introduce the master plan which has the effect of increasing the area of excess vacant land do not represent the correct view of law. The aforesaid explanation to Section 6(1), inter alia, provides that where any land, not being vacant land, situated in a State in which this Act is in force has becomes vacant land by any reason whatsoever, the date on which such land becomes vacant land would be the date of the commencement of the Act as regards such land. 11. Development and town planning are ongoing processes and they go on changing from time to time depending upon the local needs. That apart, the definition of the master plan in Section 2(h) is very significant. It reads as under: 2(h) 'master plan', in relation to an area within an urban agglomeration or any part thereof, means the plan (by whatever name called) prepared under any law for the time being in force or in pursuance of an order made by the State Government for the development of such area or part thereof and providing for the stages by whi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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