W.BROOME, J. - (1.) THE ten petitioners in this case have formed themselves into an association for the development of a residential colony in Ghaziabad (district Meerut). In accordance with the directions given to them by the authorities from time to time they revised their layout plan and it was eventually sanctioned by the Prescribed Authority established under the U.P. Regulation of Building Operations Act 1958. The sanction was conveyed to the petitioners In a letter dated 30-8-1962; but on 6-9-3962 another letter was addressed to the petitioners by the Prescribed Authority, informing them that the Government had stayed the operation of the sanction; and eventually on 3-10-1962 the Prescribed Authority informed the petitioners that the sanction was withdrawn. In the present petition the petitioners ask for a writ of certiorari to quash the orders dated 6-9-1962 and 3-10-1962, staying and withdrawing the sanction that has been granted on 30-8-1962, and for a writ of mandamus commanding the opposite parties (the State of U.P., the Land Acquisition Officer, the Prescribed Authority and the Controlling Authority of the Ghaziabad Regulated Area, the Improvement Trust of Ghaziabad and the Ghaziabad Municipal Board) to abstain from interference with the implementation of that sanction.
(2.) UNDER the U.P. Regulation of Building Operations Act enacted in the year 1958 (for the regulation of building operations with a view to prevent haphazard development of urban and rural areas) a Regulated Area has been declared in and around the town of Ghaziabad and a Prescribed Authority had been appointed and a Controlling Authority set up for the Area to carry out the provisions of the Act. S. 6 of the Act prohibits the development of any site and the erection or material alteration of any building in the Regulated Area without the previous permission in writing of the prescribed Authority; and under Section 7 the Prescribed Authority "after making such enquiry as it considers necessary in relation to any directions which may have been issued under this Act or in relation to any other matter" has either to grant or to refuse permission (subject to such conditions as may be specified in the order). Section 7-A empowers the Prescribed Authority, after permission has been granted, to cancel such permission where it is satisfied that the permission was granted "in consequence of any material misrepresentation made or any fraudulent statement or information furnished". Under Section 15 of the Act an order of the Prescribed Authority refusing or granting permission under Section 7 or cancelling permission under Section 7-A is appealable to the Controlling Authority, whose decision shall be final and not be open to question in any Court. The State Government, however, has revisional powers under Section 15-A in respect of any case disposed of by the Controlling Authority; and under Section 14 the State Government has been granted the further power of giving directions on matters referred to in Section 5 (including the final omnibus clause of that section, which covers "any other matter which is necessary for the proper planning of any regulated area and for preventing building being erected haphazardly in such area"). In the present case the Prescribed Authority, having satisfied itself that the various objections raised to the petitioners layout plan had been properly met and complied with, referred the case in November 1961 to the Controlling Authority; but the Controlling Authority in its meeting of 20-11-1961 decided to defer consideration of the case until such time as the Master Plan of Ghaziabad had been finalised. On 9-8-1962 the Controlling Authority held a further meeting and passed the following resolutions :- "Item No. 12 plan of Dewan Anand Kumar and others :- The applicants were represented by Sri N.G. Mathel and was heard. It was brought to the Controlling Authoritys notice that the plan was considered by the Controlling Authority in the meeting of November 1961 and it was decided that they should be kept pending till the finalisation of the Master Plan of these areas. The Authority was of the view that since the Master Plan had been approved by the Government, there was no objection in sanctioning this colony. The plan should be considered on merits." Acting on the instructions contained in this resolution, the Prescribed Authority proceeded to consider the petitioners plan on its merits and on 30-8-1962 accorded sanction to the petitioners for the development of their residential colony on the basis of this plan. The subsequent letter of the Prescribed Authority informing the petitioners on 6-9-1962 that the Government had stayed the operation of the sanction did not reveal the reason for this action; but the final letter of 3-10-1962, whereby the sanction was withdrawn, stated as follows :- "I am to inform you that the sanction of Anand Vihar Colony which was accorded on the basis of the decision of the Controlling Authority at item No 12 of the minutes of the meeting held at Ghaziabad on 9-8-1962 referring to the above colony is hereby withdrawn because the Controlling Authority in its meeting, held on 15-9-1962 did not confirm the above item of the previous meeting." Mr. Shanti Bhushan, appearing for the State, has clarified this somewhat cryptic pronouncement by stating that what was really meant was that at the time when the Controlling Authority passed its resolution regarding Item No. 12 on 9-8-1962, mentioning that "since the Master Plan had been approved by the Government, there was no objection in sanctioning this colony", the Master Plan had in actual fact not been sanctioned by Government Direction No. 8 issued by the State Government under Section 14 of the U.P. Regulation of Building Operations Act lays down that - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "(a) The prescribed Authority shall not approve the plans or statements unless it is satisfied that - (ii) The development and proposed use of the land and standards are in conformity with the proposals and standards of the Master Plan of the regulated area approved by the Controlling Authority." Obviously, if there is no finalised and sanctioned Master Plan in existence the Prescribed Authority has no means of knowing whether any development plan submitted to it for sanction is in conformity with such Master Plan or not; and consequently it is not possible for the Prescribed Authority to approve any development plan until the Master Plan has been finalised and sanctioned by the State Government. It was for this reason that the Controlling Authority at its subsequent meeting of 15-9-1962 refused to confirm the resolution on item No. 12 that had been passed at the meeting of 9-8-1962.
(3.) THE stand taken by the opposite-parties In this matter is set forth in para 5 of the counter-affidavit sworn by Sri B.J. Khodaiji, Deputy Secretary in the Local Self Government Department, and filed in this Court on 7-7-1965, which runs as follows :- "That with regard to the contents of paragraph 13 of the petition, the State Government considered and approved the Master Plan of Ghaziabad In Jury 1962 but the formal sanction of the same was issued by the State Government on 4th September 1962 and it appears that the Controlling Authority, without waiting for the formal sanction from the Government as required under paragraph 1(v)(f) of the Directions issued by the Government under Section 14 of the U.P. (Regulation of Building Operations) Act, 1958 (hereinafter referred to as the Act), observed that since the Master Plan had been approved by the State Government there was no objection in sanctioning the layout plan of the petitioners and that the plan should be considered on merits. The Controlling Authority had, by that time in fact, not received the formal sanction of the State Government." The position has been still further clarified by a supplementary affidavit of the same Deputy Secretary filed on 29-9-1965, which reveals that the draft Master Plan for Ghaziabad was considered and approved by the Council of Ministers on 26-7-1962 and this approval was communicated to the Secretary of the Housing Department on 30-7-1962; but the formal letter duly signed by the Under Secretary of Housing Department, stating that the Governor had approved the Master Plan of Ghaziabad, was not sent to the Chairman or the Controlling Authority of the Ghaziabad Regulated Area until 4-9-1962.;