Bhopinder Singh Dhillon, J. - (1.) THIS judgment will dispose of Civil Writs Nos. 2419 and 3624 of 1973, wherein the constitutional validity of the provisions of the Haryana Restrictions on (Development and Regulation of) Colonies Act, 1971 (Haryana Act No. 39 of 1972) (hereinafter referred to as the Act) has been challenged .
(2.) BRIEFLY stated the facts, as singed in Civil Writ No. 2419 of 1973, are that the three petitioners, who are brothers, owned a piece of land at Sonepat. They divided the said chunk of land into a number of plots and before coming into force of the Act, they sold 166 plots to various persons at the rate ranging from Rs. 2/ - to Rs. 10/ - per square yard. The Act came into force on November 16, 1971 and there -after they sold only six plots According to the averments in the affidavit dated April 17, 1974, filed by Jai Chand petitioner, this land is situate outside the municipal limits of Sonepat and therefore, the Punjab Scheduled Roads and Controlled. Areas Restriction of Unregulated Development Act, 1963, was not applicable to it. It is further alleged that while selling the plots to various purchasers, the petitioners did not enter into any agreement for carrying out any development works in the area sold. Rather there is a stipulation in the sale deeds that the sellers will not be responsible for any costs of development works which may be carried out in the area and the buyer shall be responsible for the expenses of paying and metalling of Kacha roads as well as of other developmental works that may be carried out. Respondent No. 2, Divisional Town Planner, Sonepat, wrote a memorandum dated October 31. 1972, to respondent No. 3, the Station House Officer of Police Station, Sonepat, and on the basis of that memo memorandum, the first information report No 14 dated. December 21, 1972, was recorded against the petitioners for violating the provisions of the Act, copy of which is Annexure 'A' to the writ petitioner. The petitioners, having challenged the constitutional validity of the provisions of the Act have prayed that the Act, may be declared to be unconstitutional and consequently the first information report registered against them may be quashed. The brief facts as alleged in Civil Writ No. 624 of 1975, are that the petitioner, Shri Muni Subrat Dass Jain, owned a piece of land situate between Delhi -Hissar road and Dabra road in District Hissar, He had to repay the loan of Rs. 2,70,158.75 paise to the Haryana Financial Corporation which loan he had taken for constructing a cold storage in Hissar in 1968 and since he was unable to repay the same, he by dividing his land sold 15 pieces of agricultural land to various persons and some of the sales were made after the enforcement of the Act. It may be pointed out that in this case, no act on has yet been taken against the petitioner for prosecuting him for the violation of the provisions of the Act, but the petitioner claims that since the Act is unconstitutional, he cannot be required to take any licence for setting up a colony as postulated under the provisions of the impugned Act.
(3.) THE statement of objects and Reasons for the enactment of the Act as published in the Haryana Government Gazette (Extraordinary) dated October 21, 1971, is as under: - - Due to various reasons considerable urbanisation is taking place in the State and consequently a number of colonies are coming into existence. Most of the colonies set up by the private persons are not of requisite standard. The Punjab Scheduled Roads and Controlled Areas Restriction of Unregulated Development Act, 1963, and Rules framed thereunder inter alia regulate their growth within a specified area, i.e., an area declared as "Controlled Area" under the Act. In other areas where the Punjab Scheduled Roads and Controlled Areas Restriction of Unregulated Development Act, 1953, and Rules made there under do not apply, there is no law to regulate the growth and development of colonies in a planned manner. Besides this quite a few private colonisers have been found to indulge in malpractices. The Bill seeks to put a curb on the establishment of haphazard and sub -standard colonies and to regulate their growth in a planned manner. In order to appreciate the respective contentions raised on behalf of the Learned Counsel for the parties the salient provisions of the Act may be noticed.;