P.K.BALASUBRAMANYAN, J. - (1.) RESPONDENTS 1 and 2 in CWJC No. 2352 of 1993 filed in the Patna High Court, Ranchi Bench, Ranchi are the appellants In this appeal. The appellant, in effect, is the Bihar State Housing Board governed by the Bihar State Housing Board Act, 1982.
(2.) THE writ petitioner (respondent No. 1 herein) is a Society registered under the Bihar and Orissa Co -operative Societies Act. It is a co -operative society of the Government employees. The Society sought allotment of land from the Government to meet its object of providing land for construction of houses to the employees of the Government of Bihar, who became its members. It was decided by the Government to allot 155 acres of land to the Society as can be seen from the proposal dated 19.12.1964. But it is seen that on the basis of the title of the State, only an extent of 152.36 acres was available for being granted to the Society. Therefore, under an agreement for sale dated 30.1.1969 (An -nexure 3 in the counter affidavit filed by the Housing Board), the State of Bihar agreed to assign an extent of 152.36 acres of land and put the Society in possession, though there was some controversy regarding development charges claimed by the State as payable by the Society. For the moment, we are not concerned with the dispute relating to the said extent of 152.36 acres of land. There was an adjacent extent of 2.10 acres apparently lying unseparated from 152.36 acres referred to above, over which the Government had not acquired title. The Government initiated a proceeding for acquisition of that land and the acquisition was completed on 4.4.1972. It is seen that the Society under cover of the decision to allot it 155 acres of land and notwithstanding the fact that it had actually obtained only 152.36 acres of land, claimed to have trespassed into the said extent as well. The Housing Board having come into existence by virtue of the Housing Board Act, the Housing Board was put in possession of that land. The Housing Board found the Society to be in unauthorized occupation of the 2.10 acres of land, though obviously, with expectancy of obtaining allotment thereof from the Government. The Housing Board initiated a proceeding under Sec. 59 of the Housing Board Act for eviction of the Society. The Authority, dealing with the application found that the Society was in unauthorized occupation of that land, but it had an expectancy of getting the land assigned and in that situation, Sec. 59 of the Act may not strictly apply, and that the Housing Board should consider the transfer of the title to the said 2.10 acres of land to the Society, on recovery from it the market value of the land. It may be noted here that the acquisition of 2.10 acres of land under the Land Acquisition Act after paying full compensation to the owners thereof in terms of that Act was for the public purpose of providing houses for the Lower Income Groups (LIG) and Middle income Groups (MIG). It may also be noted that the petitioner Society consisted of Government officers and, obviously they took it person who were not eligible for obtaining allotment either as part of the Lower Income Group or Middle Income Group.
(3.) IT is seen that the Housing Board attempted to challenge the order of the Authority on its application under Sec. 59 of the Act before the Appellate Authority under the Act. That appeal was dismissed for default. There was a writ petition filed in the High Court at Patna challenging that appellate decision which was also dismissed for default. Counsel for the Housing Board submitted that these defaults were induced by influential officers, who were members of the Society, the writ petitioner. We are not concerned with that aspect here, nor do we think that we should go into that question in this proceeding. What is relevant here is to notice that the challenge of the Housing Board to the direction of the Authority concerned to consider the transfer of 2.10 acres of land to the Society on recovering the market value thereof, has become final as against the Housing Board in the sense that the challenge of the Housing Board to the same has come to an end.;