State of M.P. Vs Ghisilal (Supreme Court of India)
Summary: The Supreme Court allowed the appeal filed by the State of Madhya Pradesh and set aside the judgments of the Trial Court, First Appellate Court and High Court which had granted declaration and permanent injunction in favour of the respondent concerning 16,000.32 square metres of surplus land governed by the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976. The Court found that after the competent authority declared the land surplus, notifications under Sections 10(1) and 10(3) of the ULC Act were issued and possession was taken through a panchnama. Significantly, the respondent, who claimed to be the legal heir of the original owner, was himself a signatory to the panchnama as a witness.
Applying the principle stated in Indore Development Authority v. Manoharlal, the Supreme Court held that taking possession by drawing a panchnama amounts to taking physical possession. A report subsequently obtained from the Principal District and Sessions Judge, Bhopal also established that the State had taken possession, allotted the land to the Bhopal Development Authority and utilised it for construction of about 400 houses for needy slum dwellers. The Court further held that the ULC Act is a self-contained code providing statutory appellate and revisional remedies. Consequently, civil-court jurisdiction in relation to land forming the subject matter of ceiling proceedings stands excluded by necessary implication, and a civil court cannot declare final orders passed by the competent authorities under the ULC Act illegal or non est.
