Govt can't arbitrarily restrict land use by its owner: SC

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has said the Government cannot arbitrarily restrict the use of a land by its owner as it would severely curtail his right to possess property. "The power to restrict the use of land by the owners thereof is a drastic power. The designation or reservation of the land and its use results in severe abridgment of the right to property," a bench of Justices S H Kapadia and B Sudershan Reddy observed. The ruling assumes significance as under the garb of revising a development plan the substantial right conferred upon the owner of the land or a person interested therein cannot be taken away by the Government. It said public orders made by authorities are meant to have public effect and must be construed objectively with reference to the language used in the order. The apex court passed the orders while quashing as "ultra vires" (unconstitutional) a Gujarat Government notification to "designate" certain residential lands for "educational use" in Surat Town. As more than 20 years had lapsed since the land had been acquired, the bench directed the State Government to forthwith return the land to the aggrieved persons, Bhikubhai Vithalbhai Patel and others "without any further hurdle in the matter." The aggrieved land owners had filed the special leave petition (SLP) after the Gujarat High Court upheld the validity of the two notifications issued by the State Government on July 22 and September 28, 2004 under which the administration sought to "designate" the land for South Gujarat University. THE ECONOMIC TIMES; 2 Apr, 2008, 1924 hrs IST, PTI