PETITIONER:
SRI VIDYA MANDIR EDUCATION SOCIETY (REGD.)
Vs.
RESPONDENT:
MALLESWARAM SANGEETHA SABHA
DATE OF JUDGMENT30/07/1994
BENCH:
(K.RAMASWAMY AND R.M. SAHAI, JJ.)
ACT:
HEADNOTE:
JUDGMENT:
ORDER
1. Leave granted.
2. The appellant-society has been running a school at 11th
Cross West Park Road, Malleswaram in Bangalore City. The
said school has been in existence for about 22 years and was
shifted in 1976 to the present premises. The school has got
about 1500 students. Adjacent to the school there is an
open land about 300 ft. x 75 ft. It is the claim of the
appellant that they have applied for allotment of land of
100 ft. x 75 ft. to use it as a playground for the children
as there is no open land for playground. It is their claim
that the municipal corporation had not allotted the land and
that therefore they moved a petition. Their petition has
been dismissed by the corporation without considering their
request. When the matter has gone to the High Court under
Article 226, initially the learned Single Judge remitted the
matter for reconsideration by the corporation, but on
appeal, in the impugned judgment in Writ Appeal No. 2407 of
1990, the Division Bench by order dated 25-3-1992 interfered
with and dismissed the writ petition of the appellant. Thus
this appeal, by special leave.
3. It is not in dispute that the appellant has been
running the school for about 22 years and that there is no
independent land for use as a playground by the students
around 1500. Admittedly, Respondent 1, Malleswaram
Sangeetha Sabha obtained lease of the land from the
municipal corporation to an extent of 100 ft. x 75 ft. which
is adjacent to the school. The appellant claimed allotment
of same land near about the school. The High Court found
that the appellant had
+ Arising out of SLP (C) No. 15992 of 1992
27
not made any specific claim to allot that particular land, a
vague reference was made to allot any land adjacent to the
school and that therefore the appellant cannot claim as of
right for any allotment. In view of the fact that from 1976
the school is being run in the present premises and adjacent
to this the land allotted to the 1st respondent admittedly
was vacant at that time. Reasonably when the school claimed
for allotment, the allotment may be adjacent to the school
so that the land could be used by the children as their
playground without any difficulty. Obviously the municipal
corporation was to allot the vacant land adjacent to the
school instead, it had granted lease to the 1st respondent.
Under those circumstances we find it is just and proper that
the municipal corporation should allot the adjacent land
allotted to the 1st respondent to the appellant’s school for
using it as a playground. It is also pointed out that after
this land, there appears to be another vacant land of an
extent of 200 ft. x 75 ft. as stated in the Plan-Annexure
‘E’ filed in this Court as part of the documents and if that
land is vacant municipal corporation would consider the
allotment of 100 ft. x 75 ft. in that land to the 1st
respondent for using it for construction of the building for
musical concert. In case of any difficulty any other vacant
land in that area may be considered for allotment on lease
to the first respondent.
4. Under these circumstances the order of the High Court
is set aside and there shall be a direction to the municipal
corporation to allot the land of 100 ft. x 75 ft. which was
allotted immediately to the 1st respondent to the appellant-
society and within a period of three months from the date of
the receipt of the order an equal portion may be allotted
near about the place to the 1st respondent as stated
earlier.
5. The appeal is allowed but in the circumstances without
costs.
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