Court stays ULC order against judge

NAGPUR: The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on Tuesday gave a seven-day interim stay on an order passed by the competent authorities in a case pertaining to the surplus land belonging to the family of senior high court judge Justice J N Patel.

The Patels, who owned 41 acres of land, had sold it earlier this year to a private developer at Rs105 crore, without filing mandatory returns for their surplus land under Urban Land Ceiling and Regulations Act (ULCRA).

ULC authorities had declared 34 acres of the total 41 acres of the Patel family’s land as ‘surplus’ under relevant sections of the Act. Following that, they issued an order again on November 15 stating that the family could retain the land only if it plans a low-cost housing scheme on it.

Granting a stay to the order, the high court observed the ULC authorities advanced the schedule of hearing without justification and the undue haste in it seemed pre-determined.

Also, it’s in breach of natural justice, given that the petitioners still have time to respond to the first order.

It may recalled that the ULC authorities had issued a show-cause notice to Justice Patel and his family members for failing to file mandatory return of their land in Chinchbhuvan, which falls under the urban agglomeration, under the ULC Act.