Chhattisgarh High Court Quashes State’s Cancellation of Rajkumar College Building Permission

November 28, 2001 : The Chhattisgarh High Court has set aside the State Government’s 2000 order that cancelled the building permission granted to Rajkumar College in Raipur for constructing a commercial complex along the Great Eastern Road (G.E. Road). Justice R.S. Garg ruled that the State exceeded its powers under Section 299A of the Madhya Pradesh Municipal Corporation Act, 1956, and acted without proper legal justification.

The dispute began when Rajkumar College, established in 1882 and relocated to Raipur in 1894, leased a vast area of government land for educational purposes. To raise funds for institutional development, the college’s management decided to construct shops on a portion of the leased land abutting the G.E. Road. M/s Avinash Builders, represented by Ashok Singhania, undertook the project after another contractor withdrew.

The Joint Director of Town and Country Planning granted permission for the project in January 1998, and the Raipur Municipal Corporation issued a building permit in June 1998. However, the State Government later cancelled the permission in May 2000, citing that the land was reserved for educational purposes under the Raipur Development Scheme and that the college had violated the lease terms by allowing commercial construction.

Justice Garg, in his detailed 45-point judgment, observed that the State Government failed to demonstrate any violation of the Act, rules, or bye-laws that would justify invoking Section 299A. The Court held that the government’s reasoning primarily based on the number of shops constructed and the alleged deviation from the plan was not supported by law or facts.

“The State Government was not entitled to enter into disputed questions of fact or to re-examine the nature of construction under Section 299A,” Justice Garg stated, emphasizing that the government’s order was based on “manufactured grounds.”

The Court also clarified that the Joint Director’s permission for development covered 20,000 square feet of land and did not restrict the number of shops to twelve, as claimed by the State. It found no evidence that Rajkumar College had built illegally or encroached on marginal open spaces.

On the issue of the “basement,” the Court accepted the college’s explanation that the hollow space under the ground floor was a structural necessity to level uneven terrain and not a usable basement. The Municipal Corporation was granted the liberty to act if that space was ever converted into a basement.

Significantly, the Court took note of the State Government’s own 2000 notification that officially changed the land use from “educational” to “commercial,” describing it as the “death nail” to the government’s earlier cancellation order.

Holding the State’s order as contrary to law and unsupported by evidence, Justice Garg quashed the impugned order dated May 6, 2000, along with all related notices issued by the Raipur Municipal Corporation.

“The petition is allowed,” the judgment concluded, affirming the right of Rajkumar College and Avinash Builders to retain the sanctioned construction.

Case Details : Writ Petition No. 4562/2000, Raj Kumar College Society and Ors. vs. State of M.P. and Ors.

Counsels: For Appellant/Petitioner/Plaintiff: Alok Aradhe, Adv. For Respondents/Defendant: Ranbir Singh and Manindra Shrivastava, Advs.