Sole discretion of govt to determine what is or isn’t public purpose: HC
In case of the Bhide Wada land acquisition, a bench of justices G S Patel and Kamal Khata ruled in favour of the Maharashtra Government and Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC)
PUNE: While passing order on the Bhide Wada acquisition, the Bombay High Court (HC) said, “It is the sole discretion of the government to determine what is and what is not public purpose. That discretion is absolute.”
In case of the Bhide Wada land acquisition, a bench of justices G S Patel and Kamal Khata ruled in favour of the Maharashtra Government and Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). The petitioners had objected to the construction of the memorial, saying that this is not the public purpose of land acquisition. Whereas the court said, “Unfortunately, these petitions have been pending since 2010. Even the court realised that it took a long time for the decision.”
“There is enough authority to indicate that a memorial, monument, or any other mark or built structure is sufficiently a public purpose. There is no law that states that a public purpose must only be a public utility such as a dam or a bridge. The business of the government concerns a wide range of activities, and has to deal necessarily with the public and popular sentiment and the needs/desires, expectations and demands of the citizens,” the court said. “It is the sole discretion of the government to determine what is and what is not a public purpose. That discretion is absolute,” the court stated.
The head of the PMC legal department, Nisha Chavan, said, “It is landmark decision. It will also help the PMC to carry out land acquisition for other projects which are pending.”
While passing the order, the court pointed out, “The petitioners themselves are not the owners of the property Bhide Wada. The property belonged to the Bhide family. The landowners have never challenged the acquisition. The petitioners are tenants in the property.”
Ravinda Malwadkar, who was the school board chairman in 2005 passed the resolution first on October 29, 2005 and demanded that a national memorial be constructed at Bhide Wada in memory of the first school for the girl child started by Mahatma Phule and Savitribai Phule. The PMC general body had passed the resolution after receiving it from the PMC school board.
