Mrs. Ramani vs. The Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board & Ors.
Background
The petitioner was allotted a plot in a Chennai housing colony by the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board, but the plot was actually earmarked as "public convenience" (used for community toilets and bathrooms serving about 400 families) under the area's Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority-approved layout. After the petitioner began unauthorized construction, without waiting for municipal building-plan approval and despite pending litigation, the Board cancelled her allotment. A Single Judge of the Madras High Court set aside the cancellation, but a Division Bench, on appeal by the colony's residents' body, reversed that and restored the cancellation.
Decision Breakdown
The Supreme Court upheld the Division Bench's decision, holding that a plot officially reserved for public convenience under an approved town-planning scheme cannot lawfully be allotted to a private individual, so the cancellation was justified. It also rejected the petitioner's argument that the residents' association had no standing to challenge the allotment, relying on precedent that residents of a locality are directly and vitally affected when public-purpose land meant for their use is diverted to private benefit, and are therefore "aggrieved persons" entitled to challenge such action. Since the petitioner had proceeded with unauthorized construction despite the ongoing dispute and had not disclosed the full facts to the Single Judge, the Court found she could claim no equity in her favour, and dismissed her petitions.
Lesson Learnt
Land officially reserved for public use (like community toilets or amenities) cannot be validly allotted to a private individual, and local residents who depend on such public facilities have legal standing to challenge an allotment that takes those facilities away from them.