Committee of Management K.D.B. Public School and Another vs State of U.P. and Others

M. Katju, A.C.J. and Sunil Ambwani, J.—Heard Sri R.N. Singh, learned senior advocate and Sri G.K. Singh for the Petitioners, and the learned standing counsel for the Respondents.

The Petitioners have challenged the impugned order passed by the District Magistrate, Ghaziabad dated 1.10.2003 (Annexure-2 to the writ petition), and have prayed for a mandamus restraining the Respondents from using the play ground of the educational institution of the Petitioners as parking place.

The Petitioners run an educational institution known as K.D.B. Public School, Old Kavi Nagar, Ghaziabad, which is affiliated to Central Board of Secondary Education (C.B.S.E.), New Delhi. The institution had taken a piece of land on lease from the Ghaziabad Development Authority in 1984 for being used as play ground of the school. The District Magistrate, Ghaziabad, passed the impugned order dated 1.10.2003, whereby the aforesaid play ground of the school has been requisitioned for being used as parking place by Sri Dharmik Ram Leela Samiti, Kavi Nagar, Ghaziabad. The aforesaid order was passed ostensibly under the U.P. Accommodation Requisition Act, 1974. A true copy of the Act is Annexure-3 to the petition.

A perusal of the said Act shows that Section 3(2)(b) has specifically excluded the accommodation of a school from being requisitioned. Hence, in our opinion, the impugned order dated 1.10.2003 is illegal and it is hereby quashed. The Respondents are restrained from requisitioning any accommodation of the school under the Act.

This petition is allowed.