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5. Before the averments in the Petitions are summed up, it is relevant to notice that all these Petitions are filed as Public Interest Litigation challenging the action of the MUDA affecting the public in general and also the very authority and jurisdiction of the MUDA to proceed to form Development Schemes and purport to allot sites,

6. The averments made in Writ Petitions Nos. 2855 to 2858 of 1992(LB) may be summed up as follows:

The MUDA has been constituted under Section 3 of the Karnataka Urban Development Authorities Act, 1987, hereinafter referred to as 'the Act', for the purpose of planned development of Mysore City as per the provisions of the Act; that it has published an advertisement in Deccan Herald dated 12.1.1992 and other papers stating that it has decided to invite applications for allotment of sixteen thousand sites of various dimensions to certain categories of persons; that the said Notification and the act of inviting applications for allotment of residential sites is not in accordance with the provisions of the Act; that the act of MUDA in inviting the applications has misled the public to believe that the applicants would get sites in the near future; that a large number of members of public have submitted the Application forms to the MUDA under the belief that they would be the proud owners of sites in Mysore City; that under the aforesaid Notification, registration fee of Rs. 2,000/- and an advance amount of Rs. 18,225/- for a site of a dimension of 60' x 40' were required to be paid at the time of presenting the application; that one of the conditions specified in the Notification is that "in case there is any hurdle in the allotment of sites, due to any reason, such as Government Order, Court injunction order, land owners' objection, this Notification will be cancelled and the amount of deposit will be returned to the applicants without any interest"; that the Notification inviting the applications was therefore, a clear attempt on the part of the MUDA to hood-wink the public and it was clearly an action without any authority of law; that the public authority was to act within the four corners of the law and every action advancing the cause of public must be done without injuring their interest in any manner; that the MUDA has issued a Notification on 6.2.1991 inviting applications for allotment of sites in areas of the City for allotment of nearly 3000 sites; that there are over one lakh applications in response to the said Notification; that this act of the MUDA is only intended to extract money from the public and to exploit the gullible people by holding out that sites would be allotted to them in the near future; that a sum of Rs. 15/- was to be paid for obtaining the application form; that having regard to the fact that the Notification contain allotment of large number of sites, the number of application forms sold exceeded two lakhs; that the MUDA has not acquired the land comprised in Vijayanagar IV Stage, First and Third Phase (Hinkal), Dattagalli III Stage, First Phase and Vijayariagar IV Stage - Second Phase in Basavanahalli village; that the Notifications under Section 17(1) of the Act are issued; that the Government orders according sanction to the Schemes under Sub-section (3) of Section 18 of the Act are passed; that the procedure contemplated in Sections 15 to 18 of the Act was hot followed; that the lands are not at all acquired inasmuch as no notification under Section 19 of the Act is issued; that no layout is formed and could have been formed because the lands comprised in the Schemes in question are not vested in the MUDA; that MUDA has no jurisdiction to offer sites for allotment even before the acquisition formalities completed and developmental works are undertaken; that the MUDA has transgressed the law and thereby it has caused incalculable injury to the public; that the Notification inviting the applications has stirred the public of Mysore beyond imagination and has kindled a false hope in the public as no scheme could have been sanctioned and no layout could have been formed without the acquisition of the lands. The petitioners also contended that Rule-3 of the City of Mysore Improvement (Allotment of Sites) Rule 1972 held the field as nodules were framed under the Act; that as per Rule 3(1) of the Rules "whenever the Board has formed an extension or layout in pursuance of any scheme, the Board may subject to the general or special orders of the Government, offer any or all the sites in such extension or layout for allotment to persons eligible for allotment of sites under these Rules".
It is averred that the 2nd respondent is appointed as the Chairman of the MUDA only because he belongs to the Arrack Contractors clan of Sri S.Bangarappa, the then Chief Minister of Karnataka; that he is the close associate of Shri S.Bangarappa; that as a quid-pro-quo for the favours he has been always receiving from Sri S.Bangarappa, the second respondent has been financing the then Chief Minister through-out notwithstanding that the damage that has caused to the purity of administration and the public interest; that the 2nd respondent has been appointed as Chairman of MUDA in the aforesaid background and that this appointment is particularly aimed at favouring the 2nd respondent and through him make an arrangement for collecting huge amount of money for the private benefits; that the 2nd respondent emboldened by the patronage and support he is receiving from the then Chief Minister, he has become a law unto himself and freely violating every provisions of law, sometimes openly declaring that he is above law; that the present attempt of the 2nd respondent is to siphon-out money for his private coffer, apparently at the instance of the then Chief Minister; that though several layouts had been formed earlier and constructions have come up, but no civic amenities such as water, electricity, drainage etc., to many of the layouts have been provided; that instead of providing civic amenities to the already formed layouts, new layouts have been taken up and applications are invited for allotment of about 16,000 house sites of various dimensions even though the land for formation of layouts comprising over 16,000 house sites has not been identified; that pursuant to the Notification bearing No. MUDA/ PA/91-92 dated 9th January 1992 several persons have applied; that 19th May 1992 was fixed for allotment of sites by the then Chief Minister; that no layout has been formed; that the programme is manipulated by making hurried arrangements to impress the general public that site seekers would get house sites if they make their applications for the purpose; that this has been done to extract funds from the applicants; that the Members of the MUDA have already been favoured with an assurance that they would have a right to distribute 50 to 100 sites each; that the first respondent is governed by the Act; that the formation of the layouts cannot be made without following the provisions of the Act; that no Rules have been framed under the Act; that the State Government has directed the MUDA to follow the Rules comprised in Bangalore Development Authority (Allotment of Sites) Rules 1984 for the purpose of allotment of sites; that there has not been any acquisition on lands for the alleged schemes in various places as stated in the impugned Notification dated 9.1.1992; therefore, the act of calling for applications for allotment of over 16,000 house silos without acquisition of lands and without formation of layouts is nothing but a fraud and smacks of high level corruption; that after getting the allotment list released through the then Chief Minister on 19th May 1992, the 2nd respondent had persuaded all the members of the MUDA to co-operate with the Scheme by taking 50 to 100 sites for themselves, which would be distributed to such of the people identified by such members; that this is nothing but offering bribe to the members of the MUDA by enabling them to collect money for themselves and distribute house sites; that the 2nd respondent has already collected crores of Rupees in this fashion by way of kick-backs and also helped several members who are ready to follow his foot-steps to collect several lakhs of Rupees for their personal benefits; that without forming a layout and identifying the sites, respondent 1 and 2 have proceeded to mislead the people and collected the amount; that by this process, respondent No. 1 would succeed in collecting enormous amount of money at the cost of the general public and escape, which will spell disaster both to the public interest and to the State exchequer; that the provisional selection list consists of the names of several persons who own building sites and are not eligible for allotment of sites; that the entire list was prepared by the 2nd respondent himself and released to the public through the then Chief Minister of Karnataka without even getting approval of the MUDA: that the MUDA is blindly submitting to the dictates of the 2nd respondent for the simple reason that the 2nd respondent, for all practical purposes, is wielding all the powers of the Chief Minister of Karnataka; that it is the MUDA that should offer house sites in such extension or layouts formed for allotment of sites to the persons eligible for allotment; that the 2nd respondent is not the MUDA; that the 2nd respondent has exceeded the authority and is trying to exercise the jurisdiction not vested in him; that without acquisition of land and without forming layout, no steps for calling for application for allotment of sites can be taken; and as far as the entire action of the respondents 1 and 2 is concerned it is opposed to the provisions of the Act.

9. In Writ Petitions Nos.2855 to 2858 of 1992(LB), the MUDA had filed an Application (I.A.No. I) dated 25.2.1992 for vacating the interim order passed in the Writ Petitions. In that, the MUDA had stated its complete defence and also produced seven documents, which were marked as Annexures R-1 to R-7. Annexure R-1 is the invitation of the 16th Annual General Meeting of Madhuvana Griha Nirmaria Sahakara Sangh Ltd. Annexures R2 to R4 are the lists of land owners to whom the amounts were stated to have been paid pursuant to agreement of sale. Annexure - R6 is the communication from the Superintending Engineer (Elec.) Mysore Circle, Mysore, to the Commissioner, MUDA, stating that the K.E.B. would make arrangements for supply of electrical energy to the newly formed layouts after duly preparing estimates, obtaining competent sanction and establishing 66 KVB Sub-stations, as contemplated in the master plan of Mysore City for different layouts. Annexure-R6 is the list of the areas coming under the four Development Schemes in question. Annexure-R7 is the letter dated 17th July 1991 written by the State Government to the Commissioners of all Urban Development Authorities in the State to follow the Bangalore Development Authority Rules. In that application, the very locus standi of the petitioner to challenge the proceeding in question, was questioned. It has been specifically stated that more than fifty thousand applications are pending for consideration for allotment of sites; that the MUDA has taken up the formation of layout work on a war footing basis by entrusting the layout formation work to nearly 350 contractors on piece work basis; that the MUDA notified the Scheme under Section 16 in respect of these layouts; that MUDA would need three months' time to verify the particulars of the applicants' eligibility and their bona fides; that this work of verification is in progress; that by the time the MUDA finalises the list of eligible applicants for allotment of sites, complete formation of layouts with all facilities such as, water supply, sewerage, lighting etc., would be completed, that the City of Mysore Improvement (Allotment of Sites) Rules 1972, as claimed by the petitioners, are not applicable to the allotment of sites in question, as those Rules are no longer in force; that the inviting of applications and formation of layouts can go hand in hand to save time and to avoid delay in distribution of sites; that pending finalisation of the Rules, the State Government has directed all the Urban Development Authorities to follow the Bangalore Development Authority (Allotment of Sites) Rules which are in force; that there is no basis in the allegation that the collection of registration fee and earnest money deposit by the MUDA is to exploit the gullible people by holding out that sites would be allotted in future; that MUDA is not violating any rules or regulations; that Clause 6 in the impugned Notification (Annexure-D) contemplates refund of deposits in case the distribution of sites stalled for whatever reasons such as Government direction, Court order etc., that the MUDA has no motive to enrich itself as alleged by the petitioners. On the other hand, the MUDA has come forward to take up distribution programme on a crash programme basis and see that the sites are allotted to the citizens/applicants in a reasonable time on 'no loss no profit' basis; that the MUDA is not transgressing the law and in this process it has not caused incalculable injury to the interest of the public, that the petitioners are only espousing the cause of vested interests on the guise of serving public interest; that nearly 1806 acres of land is covered under the Scheme; that under Section 35 of the Act, MUDA is entitled to purchase lands by entering into agreement with the owners of the lands; that by its Resolution, MUDA intended to purchase lands by offering Rs. 50,000/- per acre; that out of 1806 acres covering all the Schemes, the MUDA is able to purchase 502 acres by paying Rs. 2,51,18,125/- to the land owners; that it has taken possession of the said extent; that the negotiations to purchase the remaining portions of the lands are in progress and that the MUDA is processing the documents relating to 300-400 acres of lands which would be completed in another one week; that MUDA will be in possession of more than 800 acres out of the notified extent of lands; that this would enable MUDA to form sites; that the acquisition in respect of the remaining portion of land is in progress; that MUDA would be in a position to complete the land acquisition proceedings in two weeks time; that in the meanwhile the owners of the lands are coming forward with their willingness to transfer the lands and have offered to submit the original documents relating to the lands so that the process of getting compensation would be speeded up; that there is incentive scheme of the Authority of offering certain number of sites to the land owners depending upon the extent of the land, the land owners lose, at concessional rate and Rs. 50,000/- is offered for one acre; that there is tremendous pressure on the MUDA by the land owners to take possession of the lands; that the MUDA expects that there may not be any problem for acquiring the lands because the land owners themselves have come forward to surrender the lands by accepting the amount of Rs. 50,000/- per acre, which they may not get if the lands are to be acquired as per the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, and it would take years and years, to complete the acquisition.

10. In the application - I.A.IV filed on 14th August 1992 in the Writ Appeals for vacating interim order, the respondents have specifically stated that the MUDA in discharge of its statutory functions and duties, has drawn up the Development Schemes in respect of (1) Vijayanagar 4th Stage, 1st Phase (Hinkal); (2) Vijayanagar 4th Stage, 2nd Phase (Basavanahalli); (3) Vijayanagar 4th Stage, 3rd Phase (Hinkai); (4) Sri S.Bangarappa Nagar 1st Phase (Dattagalli 3rd Stage); and (5) Nanjangud Extension; that the notification under Section 17 of the Act is issued; that the Government has accorded sanction under Section 18 of the Act; that by its publication dated 9.1.1992, MUDA has called for applications for allotment of sites from general public; that MUDA can acquire the land by entering into agreements with the owners of the land under the provisions of the Act, therefore, it resolved to purchase the lands by agreement by offering Rs. 50,000/- per acre; that the MUDA has not taken up any further steps in respect of Nanjangud Layout in view of the order passed in the Writ Petitions; that the owners of the land have voluntarily come forward ,to hand over possession of the land by accepting the offer of Rs. 50,000/- per acre and one site at half rate; that the MUDA has already taken possession of 1220 acres of land out of 1806 acres pertaining to the aforesaid Schemes other than Nanjangud layout.