1

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

(CIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION)
Writ Petition (Civil) No 204 of 2014
PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION

IN THE MATTER OF:

1. COMMON CAUSE
THROUGH ITS DIRECTOR
5, INSTITUTIONAL AREA
NELSON MANDELA ROAD
VASANT KUNJ, NEW DELHI-110070
… PETITIONER NO. 1

2. CENTRE FOR PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION

THROUGH ITS
GENERAL SECRETARY
43, LAWYER’S CHAMBERS,
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA,
NEW DELHI-110001
…PETITIONER NO. 2
VERSUS
1. UNION OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
SOUTH BLOCK,NEW DELHI,110011
.. RESPONDENT NO. 1
2. DIRECTOR GENERAL
DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF DEFENCE ESTATES,
RAKSHA SAMPADA BHAWAN
ULAANBAATAR MARG, DELHI CANTT.
NEW DELHI- 110010
.. RESPONDENT NO. 2

3. CENTRAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

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THROUGH ITS DIRECTOR

CGO COMPLEX, LODHI ROAD
NEW DELHI-110003
.. RESPONDENT NO. 3

A WRIT PETITION IN PUBLIC INTEREST UNDER ARTICLE 32 OF THE

CONSTITUTION OF INDIA SEEKING A COURT-MONITORED CBI
INVESTIGATION INTO THE ILLEGALITIES AND IRREGULARITIES IN THE
MANAGEMENT OF DEFENCE LANDS, CONSTITUTION OF AN INDEPENDENT
TASK FORCE FOR COMPREHENSIVE AUDIT OF DEFENCE LANDS, RECOVERY
OF DEFENCE LANDS UNDER ENCROACHMENT AND REPARATION OF LOSSES
OCCASIONED TO PUBLIC EXCHEQUER ON ACCOUNT OF THEIR
UNAUTHORIZED AND COMMERCIAL USE, APPOINTMENT OF AN EXPERT
COMMITTEE FOR RECOMMENDING SYSTEMIC REFORM IN MANAGEMENT OF
DEFENCE LANDS AND DIRECTION TO UOI TO TAKE OVER DEFENCE LAND
BEING COMMERCIALLY EXPLOITED OR UNDER UNAUTHORIZED USE OF
PRIVATE PARTIES AND ENSURE THAT THE REVENUE GENERATED FROM
SUCH USE IS ACCOUNTED TO THE CONSOLIDATED FUNDS OF INDIA.

To,

THE HON’BLE CHIEF JUSTICE OF INDIA AND HIS COMPANION

JUDGES OF THE HON’BLE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

The Humble Petition of the

Petitioners above-named
MOST RESPECTFULLY SHOWETH: -

1. The Petitioners are filing the instant Writ Petition in public interest

under Article 32 of the Constitution of India seeking urgent

judicial intervention to remedy the rampant erosion of the national

assets constituted by the lands under the charge of the Defence

Ministry and to curb the enormous loss to the public exchequer

caused by the pervasive malpractices, corruption, irregularities

and illegalities in their management. It is submitted that the

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Ministry of Defence is the biggest landholder in the country with a

holding of 17.31 lakh acres, out of which approximately 1.57 lakh

acres are situated within the 62 notified Cantonments and about

15.96 lakh acres are outside these Cantonments. When these

Cantonments and military stations were planned, they were

usually far removed from the towns. With growing urbanization

and consequent pressure on land, much of the Defence holding

both inside and outside Cantonments is now prime real estate.

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has through

a series of reports submitted on the issue pointed out glaring

instances of irregularities and illegalities in the management of

defence lands, resulting in huge losses to the public exchequer.

A Performance Audit was conducted by CAG relating to Ministry

of Defence (Report No. 35 of 2010-11) covering a period of five

years from 2004-05 to 2008-09. Some of the important findings of

the Audit are:

 By applying the Ministry’s norms of 1991 to 39 existing

stations, Audit found out excess land holding measuring

81,814.82 acres;

 Large scale errors in the land calculation sheets made

available by the LMAs (Local Military Authorities) and in the

land records of DEOs (Defence Estate Officers) pertaining to

A-1 lands;

 Computerization of Defence land records under the project

‘Raksha Bhoomi’ is far from satisfactory;

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 Delay in timely mutation of lands in favour of the Ministry of

Defence. The period of acquired land awaiting mutation

ranges from 1 year to over 60 years;

 The land audit cell of the office of the DGDE submitted its first

report in September 1995 reflecting misutilization and non-

utilization of Defence land and buildings. Army HQ, however,

suggested to the Ministry to amend the land rules before

continuation of land audit. While the Ministry did not formally

discontinue land audit and asked DGDE in January 2002 to

submit a report on the preliminary audit of Defence land

holdings, DGDE allowed the mechanism of land audit to lapse;

 Exploiting Defence land commercially crediting the revenue to

Regimental Fund;

 Increase in encroachment of defence land from 6,903 acres in

January 1997 to 14,539.38 acres in July 2009 due to failure of

DGDE, entrusted with its Management;

 Unauthorized use of Defence land for Golf Courses and

revenue generated from them credited to Regimental fund and

not to Government account; and

 Dismal state of management of leases as there is no

monitoring mechanism for timely renewal of leases.

It is submitted that the abovesaid points highlighted by the CAG

indicate that there is complete lack of accountability and

transparency in the use and management of the Defence land,

occasioning a huge loss to the public exchequer. Despite all such

reports divulging serious illegalities and irregularities, very little or

nothing has been done to ameliorate the dismal state of affairs,

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resulting in pervasive corruption and land scams. It is further

submitted that the unchecked mismanagement of defence land

amounts to a violation of the doctrine of public trust, Article 14

and Article 21 of the Constitution.

1A. The Petitioner (s) have not made any representation to the

authorities/Respondents for the concerned reliefs. However, the

issues raised herein have been in public domain through various

reports submitted by the CAG and Parliamentary Standing

Committees.

2. THE PETITIONERS

a) Petitioner No. 1, Common Cause, is a registered society (Reg.

No. S/11017). The Society was founded in 1980 by late Shri

H. D. Shourie for the express purpose of ventilating the

common problems of the people and securing their resolution.

It has brought before this Hon’ble Court various Constitutional

and other important issues and has established its reputation

as a bona fide public interest organization fighting for an

accountable, transparent and corruption-free system. Shri

Kamal Kant Jaswal, Director of Common Cause and a former

Secretary to the Government of India, is authorized to file this

PIL. The requisite Certificate & Authority Letter are filed along

with the vakalatnama.

b) That the petitioner No. 2 is a registered society formed for the

purpose of taking up causes of grave public interest and

conducting public interest litigation in an organized manner. Its

founder President was the late Shri V.M. Tarkunde and

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founder members comprise several senior advocates,

including S/Shri Fali S. Nariman, Shanti Bhushan, Anil Divan,

Rajinder Sachar, Colin Gonsalves, among others. Sushri

Kamini Jaiswal is the General Secretary of the petitioner and

is authorized to institute the present petition on its behalf. The

requisite certificate and authority letter are filed with the

Vakalatnama. The petitioner No. 2 has filed several notable

PILs in the past in the Hon’ble Supreme Court and in the High

Court of Delhi.

3. THE RESPONDENTS:

a) Respondent No.1 is the Ministry of Defence, Union of India,

which is the titular holder of the most of the defence land.

b) Respondent No.2 is the office of Directorate General,

Defence Estates and is responsible for framing of policies

and instructions qua all defence land matters and also

ensures their implementations.

c) Respondent No. 3 is the Central Bureau of Investigation

which derives its powers from the Delhi Special Police

Establishment Act, 1946.

THE CASE IN BRIEF

4. The authority responsible for control, custody and

management of the Defence land is either the Ministry of

Defence, or in case of land in active occupation of the Forces

and allied services, the services concerned which hold that

land. In the Ministry, the responsibility for management of land

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rests with the Directorate General of Defence Estates

(hereinafter referred to as DGDE in short), which is an inter-

service organization under the Ministry of Defence. The DGDE

helps in framing of policies and instructions on all land matters

and also ensures their implementations. The following

amongst others are the functions and duties of DGDE;

a. Resumption of certain class of defence lands with or

without buildings situated in Cantonments.

b. Mutation of Old Grant/ Lease-hold properties.

c. Conversion of Old Grant/ Lease-hold properties situated in

Civil area/ Bazar areas of cantonment into freehold.

d. Transfer/ Disposal of surplus camping Grounds/

Abandoned Air Fields.

e. Disposal of usufructs on Defence land.

f. Reclassification of Land.

g. Renewal of Leases/ Licences.

h. Grant of Fresh Leases.

i. Permission for sanction of building plans on lease-hold

properties.

j. Grant of temporary license for organizing exhibition, etc. on

vacant defence land.

k. Prevention, detection and removal of encroachments.

l. Licensing of sites for advertisement, hoardings on defence

lands.
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5. That the DGDE has its offices in various parts of the country.

These offices are headed by six Principal Directors/ Directors

Defence Estates (PDDEs/ DDEs) at six Army Commands.

Under the Principal Directors/ Directors Defence Estates, 40

Defence Estates Officers (DEOs)/ Assistant Defence Estate

Officers (ADEOs) throughout the country are responsible for

maintaining land records and managing such land including

mutation of all land both inside and outside Cantonments.

6. The following is the Classification of defence land inside a

Cantonment area:

Classific Land Description Managed by

ation
A1 In active occupation of the Local Military
Forces and allied services. Authorities of the
Service concerned.
A2 Vacant land which must not Defence Estates
be built upon due to specific Officer.
military reasons.
B1 Land owned by the Ministry The Ministry
but in occupation of any other concerned in
Ministry of the Central occupation of land.
Government.
B2 Land owned by the Ministry State Government
but under the control of the
State Government. concerned in
occupationof land.
B3 Land held by private persons Defence Estates
under Old Grant terms, Officer.
leases etc. under which the
Central Governmentreserved
or have reserved to
themselves the proprietary
rights in the land.
B4 Land which does not fall Defence Estates
under any other class Officer.
mentioned above.
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C Land vested in a Cantonment Cantonment Board

Boardfor Municipal or other
public purposes.

7. That time and again various audit reports submitted by the

CAG have specifically pointed out misuse, sale and illegal

appropriation of the revenue received from Defence land by

Defence Estate Officers in collusion with land sharks and other

private parties.

8. That the Report No.7 of 2000 (Air Force and Navy) submitted

by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India in paragraph

28 noted as under;

“28. Non-recovery of dues from commercial run club

occupying prime Defence land:-

The Ordnance Club Calcutta has been running as a

lucrative commercial establishment. Ground rent at Rs

33 lakh per annum, worked out by Director of Defence

Estates Calcutta, remains unrealised for want of decision

by Director General Defence Estates since 1996.

Ordnance club has been paying Rs 10 as rent for 1.42

acres land used for commercial purpose.”

The CAG report further found that the Defence Estate

authorities recommended rent at Rs. 23.20 lakh per acre and

the arrears of land remained unrealized for want of decision on

the part of Directorate General Defence Estates (DGDE). It

was also noted that Defence Estates officer (DEO), Calcutta

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carried out joint measurement and found that the actual area

under occupation of the club was 1.765 acres in place of 1.42

acres, as known earlier.

A true copy of the relevant extracts of Report No.7 of 2000 (Air

Force and Navy) submitted by the Comptroller and Auditor

General of India is annexed hereto and marked as

ANNEXURE P-1.

9. That the Report No. 7 of 2001 submitted by the CAG in

paragraphs 24, 25, 26 & 27 pointed out specific instances of

unauthorized use of defence land by a club at Mumbai for

commercial purpose in connivance with the local authorities

and without sanction of the Government (Ministry of Defence).

The report found that the said club had encroached upon

53.50 acres of land and 21 buildings. Moreover, the Defence

Estate Office estimated the annual rent of land as Rs. 2.73

crore whereas the club was paying a meager amount of Rs.

0.36 lakh per annum. The report also pointed out that the

Army Head Quarter and lower formation Headquarters have

been misusing their delegated powers to extend undue

benefits to a private society by way of making defence

buildings habitable at a cost of Rs 60 lakh and deputing Army

Officers and other personnel for setting up of a dental college.

The report revealed the hiring of buildings by Defence Estates

Officer from unauthorized parties. In one instance, DEO

obtained sanction for enhancement of rent from Ministry of

Defence by suppressing facts. Further, grossly misusing

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delegated powers, Headquarter, Western Command

sanctioned repairs and modifications to surplus buildings to be

used by a private society illegally to confer undue benefit on

the private society.

A true copy of the relevant extracts of Report No. 7 of 2001

submitted by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India is

annexed hereto and marked as ANNEXURE P-2.

10. That the Report No. 7 of 2004 submitted by the CAG

noted as under;

“In violation of Government orders, revenue amounting

to Rs 1.77 crore realised by certain IAF units during

January 2001-March 2003 was not credited to

Government account.

The Government issued orders in January 2001 on

realisation of revenue from shopping complexes on

Defence land stipulating, inter alia, that (i) in respect of

commercial complexes created by re-appropriation of

Government buildings and also those created by using

both non-public funds and by re-appropriation of

Government buildings (i.e. mixed complexes), 100 per

cent of the net revenue realised would be credited to the

Government Treasury; (ii) in respect of commercial

complexes constructed on Government land using non-

public funds, 50 per cent of net revenue would be

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credited to regimental funds and 50 per cent to the

Government Treasury.

Audit, however, noticed that contrary to the said

Government orders, the entire revenue of Rs 1.88 crore

(Units under HQ WAC (Rs 1.57 crore), Units under HQ

TC (Rs 0.30 crore), and units under HQ SWAC (Rs 0.01

crore) crore, realised by 19 Indian Air Force (IAF) Units

under HQ WAC (during the period from January 2001 to

March 2003, was credited to the PSI fund (Unit run

President’s Service Institute Fund), a non-public fund

instead of only Rs 11 lakh, which was required to be

credited. Non-compliance of the Government orders by

IAF deprived the Government of revenue amounting to

Rs 1.77 crore.”

A true copy of the relevant extracts of the Report No. 7 of

2004 submitted by the CAG is annexed hereto and marked as

ANNEXURE P-3.

11. That the Report No. 6 of 2005 (Defence Services) disclosed

as under;

“3.4 Non-removal of encroachment and non-levy of

damages Due to inaction of Defence Estates Officer,

Allahabad and Cantonment Executive Officer, Varanasi,

three acres of Defence Land valued at Rs 3.72 crore had

been encroached upon and is being exploited

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commercially. The damages to the extent of Rs 97.53

lakh till March 2004 were not levied.

Defence Estates Officers (DEOs) are responsible for

prevention and removal of encroachment of land under

their management. They are also responsible for

assessing and levying damages for unauthorised

occupation of any public premises and land. A bungalow

constructed on defence land covering an area of 6.92

acres at Varanasi Cantonment was held under old grant

terms since 1964. The land was under the management

of DEO, Allahabad. In November-December 1996, the

legal heirs of the bungalow unauthorisedly rented three

acres of the adjoining land valued at Rs 3.72 crore to

Varanasi Motors for storage and parking of vehicles. In

addition, Varanasi Motors also constructed unauthorized

structures for residential use. In February, 1997,

Cantonment Board issued notice for demolition of the

structures under Section 185 of the Cantonment Act

1924. An appeal was filed by the offender against the

notice. The Director of Defence Estates, Central

Command Lucknow held in October, 1997 that it was a

prima-facie case of encroachment on Government land

and did not grant the stay sought for.

Despite these orders of October 1997, the defence land

encroached by Varanasi Motors in 1996 continued to be

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under their possession and exploited for commercial

purposes. The damages from October, 1997 to March,

2004 worked out to be Rs 97.53 lakh which was not

levied till date.

3.5 Unauthorised establishment of School:

Station Commander, Varanasi, not only re-appropriated

two Government buildings in August 2001 for

unauthorisedly opening an Army School under the aegis

of Army Welfare Education Society but also allowed it to

construct a building on A-1 Defence land.

Cantonment Land Administrative Rules 1937 provides

that Class A(1) land in the Cantonment shall not be used

for any purpose other than active military use without the

previous sanction of the Central Government. The

Ministry of Defence in April 1993 and January 2001 also

issued instructions that its prior approval was required

for opening of any school in Government land/buildings.

Contrary to the Government instructions, the Station

Commander, Varanasi, re-appropriated two Government

buildings and two rooms in August 2001 for opening of

an Army School with effect from 1 April 2001 under the

aegis of Army Welfare Education Society (AWES), a

private body. The Station Commander also allowed

AWES in April 2001 to occupy two acres of A-1 defence

land costing Rs 2.48 crore adjacent to the school

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buildings, on which building costing Rs 27 lakh was

constructed.”

A true copy of the Report No. 6 of 2005 (Defence Services)

submitted by the CAG is annexed hereto and marked as

ANNEXURE P-4.

12. That Report No. 7 of 2005 (Air Force & Navy) submitted

by the CAG demonstrated as to how the Indian Navy

permitted running of professional institutions in Naval Bases

without proper authorisation. Moreover, revenues earned

through exploitation of government land and buildings were

retained in non-public funds. Naval authorities also levied

unduly low rents on these institutions.

A true copy of the relevant extracts of the Report No. 7 of

2005 (Air Force & Navy) submitted by the CAG is annexed

hereto and marked as ANNEXURE P-5.

13. That the Report bearing CA No. 17 of 2008-09 (Defence

Services) submitted by the CAG concluded as follows;

“3.4 Unauthorized use of A1 Defence land by Army

Welfare Education Society:

Army Welfare Education Society (AWES), a private

society, has been irregularly allowed to construct a

Medical College on 25.559 acres of A1 Defence land at

Delhi Cantonment without sanction of the Government of

India. Further, assessed rent of the land of Rs 27.61

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crore for the period September 2005 to October 2008

and premium of Rs 43.59 crore aggregating to Rs 71.20

crore was also not recovered from the AWES.

Cantonment Land Administration (CLA) Rules 1937

stipulate that class AI Defence Land shall not be used

or occupied for any purpose other than official

requirements of the Military authorities without the

previous sanction of the Central Government. No

alteration in the classification of Defence land shall be

made except by the Central Government.

3.5 Utilization of Government assets for non-

governmental purposes

There have been repeated instances of misuse of

Defence land, buildings and manpower for running the

activities of non-governmental organizations, in violation

of government instructions.

A. Misuse of Defence land and buildings

Ministry of Defence had issued instructions to the Army

authorities in October 2001 to adhere to the regulations

and not to re-appropriate Defence buildings for non-bona

fide use without the sanction of the Government. The

Ministry also cautioned that disciplinary action would be

taken against those flouting the said regulations.

Mention was also made in the Reports of the

Comptroller & Auditor General of India, Union

Government (Defence Services), Army and Ordnance

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Factories for the year ended March 2006 and 2007

about the misuse of Defence buildings for private

purposes by the local Army Commanders. Disregarding

the above instructions, Station Commanders of three

stations re-appropriated Defence buildings/ land for

private use.

A true copy of the relevant extracts of Report bearing CA No.

17 of 2008-09 (Defence Services) submitted by the CAG is

annexed hereto and marked as ANNEXURE P-6.

14. That in year, 2010, the review of defence land and the

DGDE was carried out by the Controller General Defence

Accounts (hereinafter referred to as CGDA in short) at the

request of Ministry of Defence with a view to assessing the

reasons behind the massive irregularities and large number of

disputes concerning the management of defence land. The

CGDA, in its report submitted to the Ministry of Defence in

May, 2010, indicted the DGDE for widespread irregularities in

the department and its failure to manage the huge land bank

in possession of the Services.

A true copy of report submitted by the Controller General

Defence Accounts to the Ministry of Defence in 2010 is

annexed hereto and marked as ANNEXURE P-7.

15. In the wake of infamous Sukna and Adarsh Society Land

Scams, the Parliamentary Standing Committee in its Ninth

Report expressing serious concerns qua non-compliance with

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its earlier recommendations made in its Sixth report, noted as

under;

“20. The Committee disapproves the way the Ministry

has tried to sidetrack one of their important

recommendations for having an independent regulator

for defence land. Even when various land scams such

as, Sukna Land Scam and Adarsh Housing Scam are

being reported, the Ministry considers the existing

framework as adequate for management of defence

land. The Committee strongly emphasize that reporting

of such land scams affects the overall image of the

armed forces and as such there is an urgent need to

look into the issues related to management of defence

land. As such, the Committee would like to reiterate their

earlier recommendation to have an independent

regulator in this regard. An urgent action should be taken

and the Committee apprised accordingly.”

A true copy of the report of Standing Committee on Action

Taken by the Government on the recommendations/

observations contained in the Sixth Report on Demands for

Grants of the Ministry of Defence for the year 2010-2011 is

annexed hereto and marked as ANNEXURE P-8.

16. That Report No. 24 of 2010-11 (Defence Services)

submitted by the CAG pointed out Irregular de-hiring of

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house constructed on leased land in Para 3.4 of the

Report. It states,

“Chief of Staff, Southern Command in January 2006 accorded

sanction for de-hiring of a house hired prior to March 1976

although the powers for de-hiring in such cases were vested

with the Ministry of Defence. This enabled the lessee to

transfer the leasehold rights of 1.14 acres of Defence land

valuing Rs. 2.77 crore to a private party for possible

commercial exploitation of the land without any cost to the

private party…….”

A true copy of the relevant extracts of the Report No. 24 of

2010-11 (Defence Services) submitted by the CAG is annexed

hereto and marked as ANNEXURE P-9.

17. A performance audit of the Defence Estates

Management was undertaken by CAG and was reported in its

Performance Audit Report of Defence Estate Management

(Report 35 of 2010-2011). The performance audit was to

examine whether:

 Projection of requirement of defence land was accurate

as per norms and was based on reliable data and

utilization of land was prudent and effective;

 Land not required for immediate use was put temporarily

to some other constructive use including giving it on

lease and leased properties had been managed

efficiently and effectively;

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 Old Grant Bungalows were managed in accordance with

existing orders;

 Management of hiring/ acquisition/ requisition of land

was done judiciously and within the ambit of extant

provisions;

 The resources available with the DGDE and its

subordinate offices to manage such a vast expanse of

defence land were adequate and managed efficiently,

and monitoring mechanisms aided the higher

management in smooth and effective management of

defence land; and

 Adequate steps were taken to prevent encroachments

and eviction of encroached land.

The Report provided a detailed description of the gross

mismanagement of defence land causing huge loss to the

public exchequer. It pointed out the following irregularities and

illegalities:

I) Surplus land:

a) Lacunae in application of land norms; (Paragraph 2.2)

39 existing stations held excess land admeasuring

81,814.82 acres as per norms of requirement of land

laid down by Ministry of Defence in 1972 and 1991.

b) Non utilization / under utilization of acquired land;

(Paragraph 3.2): According to the reports obtained by

the DGDE at the instance of Parliamentary Standing

Committee on Defence, 58,529 acres of acquired land

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was lying vacant. Out of this, 49,831 acres of land

acquired between 1905 and 1990 was lying vacant

since its acquisition. In addition, an area of 5107 acres

of land was found as permanently surplus and 1661

acres of land as temporarily surplus in Central and

South Western Commands.

c) Lack of action on abandoned land; (Paragraph 3.5):

An area of 25,888.81 acres of Abandoned Airfields

(AAFs) and Camping Grounds (CGs) in five

Commands was lying surplus to the need of the armed

forces since 1980. It had neither been disposed of, nor

put to any alternative use. 7,499.39 acres had been

encroached upon. The encroachment on such land in

all the Commands varied between 16.10 per cent and

38.96 per cent.

II) Large scale discrepancies in land records maintained

by land estates officers (DEOs) (Paragraph 2.3); Land

records maintained by the Defence Estates Officers (DEOs)

are the basic documents for managing the land. Audit

scrutiny indicated large scale discrepancies in the figures of

A1 land as mentioned in land calculation sheets prepared

by Local Military Authorities (LMAs) for the purpose of local

management of land and that in the records of the DEOs

who are responsible for keeping land records of A1 land in

General Land Register and Military Land Register.

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III) Failure in timely mutation of land in favour of the

Ministry of Defence; (Paragraph 2.5): An analysis of the

details of mutation maintained by 20 DEOs showed that a

large part of the acquired land was awaiting mutation for

periods ranging from 1 year to over 60 years. The analysis

also indicated that out of 5.90 lakh acres of land held on the

records of 11 DEOs in 6 Commands, 0.79 lakh acres

(13.39 per cent) were not mutated in favour of the Ministry.

IV) Lack of internal management to identify

mismanagement of defence land; (Paragraph 3.1): In

order to assess the extent/efficiency of use of Defence land

by the User Organisations and to rationalize and maximize

the use of existing land holdings for Defence purposes, the

Ministry of Defence in December, 1992 instructed the

Director General Defence Estates (DGDE) to conduct land

audit with primary focus on the existing land use vis-à-vis

land holdings and specific requirements. The land audit cell

of the office of the DGDE submitted its first report in

September, 1995 in respect of selected locations which

brought out many irregularities. While the Ministry did not

formally discontinue land audit and indeed asked DGDE in

January, 2002 to submit a report on the preliminary audit of

Defence land holdings, DGDE allowed the system of land

audit to fall into disuse. Thus, an important internal

mechanism to expose the mismanagement of Defence land

was allowed to lapse.

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V) Commercial exploitation of defence land; (Paragraph

3.4): Instances of exploiting Defence land commercially and

allowing shopping complexes, etc. to function on such

government land have been reported in various earlier

Audit Reports of the CAG. Commercial exploitation of

Defence land often turns very opaque as revenue

generated by such exercise is credited to non-public funds

(Regimental Funds) instead of the public exchequer. The

current review by Audit indicated that the practice of

allowing Shopping Complexes on Defence land and

crediting the revenue to Regimental Funds continues

unabated.

VI)Encroachment on defence land; (Paragraph 3.6) : No

concrete action for preventing encroachment of land had

been taken by Army authorities and Defence Estates

Organization. The area of encroachment of Defence land

had increased from 6,903 acres in January, 1997 to

14,539.38 acres in July, 2009.

VII) Unauthorized use of defence land by Golf Courses;

(Paragraph 3.8.1): Scales of Accommodation for Defence

Services do not include Golf as an authorized activity. Golf

grounds and attendant activities cannot be considered as

military activities and hence A1 land cannot be used for

Golf Courses. However, as of August, 2009, there were 97

such Golf Courses under the Army. The total area of 79 of

these Golf Courses was 8,076.94 acres. The Golf Courses

were being operated by Army Zone Golf, a private

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registered body. The members of the Course were not only

service personnel but ex-servicemen, civilians and foreign

nationals as well. The membership of golf clubs was

granted on payment of the prescribed fee at different rates

for individual members and life members. Revenues so

generated are not credited to Government account and are

presumably credited to non public funds.

VIII) Use of Parks / Clubs on defence land for commercial

purposes; (Paragraph 3.8.2): In four stations (Agra,

Lucknow, Pune and Secunderabad) in Central and

Southern Commands, 122.58 acres of Defence land had

been leased out to various clubs at nominal rates. Land

was being utilised for unauthorised commercial purposes

like marriages, parties, exhibitions, etc.

IX)Defence land and building in Commercial use by

private parties; (Paragraph 3.9): Seven Defence buildings

involving an area of 1.81 acres at Bangalore under the

custody, control and management of LMA had been used

for non-defence purposes since 1994-95, such as Institute

of Hotel Management, Girls and Boys Hostel, etc., without

the sanction of the Ministry of Defence.

X) Dismal state of management of leases; (Paragraph 4.1)

As of March, 2010, 2500 acres of land with an estimated

value of Rs. 11,033 crore was on lease for an annual rent

of Rs. 2.13 crore, which is negligible given the present

market value of the land. There was no progress in the

 25

renewal of 3780 leases. Requests for renewal were

received only in 899 cases. In 1800 cases, where no

requests for renewal were received, the cases had not

been pursued for the eviction of the lessees. In respect of

the remaining 1081 cases, the status was not clearly

known.

XI)Loss due to delay in fixation / non recovery of rent from

private parties; (Paragraph 4.4) : Non-revision of rent in

accordance with the Government policy from land leased

out to construct Hotel Clark Shiraz in Agra Cantonment on

5.68 acres of Defence resulted in loss of Rs. 8.08 crore for

the period between 2001-2002 to 2008-2009.

XII) Irregularities in management of Old Grant

Bungalows; (Paragraph 5.2) In contravention of the land

policy of 1995 of the Ministry, in five Army Commands

involving 29 stations under 16 DEOs, unauthorized

construction was carried out in 134 Old Grant Bungalows

(OGBs.) As many as 224 OGBs covering an area of 496.98

acres were being used for running educational institutions

in an unauthorized manner.

A copy of the CAG’s Performance Audit Report on Defence

Estate Management (Report 35 of 2010-2011) is annexed

herewith as ANNEXURE P-10

18. That the report No. 11 of 2011-12 of the Comptroller and

Auditor General of India (Defence Services) for the year ended

 26

March, 2011 on Adarsh Co-operative Housing Society scam

revealed as to how a group of select officials placed in key

posts could subvert the rules and regulations in order to grab

prime government (defence) land for personal benefit. The

report found that, in the name of welfare of servicemen and

their widows and children, top military officials in connivance

with the authorities of the Government of Maharshtra resorted

to falsification of records, suppression of facts, and flagrant

violation of the relevant Acts and Rules. The Report revealed

that while on the one hand, the membership of the Co-

operative Housing Society kept expanding, on the other hand

junior service and civilian officers went out of the Society and

many senior service officers and public servants were

inducted as members. Thus, in the name of welfare of

servicemen and ex-servicemen, it was the select elite

belonging to Services and civilian administration, politicians

and individuals connected with them who benefited from

misappropriation of the public property.

A true copy of the relevant extract of report No. 11 of 2011-12

submitted by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India

(Defence Services) for the year ended March, 2011 on Adarsh

Co-operative Housing Society is annexed hereto and marked

as ANNEXURE P-11.

19. That CAG Report CA No. 16 of 2012-13 (Defence

Services) submitted before the Parliament on Defence Land

Scam on Kalpataru Kandivli Mumbai revealed as to how Army

 27

authorities relinquished the land admeasuring 5166 sq.m.

valued at Rs. 5.94 crore, which had been under their active

occupation since 1942, to a private company based on an

irregular NOC issued by DEO Mumbai. The Central Ordnance

Depot, Mumbai failed to get the land transferred in its favour

from the State Government authorities. The Army HQ, instead

of investigating and defending its case, allowed the company

to go ahead with the development work in the vicinity of

military establishments, compromising their security

(Paragraph 2.2).

A true copy of the relevant extracts of Report CA No. 16 of

2012-13 (Defence Services) submitted before the Parliament

on Defence Land Scam on Kalpataru Kandivli Mumbai by the

CAG is annexed hereto and marked as ANNEXURE P-12.

20. It is submitted that the prevalent mismanagement of

defense lands has been the reason of several infamous land

scams which have come into light recently, including Sukna

land scam, Adarsh Society land Scam, Jammu & Kashmir land

scam, Jodhpur land scam, Lohegaon, Pune land scam and

Kandivli, Mumbai land scam. In most defence land scams

unearthed over the past few years, Defence Estates officials

have been found to be hand-in-glove with army officials and

private developers. It may not be out of context to mention that

four Generals were indicted by an army court of inquiry in

December, 2009 for facilitating the transfer of 70 acres of land,

valued at Rs 300 crore, adjacent to Sukna military station in

 28

West Bengal to a Siliguri-based businessman. This is

indicative of the nexus between high level military officials,

private builders and the land mafia.

21. That the Public Accounts Committee, Lok Sabha in its

eighty ninth report dated 04.11.2013 on Defence Estates

Management, while noting the glaring illegalities, irregularities

and lacunae in the management of defence land as pointed

out by the CAG in its Performance Audit Report of Defence

Estate Management and the explanations rendered by the

concerned authorities, made detailed observations and

recommendations, which are reproduced below.

I. Lacunae in Application of Land Norms: The Committee is

dismayed to note that despite revising the norms over the

years i.e. in 1972, 1991 and 1992, the Ministry repeatedly

faltered in applying the norms for proper and judicious

management of the lands at its disposal. Further, the

Committee is of the considered opinion that for want of

effective institutional mechanism and stringent regulatory

procedures, precious Defence lands are bound to be

encroached upon, come under adverse possession or

surreptitious transfer as reported in the Sukhna and Kandivali

land transfers. In order to protect the precious Defence lands

from the preying eyes of the land mafia and to ensure that the

officers are not unwittingly embroiled in such avoidable

controversies, the Committee strongly and unreservedly feels

that the entire ambit of Defence lands record keeping,

 29

mutation, sale, transfer, lease, etc., should be bestowed upon

the DGDE so as to ensure accountability, transparency and

judicious use of Defence lands.

II. Variations in Records of Actual Land Holdings: The

Committee are deeply concerned with the large scale

discrepancies found between the figures of A-1 lands

furnished by the Local Military Authorities (LMAs) and the

Defence Estates Officers (DEOs) who keep the records in

General Land Register (GLR) and Military Land Register

(MLR). The Committee also find that out of 25 stations in four

Army Commands, between the LMAs and DEOs, the land

area in the records of LMAs in respect of nine stations was

higher by 12769.86 acres i.e., 46.9% and in the remaining 16

stations less by 9,427.77 acres i.e., 23.36%. The Committee

is unable to accept the explanation furnished by the Ministry

that discrepancies between the records of LMAs and DEOs

could be due to occupying units move-out & new units move-

in without the knowledge of the DEOs and possibly without

proper handing/taking over of land records between

themselves. The Committee views both DEOs and LMAs

responsible for inept handling of valuable land records, failure

to conduct regular inspections and reconciliation of land

record. The Committee, therefore, recommend that the

Ministry take immediate steps to make it mandatory for DEOs

to periodically inspect the land records maintained by the

LMAs and take swift and stringent corrective measures.

Taking serious note of the wide discrepancies ranging up to

 30

46.9 per cent in land records, the Committee further

recommends that the comprehensive survey of all Defence

lands be completed within a definite time period and the

Committee be apprised of. The Committee also recommends

that an effective E-system be also created expeditiously by

which the records maintained by LMAs are integrated and the

data shared on real-time basis with the DEOs/DGDE/Ministry.

III. Computerisation of Defence Land Records: The Committee

was informed that the computerization of Defence land

records under the project "Raksha Bhoomi" has been

completed. However, the Committee noticed considerable

delay in completing the project and the reasons attributed for

the delay are (i) incompatibility of the newly purchased

hardware with the operating system, which led to

procurement of improvised software, (ii) lack of uniformity in

the GLRs maintained by DEOs, (iii) shortage of technical

staff, (iv) involvement of staff in disposal of other priority work

and (v) inordinate delays in mutation process. The Committee

observes that the avoidable delay in implementation of the

'Raksha Bhoomi' project was caused due to lack of effective

planning, execution and monitoring, resulting in purchase of

inappropriate hardware that was incompatible with the

operating system apart from shortage of staff - general and

technical, etc. The Committee, therefore, recommends that

responsibility be fixed for delay in computerization of Defence

lands and stringent action be taken against the responsible

for incompatible hardware. Also, finding that General Land

 31

Registers maintained by the DEOs differ from one State to

another, the Committee recommends that uniformity must be

maintained to make entries which should be followed by all

the DEOs throughout the country without fail and the

Committee apprised.

IV. Mutation of Defence Land: The Committee finds that a large

area of acquired land awaits mutation for a period ranging

from 1 year to 60 years. The Ministry in their written

submissions to the Committee highlighted the fact that the

mutation is to be carried out by State Government authorities

and most of the acquired lands have not been mutated in

favour of the Ministry as a result of which considerable

Defence lands have been encroached upon by private

persons and State Governments. The Committee notes with

concern the casual approach of the DEOs to an important

issue like mutation of Defence Land. It seems no serious

initiatives have been taken to expedite the mutation of land in

the Ministry's name in order to ensure their title and

ownership of the land.

V. Discontinuance of Land Audit by DGDE: The Committee finds

that the internal audit mechanism of Land Audit was

discontinued by the DGDE after its first audit report, which

brought out many irregularities in the management of Defence

lands, obviously due to the objections raised by the Army

Head Quarter. They also observe that the Quarter Master

General (QMG) suggested amendments to the land rules.

 32

The QMG also recommended that a land audit authority

presided by a Service Officer should be constituted for

carrying out the audit.

VI. Commercial Use of Land: The Committee observe that the

aspect of commercial use of Defence land and their mis-use

and non-crediting of income from these lands, and properties

into Government account have been repeatedly objected to

by Audit but no tangible action has been taken by the

Government to rectify the situation. The Committee deplores

the inability of the Ministry to check such irregular practices

and not directing the LMAs to deposit the proceeds into the

Government account. The Committee cannot brook any laxity

in the observance of financial rules and financial propriety and

therefore recommends that the Government take strict action

in this regard to safeguard the Government revenues. The

Committee also expects that the new policy for allowing

shopping complexes, if implemented transparently, would

bring substantial revenue to the public Exchequer. Further,

the Directorate of Defence Estates being the nodal agency,

should be furnished with complete details of management and

revenue generation from all Defence properties by the LMAs

which should be computerized and the Committee be

apprised of the procedure evolved in this regard for strict

compliance.

VII. Encroachment on Defence Land: The Committee is deeply

dismayed to note the unabated encroachments on Defence

land despite the repeated wake up calls given by the

 33

constitutional auditor. Worse, non-mutation of land records

and non-utilisation of vast tracts of Defence lands only

encouraged encroachment of Defence land which have

increased from 6,903 acres in January 1997 to 14,539.38

acres in July, 2009. The Committee observe that the

existence of multiple authorities like the DGDE and the LMAs

that look after management of Defence lands, have only

exacerbated the situation for want of clear demarcation of

responsibility. The Committee, therefore, recommends

creation of a single unified authority, which shall look into

management and protection of Defence lands, fast-track the

recovery of encroached lands and shall also be responsible

for monitoring & supervision of all field offices entrusted with

the responsibility to manage Defence lands and property.

VIII. Unauthorised Use of Defence Land for Golf and Other

Activities: The Committee note that the scales of

Accommodation for Defence Services do not include Golf as

an authorized activity and therefore, Golf cannot be

considered as a military activity. Under the Cantonment land

Administration Rules, 1937 the recreation grounds which are

not strictly reserved for the use of troops alone can't be used

for Golf Courses. The Committee is surprised to note that in

2004, Chief of the Army Staff declared Golf as a sports

activity and not only a recreational activity. He directed that

Golf Courses would be named as Army Environmental Park

and Training Area. Land used for these Army Environmental

Park and Training Area shall continue to be A-1 Defence land.

 34

He further directed that no commercial activity will be

undertaken on the Golf Courses such as sponsoring golf

tournaments by corporate entities. The Committee is shocked

to find that Defence authorities had been offering membership

of the Golf courses to civilians on payment basis so much so

that in places like Delhi even foreign diplomats were being

given membership and revenue generated from the civilian

membership was not being credited to Government account.

The Committee deplore the gross misuse of Golf Courses and

recommend that the entire policy of the Golf Courses be

revisited comprehensively, and appropriate remedial action

taken to ensure that the recreational facilities needed for the

Armed Forces are not misused/abused in any manner.

IX. Unauthorised Use of Defence Land for Parks and Clubs: The

Committee note that clubs and parks established for the

benefit of Defence personnel and their families are exploited

by civilians for organizing parties, marriages, exhibitions, etc.

Worse, the proceeds from such events are not being credited

to the Government account. There are instances of illegal

constructions on such parks. The Committee, would like the

Ministry of Defence to setup an enquiry in the matter so that

all encroachments and prohibited activities are detected and

stringent remedial action taken to prevent misuse/abuse of

Defence environmental parks/lands and the Committee be

apprised.
 35

X. Dismal State of Management of Leases: The Committee is

concerned to note that as of March 2010, 2500 acres of land

valuing ` 11,033 crore was on lease for an annual rent of Rs.

2.13 crore which is a pittance considering the market value of

the land. The Committee is shocked to note that no visible

efforts had been made to renew 3780 cases of lease renewal,

in 1800 cases no requests were received for lease renewal

and in 1081 cases the status of leases was unknown. The

Committee deplores the reply of the Ministry expressing their

inability to fix responsibility due to involvement of multiple

authorities.

XI. Irregularity in Management of Old Grant Sites: The

Committee notes that the largesse extended by the colonial

power has continued even after independence and worse, the

Old Grant Bungalow Sites (OGBS) were allowed to be kept

with some civilians. The mis-management of such Bungalows

has led to loss of Government revenue apart from

entanglement of Government in lots of avoidable litigations.

The Committee note that the Land Policy of 1982 and the

Revised Land Policy of 1995 have provisions for dealing with

such sites and resuming/leasing of such OGBS by the

Government, and no alteration of any kind are allowed on

such sites. However, the Committee finds large number of

unauthorized constructions, unauthorized sale/transfer is

happening right under the nose of the DEOs concerned. Also,

the Committee observes that various educational institutions

are being run illegally, thereby flouting all norms relating to

the management of OGBs and exposing apparent collusion

 36

between vested interests and the concerned authorities. The

Committee seeks reasons as to why 92 cases of resumption

involving 288.63 acres of land referred to the Ministry are

pending for sanction. The Committee would like to have a

complete status paper of all such OGBs, the land area, the

properties resumed and the properties awaiting sanction for

more than three months. Further, the Committee observes

that there has been obvious dereliction of duty by both DEOs

and LMAs in not ensuring strict compliance of the policy

directives. They, therefore, recommend stringent disciplinary

action against such Officers and the Committee apprised.

A true copy of the Eighty Ninth report dated 04.11.2013 submitted

by the Public Accounts Committee, Lok Sabha on Defence

Estates Management is annexed hereto and marked as

ANNEXURE P-13.

22. GROUNDS

That the present Writ Petition is being filed on the following

amongst other grounds;

A. That the crass mismanagement of defence lands is

intrinsically linked to irregularities, illegalities and corruption.

The fact that nearly 25 per cent of all defence lands has not

been 'mutated' or transferred in the name of the Defence

Estates Department facilitates encroachment and usurpation

of defence lands. It has been pointed by CAG that the

encroachment of defence land has increased from 6,903 acres

 37

in January 1997 to 14,539.38 acres in July 2009. This results

in a huge loss to public exchequer and a complete violation of

the rule of law, the doctrine of public trust and eventually,

Article 14 of the Constitution.

B. That the policy of non-declaration of surplus defence land

despite there being no existing or future need of such land

either by the services or the cantonments, militates against the

principle of transparency and accountability. It is apparent

from the fact that there has been no comprehensive internal

audit of land utilization by the defence accounts department.

An internal report of the Ministry of Defence has revealed the

lack of verifiable utilization records for at least 88 per cent of a

total of 17.3 lakh acres of prime land across the country.

C. That the urban population density across India has increased

manifold since Independence. The required expansion of the

administrative, social and institutional infrastructure has

severely been constrained by the unavailability of government

land. In this situation, the continued retention of huge tracts of

surplus land over and above the Defence Ministry’s own land

requirements norms is totally indefensible. There is no

justification for retention of such lands and buildings in the

name of an unspecified future defence purpose. In fact, the

land use norms for defence services and establishments,

which were fixed during an alien rule to awe and intimidate a

subject people, need to be rationalized in consultation with the

state governments keeping in mind the growing civilian

 38

requirements, so that both defence and civilian interests are

harmonized.

D. That the CAG in several reports has underlined huge losses to

the public exchequer on account of disposal of defence lands

by private parties, mutation of lesser areas of land in civil

revenue records, incorrect identification of defence lands and

huge discrepancies in land records of LMAs and DEOs .

Several cases have been pointed out by the CAG where the

lease period had expired, but the defence land continued to be

under the possession of the former lessees without renewal of

leases/ revision of lease rent and where land had been

transferred without settlement of terms, or implementation of

the terms of transfer, showing a lack of co-ordination among

the users, the DEO and the Ministry.

E. That there seems to be no justification whatsoever for the

commercial use of defence lands. These lands are held in

trust by defence personnel for specific defence purposes, and

if not put to such use, must be surrendered to the appropriate

government. In the mean time, the revenue generated from

commercial use of public land must be credited to government

funds and not appropriated to various entities created by the

services to avoid public scrutiny and accountability.

F. Considering the magnitude of the irregularities and

mismanagement, and the possibility of the involvement of high

ranking Defence officials and other authorities, a court-

 39

monitored investigation by an SIT is required to ensure proper

investigation in the matter.

G. That the rot in the management of Defence lands, which works

to the advantage of certain vested interests and to the great

detriment of the public interest is the antithesis of Article 14

and 21 of the Constitution. It can only be stemmed by putting

in place a rational policy and an effective institutional

framework for the management and optimal utilization of these

lands.

23. The petitioners have not filed any other writ, complaint, suit

petition or claim regarding the matter of dispute in this Hon’ble

Court or any other court or tribunal throughout the territory of

India. The petitioners have no better remedy available.

PRAYERS

In view of the facts & circumstances stated above, it is most

respectfully prayed that this Hon’ble Court may in public interest be

pleased to: -

a. Issue an appropriate writ or any other order / direction for a

court-monitored investigation by the CBI into the illegalities

and irregularities in defence land management by public

servants; and

b. Issue an appropriate writ constituting an independent task

force for undertaking a comprehensive audit of defence

 40

lands, recovering the lands under encroachment as well as

the losses occasioned to the public exchequer on account of

the unauthorized use /commercial exploitation of defence

lands; and

c. Issue an appropriate writ or direction to the Union of India to

constitute a broad-based expert committee to recommend

comprehensive systemic reforms in the management of

Defence lands and buildings and formulate, after undertaking

an extensive public consultation, revised norms of

requirement of land for defence use and a rational policy for

the determination, release and utilisation of surplus lands to

achieve the socio-economic objectives of the nation.

d. Issue an appropriate writ or direction to the Union of India to

take over the defence lands and properties being

commercially exploited or under the unauthorized use of

private parties and ensure that the revenue generated from

any use of defence land is accounted to the consolidated

funds of India; and

e. Issue or pass any writ, direction or order, which this Hon’ble

court may deem fit and proper in the facts of the case and in

the interest of probity and rule of law.

Petitioners

Through
 41

Prashant Bhushan
(Counsel for the Petitioners)

Drawn By: Ramesh K Mishra

Drawn & Filed On:
New Delhi