LAW FOR ALL

whether The Deed of Lease would be renewed on expiry of the same- bare perusal of the aforesaid section makes it very clear that the Municipality has no authority to grant a lease for a period exceeding 10 years without prior permission of the State Government. In the present case, the State Government had only granted permission to lease the land till the year 2012. Therefore, the appellant has no inherent right to claim that fresh lease be granted in its favour. Another factor which has to be considered is that the original lease was granted for running an oil mill and as on date admittedly there is no oil mill situated on the land. The leased property is a public property leased out at a very meagre rent. It cannot be utilised for a purpose other than the purpose for which it was leased out. True it is that the appellant may have been permitted to raise construction on the leased land but it is obvious that the construction to be raised should have connection with the original business of the company i.e. running an oil mill. The appellant has raised a huge commercial complex earning crores of rupees but is paying only a few hundred rupees to the Municipality. We are of the considered view that the appellant is not entitled to claim that lease deed must be renewed in his favour. The High Court of Gujarat was perfectly justified in holding that the appellant cannot claim that he is entitled to renewal of the lease deed as a matter of right. The finding of the High Court that the appellant is earning huge profits by way of rent is not denied. It has also been stated that the land is required by the Municipality for educational purposes.