CHANDRAGAUDA RAMGONDA PATIL vs STATE OF MAHARASHTRA .

The Supreme Court dismissed the Special Leave Petitions against the High Court's orders in W.P. No. 5196/89 and W.P. No. 1552/96, affirming that the land acquired under Section 126(4) of the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act and Section 11 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, could not be restituted to the original owners after its utilization for public purposes. The Court held that the principle of res judicata applied, as the earlier writ petition was dismissed on merits, and emphasized that land acquired for public purposes must remain with the acquiring authority unless specifically directed otherwise. The petitions were found to lack merit and were dismissed accordingly.