HC quashes GMADA order cancelling plot allotment
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has virtually admonished the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) for arbitrarily cancelling a 300 square yard residential plot allotted to a person under the IT City Residential Plots Scheme. Holding that the cancellation order lacked justification, the court directed GMADA to restore the allotment while observing that the petitioner had met all eligibility conditions.
The Division Bench of Justice Sureshwar Thakur and Justice Vikas Suri set aside a GMADA order dated November 29, 2019, by which the allotment of the plot to the allottee was cancelled, and her earnest money of Rs 6 lakh was forfeited. The court held that allottee was unfairly denied the plot despite submitting all requisite documents to establish her residency in Punjab.
The Bench observed that GMADA’s insistence on additional proof of Punjab residency was unjustified when the allottee had already submitted documentary evidence, including a domicile certificate issued by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Khanna, a Scheduled Caste certificate and her matriculation certificate from a school in Ludhiana.
As per the eligibility conditions in the scheme brochure, applicants under the reserved category were required to be residents of Punjab or to have resided in the state for at least five years. Additionally, persons settled outside Punjab could apply if they or their ancestors were born in Punjab or had been residents of the state, with proof such as birth certificate, passport or other valid documents, the Bench observed.
The court noted that the allottee, though residing in Chandigarh, fulfilled the criteria as her certificates were issued in Punjab, proving her residency. “The petitioner, despite residing temporarily in Chandigarh, does not lose her nativity of Punjab,” the Bench ruled, adding that her documents fell within the scope of acceptable proof under the scheme’s eligibility clause.
The court also took note of the sequence of events, observing that the allottee had been declared successful in the draw of lots on September 21, 2016, and was allotted a plot in Category “B”. GMADA later demanded proof of Punjab residency and, despite receiving valid documents, refused to issue the letter of intent. This ultimately led to the cancellation of her allotment in November 2019.
Justice Thakur, speaking for the Bench, held that the cancellation was unjustified, as the allottee had satisfied the eligibility criteria from the outset. Finding merit in the plea, the court quashed GMADA’s cancellation order and directed the authority to allot the plot to her as per her entitlement. The Bench ruled that the petitioner had been subjected to undue hardship due to GMADA’s unjustified insistence on additional proof, which was not required under the scheme’s provisions.
