Don’t finalise plots till acquired land’s final demarcation, says Punjab and Haryana High Court

Saurabh Malik

Chandigarh, May 27

In a significant order liable to change the way allotments are made by the Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP), the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered that plots will not be finalised in future till the acquired land’s final demarcation and the carving out of the plots “only on such land”.

No transfer

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No further transfer shall be allowed where there is any interim order passed to that effect. If any such transfer is allowed, it will entail penal consequences and criminal proceedings against persons in the respondent-authority. Justice Amol Rattan Singh & Justice Lalit Batra, Punjab & Haryana High Court

The Bench of Justice Amol Rattan Singh and Justice Lalit Batra also made it clear that any plot carved out on an un-acquired land would “naturally entail penal consequences for the HSVP and other respondents, other than refund of money with interest to the allottee concerned”. The penal interest would depend upon the facts of each case.

The direction came after the Bench observed that a non-existent plot was allotted to the parents of Rita Arora and another petitioner in Sector 51, Gurugram. It was found upon demarcation that the plot fell on land that was never acquired.

Deprecating “very greatly” the delay in taking a decision on granting an alternate plot to the petitioners “in a situation wholly of the making of the respondents”, the Bench added it was not first such case before the court. Even the issue of plots being carved out on land not actually acquired was not a “completely unknown feature on an almost regular basis”.

The Bench asserted it was absolutely incomprehensible “why proper demarcation could not be done and plots accordingly carved out in the first place”. The court added time and again it also came to the court’s notice that allotted plots came under litigation. But the respondents did not stop transfers, whereas “actually immediately upon receiving notice of any litigation qua a plot that should be updated in the records of the respondents”.

The Bench also directed Housing and Urban Development’s Additional Chief Secretary and HSVP Chief Administrator to ensure updation of records on their website within 15 days of receiving a notice on any litigation regarding a plot.

“No further transfer shall be allowed where there is any interim order passed to that effect. If any such transfer is allowed, it will entail penal consequences and if necessary even criminal proceedings where applicable against persons in the respondent-authority allowing such transfers,” the Bench added.

The Bench said each allotment letter issued to any allottee anywhere in the state by the HSVP would contain a condition that the allottee/any bona fide purchaser would be entitled to penal interest if the updation was not made on the website.

“The directions shall be complied with and given effect to within a period of one month from today and an affidavit to that effect be filed by the Chief Administrator, HSVP, before this Court,” the Bench added, while directing the respondents to allot an alternate plot to the petitioners.