High Court stays auction of nine residential plots

Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, October 11

Putting a question mark on the re-auction (held on October 9) of residential plots by the LIT which had already been sold to the highest bidders in an earlier e-auction conducted by the Trust authorities on July 2, 2020, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has issued a stay order on the auction of these plots till final disposal of two civil writ petitions filed by the four successful bidders.

The case has been listed for next hearing on November 25.

Two similar CWPs (16599/2020 and 16600/2020) were filed by four bidders – Gagandeep Singh, Harsimran Singh, Amandeep Singh and Prabhjot Singh – who had participated in the e-auction conducted by the LIT on July 2 and were the highest bidders for residential plot Nos. 671, 681, 669, 678, 682, 691, 696, 679 and 697, measuring 51.5 sq m each, in the J-block of Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar.

The successful bidders, who had deposited the earnest money as stipulated in the offer document, pleaded before the court that before they could deposit the 10 per cent cost of the total bid amount of their respective plots, their earnest money was refunded to them and the plots were put for re-auction to be held on October 9.

The double bench of Justices Vivek Puri and Jitendra Chauhan, in their orders on October 8, noted that the petitioners were the highest bidders in the e-auction which took place on July 2 and this fact had been acknowledged (vide annexure P3).

Issuing notice of motion for the next date of hearing on November 25 to the respondents, the State of Punjab, through its Secretary, Department of Local Bodies, and the LIT, through its Chairman, the court ruled that “the proposal to re-auction the plots in question, if any, shall remain in abeyance till the next date of hearing”.

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