Jyotsna
Kohli Vs. Union Territory of Chandigarh & Ors [2004] Insc 296 (20 April 2004)
S. Rajendra
Babu & P. Venkatarama Reddi.
[Arising
out of SLP (C) No. 19095 of 2001] P. Venkatarama Reddi, J.
Leave
granted.
The
appellant's father was allotted a plot measuring 763 sq. yards in Sector 7-C, Chandigarh by the Chandigarh Administration by
means of an auction sale and a deed of conveyance was executed on 13.10.1970.
Subsequently, the site was transferred in favour of the appellant.
A
showroom was constructed on the site and in the year 1974, the building was let
out to Allahabad Bank. Though it is claimed that the Estate Officer, U.T., Chandigarh gave consent for such letting, no
material has been placed before the Court in support of this version.
In view
of the infringement of the conditions of sale read with the Rules, namely, Chandigarh
(Sale of Sites and Buildings) Rules, 1960, the Estate Officer by an order dated
25.11.1980 resumed the site on the ground of misuser and also forfeited 10% of
the cost of site. This was done after issuing show-cause notice and opportunity
of hearing to the appellant. The power of resumption is conferred by Section
8-A of Capital of Punjab (Development and Regulation) Act, 1952.
It
appears that the appellant filed an injunction suit in the year 1982 against
the Bank to restrain it from using the premises, but the same was dismissed on
the ground that the appellant had no locus standi. The Estate Officer initiated
eviction proceedings against the Bank and passed an order of eviction on
7.11.1984. The appeal and revision filed by the Bank failed. However, the revisional
authority by an order dated 14.6.1989 granted two years time to the Bank to
stop the misuser. It is the case of the appellant that even thereafter the Bank
did not vacate, and therefore, he filed a writ petition in the High Court to
direct vacation of the premises by the Bank. The writ petition was disposed of
on the basis of the undertaking given by the Bank to vacate the premises on 31st December 1991. The Estate Officer took possession
on 18.12.1991 and sealed the building. The appellant then filed CWP No. 11596
of 1993 in the High Court of Punjab & Haryana praying for quashing the
order of resumption and for restoration of showroom. While dismissing the writ
petition, the High Court observed that if the appellant makes an application
under Rule 11-D of the Rules of 1960, such an application would be decided by
the appropriate authority within a month. Against this order of the High Court,
the appellant filed SLP (C) No. 23499 of 1994 which was dismissed as withdrawn
by an order dated 8.11.1995 subject to the observations made therein. The
following is the text of the order of this Court :- "Mr. G.L. Sanghi,
learned counsel appearing for the petitioner, states that the petitioner will
file an application in accordance with Rule 11(d) of the Chandigarh (Sale of
Sites and Buildings) Rules, 1960 within a period of eight weeks from today and
therein raises all the points agitated in the present special leave petition.
With the above statement, Mr. Sanghi seeks permission to withdraw this
Petition. The prayer is allowed.
In
case any such application is filed within the period stipulated above, the
concerned authority will dispose of the same in accordance with law within two
months from the date of its receipt. Needless to say, if any order adverse to
the petitioner is passed on that application, the petitioner will be at liberty
to assail the same in the appropriate forum." At this stage, a reference
to Rule 11-D may be made :- Rule 11-D :
(1)
Where a site has been resumed under Section 8-A of Act No. XXVII of 1952 for
any reasons, the Estate Officer may, on an application, re-transfer the site to
the outgoing transferee, on payment of an amount equal to 10 percent of the
premium originally payable for such property or one third of the difference
between the price originally paid and its value at the time when the
application for transfer is made, whichever is more.
xx xx xx
Provided that such transfer shall be permissible only if
(i) where
the site has been resumed on ground of misuser, the misuser has stopped;
(ii) where
the site has been resumed for non-payment of price, all outstanding dues
including forfeiture have been paid;
(iii) where
the site has been resumed for breach of any conditions of sale, the breach has
been remedied and conditions fulfilled.
Notwithstanding
anything contained in the proviso above, when the site has been resumed on
ground of misuser or non- completion of the building on it within the
stipulated period; the Estate Officer may allow the retransfer on the applicant
agreeing to vacate or have the misuser vacated or the building completed, as
the case may be, within such reasonable period as the Estate Officer may
stipulate.
Explanation: x x x x x
(2)
The retransfer under sub-rule (1) shall be in continuation of and subject to
all subsisting conditions but without prejudice to all the proceedings or
liabilities or subsisting penalties levied in respect of such property before
the date of the transfer.
(3)
The prevailing price shall be assessed by the Estate Officer or such other
authority as may be prescribed by the Chief Administrator and in doing so the
Estate Officer or such other authority shall give the applicant reasonable opportunity
of being heard.
The
assessment made by the Estate Officer shall be final." It is clear from
the perusal of Rule 11-D that on fulfillment of the clauses in the proviso, the
Estate Officer is empowered to re-transfer the site on payment of the amount
specified therein. Rule 11-D does not contemplate any dispute being raised as
to the legality or propriety of the resumption order. The points raised in this
special leave petition, turning on the merits of the case, could not have been
raised in an application under Rule 11-D. However, a representation was made
that all the points agitated in the special leave petition will be raised
before the Estate Officer in Rule 11-D application. This Court did not grant
any liberty to do so, but merely recorded the representation made by the
learned counsel on behalf of the appellant. The Court merely directed the
concerned authority to dispose of the application in accordance with law.
In the
11-D application filed by the appellant before the Estate Officer, the correctness
of the resumption order itself was questioned. Apart from contending that there
was no misuse in the real sense of the term, the appellant quoted certain
instances in which the resumption orders were set aside and the sites restored
to the allottees by the appellate or revisional authorities. The Estate Officer
rightly observed that it is not open to him to go behind the resumption order
which had become final. The cases cited by the appellant were distinguished on
facts. The Estate Officer, however, allowed the application under Rule 11-D
subject to the payment of the amount as per the Rule. The Estate Officer passed
this order on 27.2.1996. The appeal to the Chief Administrator was rejected on
8.9.1998. The appellate authority reaffirmed the view of the Estate Officer.
The revision petition filed before the Chief Administrator was dismissed as not
maintainable. In fact, no appeal or revision is provided under the Rules
against the order passed under Rule 11-D. The appellant then filed Writ Petition
No. 10342 of 2001 which was dismissed by the High Court by the impugned order
dated 19.7.2001. The Division Bench of the High Court observed :-
"..........A reading of this rule makes it clear that the offer of
retransfer can be made only after the order of resumption has become final. The
petitioner is now seeking to challenge the order of resumption, which we are
afraid, cannot be allowed in these proceedings. In pursuance of the
observations made by the Apex
Court, the Chandigarh
Administration made an offer to the petitioner to have the property transferred
in her name subject to the payment determined. The offer is fair and reasonable
in the circumstances of the case and we find no ground to interfere." It
is against the said order this SLP is filed. It is firstly contended by the
learned counsel for the appellant that this Court, while dismissing the earlier
SLP, must be deemed to have granted liberty to seek cancellation of resumption
order and that in any event the appellant should not be prejudiced on account
of the representation made by the counsel under the bona fide impression that
the resumption order could be revoked even at that stage. This contention has
no force whatsoever, viewed in the light of the order of this Court as well as
the scope and ambit of Rule 11-D.
In any
case, this contention need not detain us further in view of the fact that the
main contention urged by the appellant was negatived on merits also. The Estate
Officer as well as the Chief Administrator found that the instances referred to
by the appellant are not comparable, but they are distinguishable on facts and,
therefore, the same treatment cannot be accorded to the appellant.
The
learned counsel for the appellant has sought to rely upon some more recent
instances in which the resumption order was set aside, in a bid to persuade us
to direct de novo consideration. It is not possible for us to embark on an
enquiry into the relevance of the orders in the alleged comparable cases.
Moreover, it will not be legal and proper to reopen the issue of resumption
which had become final long back. The propriety or otherwise of the order
passed by the Estate Officer can only be examined from the stand point of Rule
11-D. So also, the question whether the procedure under the provisions of
Public Premises Act was duly followed, cannot be gone into in this appeal at
this stage. Broadly speaking, we find no legal infirmity in the order passed by
the Estate Officer.
It is
then contended by the learned counsel for the appellant that the misuser
pertained only to a part of the premises and therefore it is not fair and
reasonable to call upon the appellant to deposit the value of the entire site.
As
rightly pointed out by the learned counsel for the respondents, this plea was
not raised in the earlier proceedings. Even in the SLP, it is not raised in
specific terms though there is an averment in the synopsis of dates and events
(vide pages 'B' and 'E') that most of the premises has been used for authorized
purpose but what was let out to the Bank in the year 1974 was only the front
portion of the building. We consider it just and proper to direct the Estate
Officer to examine whether this assertion is factually correct and if so,
whether any proportionate relief can be granted or not on this basis. It is
open to the appellant to furnish the necessary details with supporting evidence
if any to substantiate her version in this behalf.
The
other question that remains to be considered is the date which ought to be
taken into account for the purpose of computing the value in terms of Rule
11-D.
Going
by the strict terms of Rule 11-D, the value has to be assessed with reference
to the date on which the application was made. In this case, the application
was made soon after the SLP was dismissed on 8.11.1995. Hence, according to the
strict interpretation of the rule, the value prevailing in 1996 should in the
normal course be taken into account.
However,
we are of the view that in the peculiar circumstances, the rigour of the Rule
has to be relaxed and some relief has to be granted to the appellant. The fact
remains that the misuser of premises came to an end with the Bank vacating it
towards the end of 1991. The appellant herself took some active steps to evict
the Bank with a view to put an end to the misuser. But, the various proceedings
consumed lot of time. The revisional authority granted two years time to the
Bank to vacate while dismissing the revision. After the Bank had vacated and
the appellant made sure that the misuser ended, it questioned the resumption
order in High Court by filing a writ petition in 1993. The High Court dismissed
the writ petition with an observation that the petitioner may make an
application under Rule 11-D. Thereafter, the SLP was filed in this Court which
was dismissed subject to the direction that the application if filed will be
disposed of according to law.
We
have no doubt that the appellant was bona fide pursuing litigation. She did not
file the application earlier for the various reasons mentioned above.
In the
circumstances, the ends of justice will be met by directing the respondent Estate
Officer to treat the application under Rule 11-D as having been filed in the
year 1992 and assess the value on that basis. This is without prejudice to any
relief that may be granted to the appellant in terms of the direction supra to
examine the question of granting proportionate relief while fixing the value.
The
appellant shall deposit the amount fixed in the light of the above directions
on the receipt of the communication working out the figures. The amount shall
be paid within the time and in the manner laid down in sub-rule (4) of Rule
11-D. In case of default in payment, it is open to the Estate Officer to reject
the application. On payment of the full amount determined, it is open to the
appellant to apply for change of user, if it is permitted under the Rules and
Orders in force.
The
appeal is disposed of accordingly without costs.
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