Delhi High Court
Ksb Educational & Health Care ... vs Mcd And Ors. on 12 July, 2011
Author: Hima Kohli
* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
+ W.P.(C) 5294/2008
Decided on 12.07.2011
IN THE MATTER OF :
KSB EDUCATIONAL & HEALTH CARE SOCIETY ..... Petitioner
Through: Mr. Pankaj Chopra, Advocate with
Mr. Susheel Bhashiya and Mr. Pranav Sapra,
Advocates
versus
MCD AND ORS. ....Respondents
Through: Ms. Maninder Acharya, Advocate for
respondents No.1 to 3/MCD.
Mr. Amit Mehra, Advocate for Mr. Ajay Verma,
Advocate for respondent No.5/DDA.
Mr. Sanjay Poddar, Advocate for R6/LAC.
CORAM
* HON'BLE MS.JUSTICE HIMA KOHLI
1. Whether Reporters of Local papers may Yes
be allowed to see the Judgment?
2. To be referred to the Reporter or not? Yes
3. Whether the judgment should be Yes
reported in the Digest?
HIMA KOHLI, J. (Oral)
1. The present petition is filed by the petitioner/Society praying
inter alia for directions to the respondent/MCD to approve the layout
plans of a Dispensary-cum-Health Clinic-cum-Hospital on a piece of land
measuring 1 Bigha 15 Biswas situated in Khasra No.1171/480/21/3 min.
in the revenue estate of village Sadhora Khurd, Kali Dass Marg, Sarai
Rohilla, Delhi, owned by the petitioner/Society. The petitioner/Society
has also sought compensation of `10 lacs from the respondent/MCD for
the harassment caused to it and for not sanctioning the layout plans
submitted by it.
2. At the outset, the counsel for the petitioner/Society submits
that he does not wish to press prayer (ii) of the writ petition and would
like to confine the scope of the petition to the relief mentioned in prayer
(i) alone.
3. Briefly stated, the facts of the case are that in October 1995,
the petitioner/Society submitted layout plans to the MCD for approval, for
the construction of a charitable Dispensary-cum-Health Clinic-cum-
Hospital at the subject land, which was owned by one Smt. S.D. Gupta, a
member of the petitioner/Society, who had offered her land to the
petitioner/Society by executing a Gift Deed. Correspondence was initiated
between the petitioner/Society and the respondent/MCD on the aforesaid
layout plans. Vide letter dated 29.11.1995, the respondent/MCD raised
certain queries and demanded some documents. The queries were replied
to by the petitioner/Society. Correspondence continued between the
parties right upto March 2004, when vide letter dated 11.03.2004
(Annexure P-20), respondent/MCD informed the petitioner/Society that its
proposal for approval of layout plans could not be accepted as the
ownership of the land in question was not in the name of the
petitioner/Society. To overcome the aforesaid difficulty, the
petitioner/Society approached Smt. S.D. Gupta, who subsequently
executed a Sale Deed dated 27.05.2005, transferring the land in question
to the petitioner/Society. Thereafter, the revenue authorities mutated the
land in favour of the petitioner/Society on 23.06.2005.
4. On 07.04.2006, the petitioner/Society once again wrote to the
respondent/MCD requesting it to re-open its case and approve the layout
plans in view of the fact that a Sale Deed for the land in question had now
been executed in its favour. Upon receiving such a request, the MCD
wrote to the Govt. of NCT of Delhi, seeking verification of the ownership
documents submitted by the petitioner/Society. The MCD also sought a
clarification from DDA as to whether the land in question fell within the
acquired portion or the un-acquired portion of the land, and whether it
was permissible for a Dispensary Health Centre to be built on the land
earmarked for a hospital. Learned counsel for the petitioner/Society
contends that inspite of repeated notices sent by the petitioner/Society to
MCD, regarding the approval of the layout plans submitted by it, no
response was received from MCD even two years after the renewed
request was made. As a result, the petitioner/Society had to approach
this Court by filing the present petition, seeking directions to the
respondent/MCD for approval of the layout plans submitted by it.
5. After notice was issued to the MCD, a short affidavit was filed
on its behalf, wherein it was stated in paras 8 and 9 as below:-
"8. That it is important to note here that Khasra
No.1171/480/21 comprises of 13 Bighas and 17
Biswas of land. Vide Award No.1556, 10 Bighas and
10 Biswas of land in Khasra No.1171/480/21 was
acquired. It was further recorded in the said Award
that 1 Bighas and 15 Biswas land of this Khasra
already stood acquired vide a prior award. The said
award further recorded that the remaining 1 Bigha
and 12 Biswas will be acquired at the time when
other area round about is acquired. Copy of the said
award No.1556 dated 03.04.1963 is annexed
herewith and marked as Annexure A-2. That the
said remaining land of 1 Bigha and 12 Biswas was
later on acquired vide award No.1984. Thus with the
acquisition of 1 Bigha and 12 Biswas, remaining
land, the Khasra in question stood fully acquired.
9. That the land and Estate Department of the
respondent after detailed verification of records has
informed the Town Planning Department of
respondent that entire land of Khasra
No.1171/480/21 measuring 13 Bighas 17 Biswas
stands acquired. The information thus recorded
which is duly signed by Patwari, Naib Tehsildar and
other competent officials of respondent is annexed
herewith and marked as Annexure A-3."
Alongwith the aforesaid affidavit, a copy of Award No.1556 dated
03.04.1963 in respect of village Sadhora Khurd was enclosed by the MCD.
On the second page of the Award, it is mentioned as below:-
".....The whole of area of khasra No.1171/480/21
measuring 13 bighas 17 biswas was notified under
acquisition. From the inspection of the site, it is
found that 1 bighas 15 biswas of this khasra number
has already been acquired and 1 bigha and 12
biswas are situated on the Northern side of the
above-mentioned road. Award regarding this 1
Bighas 12 Biswas will be made at the time when
other area round about is acquired."
6. Vide order dated 07.04.2010, at the oral request of the
counsel for the petitioner/Society, the Land Acquisition Collector was
permitted to be impleaded as respondent No.6 in the present proceedings
so as to direct him to produce the relevant records pertaining to the land,
subject matter of the present petition and to clarify the position with
regard to its acquisition.
7. On 10.05.2010, an affidavit was filed by the Land Acquisition
Collector (North), wherein it was stated that as far as the land measuring
1 Bigha 15 Biswas, being claimed by the petitioner/Society, was
concerned, in the Land Record Register, a reference of the said land's
acquisition could be found only in the details of Award no. 1556 where it
was stated that the aforementioned land had been acquired by a previous
award. It was further submitted that as per the revenue records, in the
Khatoni of the year 1982-83, the ownership of the land under dispute was
recorded as having been transferred in the name of the
petitioner/Society, vide mutation order dated 23.06.2005. Enclosed with
the aforesaid affidavit was a copy of Award No.1984 dated 30.06.1967.
8. Counsel for respondent No.6/LAC draws the attention of this
Court to the second page of the aforesaid Award to state that land
mentioned against Items No.29 and 30, i.e., Khasra No.1171/480/21/1
and Khasra No.1171/480/21/2 measuring 0.16 Bigha each was part of
Bagh Nehri and was acquired under the aforesaid Award, which pertains
to the acquisition of land measuring a total of 95 Bighas 13 Biswas. He
further states that the aforesaid 1.12 Bigha was acquired under Award
No.1984, while 10 Bigha 10 Biswas was acquired under Award No.1556.
As a result, both the Awards collectively covered the land measuring 12
Bighas 2 Biswas, though under Section 4 Notification, the land proposed
to be acquired was 13 Bighas 17 Biswas. He submits that till date, his
clients have not been able to lay its hands on any Award pertaining to
land measuring 1 Bigha 15 Biswas, on which the petitioner/Society lays a
claim as the owner.
9. In view of the fact that till date the respondents have not
been able to place on record any document to establish that the parcel of
land measuring 1 Bigha 15 Biswas, to which the petitioner/Society claims
ownership, has been legally acquired, there is no good reason to deny the
petitioner/Society its right for grant of sanction of layout plans pending at
the end of the respondent/MCD for so long. Accordingly, the present
petition is disposed of with directions to the respondent/MCD to consider
the layout plans submitted by the petitioner/Society, in respect of the
subject land in accordance with law, without raising any further objection
that the land stands acquired, in the absence of any Award placed on
record to that effect. The said process shall be completed by the
respondent/MCD within four weeks from today under written intimation to
the petitioner/Society. Before sanction is accorded by the
respondent/MCD, the petitioner/Society shall furnish an
undertaking/indemnity to the respondent/MCD that in the event of an
Award pertaining to the acquisition of aforesaid land of 1 bhiga 15 biswas
in Khasra No.1171/480/21/3 min. in the revenue estate of village
Sadhora Khurd, Kali Dass Marg, Sarai Rohilla, Delhi, being produced, the
petitioner/Society shall not claim any lien on the land or any special
equities, on the strength of the construction carried out by it in terms of
the sanction plans, that may be granted in its favour by respondent/MCD.
10. The petition is disposed of while leaving parties to bear their
own costs.
(HIMA KOHLI)
JULY 12, 2011 JUDGE
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