Court No. - 29 Case :- WRIT - C No. - 27632 of 2014
Petitioner :- 24 Oranges Lab. Llp And Another
Respondent :- New Okhla Industrial Development Authority Noida And 2 Ors.
Counsel for Petitioner :- Kshitij Shailendra,Deeba Siddiqui,Ravi Kiran Jain
Counsel for Respondent :- Shivam Yadav,S.C.
Hon'ble Pankaj Mithal,J. Hon'ble Saral Srivastava,J.
Heard Sri Ravi Kiran Jain, Senior counsel assisted by Sri Kshitij Shailendrda, learned counsel for the petitioners and Sri Shivam Yadav, learned counsel for the respondents.
The respondents ie. NOIDA floated an open ended scheme for allotment on lease basis plots having area larger than 2000 sq. meter in Phase 2 and Phase 3 of NOIDA.
The petitioner no. 1 is a registered partnership under the Limited Liabilities Partnership Act, 2001 and the petitioner no.
2 who is a Mechanical Engineer is a partner therein. The petitioner Firm also applied for allotment of plot in the above scheme and deposited the registration amount of Rs. 10 lakhs. The petitioner Firm also faced the selection Committee. The respondents vide order dated 11.8.2010 returned the registration amount holding the petitioners Firm to be unsuitable.
The petitioners challenged the above action of the NOIDA by filing Writ C No. 52933 of 2010 which was duly entertained. Initially, an interim order was passed directing for reserving a plot for the petitioners Firm having an area of 2,20 sq meters. Finally, the petition was allowed vide judgment and order dated 11.10.2013 and the NOIDA was directed to reconsider the application of the petitioners for allotment of industrial plot within a specified period. The said judgment and order of the High Court was challenged before the Supreme Court but the SLP was dismissed.
The NOIDA thereafter issued an order/letter dated 8.5.2014 allotting plot no. J-042/63 having an area of 2,220 sq meter @ Rs. 9,270/- per sq. meter with the total premium of Rs. 2,9,90,988/-.
The above order is under challenge in the present writ petition on the ground that the NOIDA can not demand premium @ 9,270/- per sq. meter and according to terms and conditions only Rs. 5,900/- per sq. meter could be demanded plus any additional charge on account of location.
The terms and conditions of the scheme clearly provides that the rate of land for IT/ITES projects would be Rs. 5,900/- per sq. meter. Condition no. 3 of the brochure prescribes the rates for allotment for Phase 2 and Phase 3. The said rate varies from Rs. 5,550/- and Rs. 5,750/- for Phase 2 and 3 for the first 4,000 sq. meters of land to Rs. 4,600/- to 5,300/- for phase 2 and phase 3 respectively for the area above 6001 sq. meters. It again mentions that the rate of land for IT/ITES projects is Rs. 5,900/- per sq. meter.
It is in view of the above rates prescribed in the terms and conditions that the petitioners contend that the demand of Rs. 9,270/- per sq. meter is excessive and is arbitrary in nature.
Sri Shivam Yadav on the other hand contends that the rate prevalent at the time of allotment is relevant and not the rate which was prevailing when the scheme was floated. On the date of allotment of the plot to the petitioner Firm the rate was Rs. 9,270/- per sq. meter and as such there is nothing wrong in the allotment at the above rate.
The terms and conditions of the allotment apart from prescribing the rates for allotment under condition no. 3 vide condition no. 2 clearly states that the rates of allotment stated in condition no. 3 are subject to change without notice and that the rates prevailing on the date of issue allotment would be applicable, irrespective of the date of application or interview. In other words, what Mr. Shivam Yadav submits is correct. The rate of the premium of the plot allotted has to be the rate which prevailed on the date of allotment. The date of allotment of the plot to the petitioners is admittedly 8th May 2014 and therefore the rate which was prevailing on that date is applicable and not the rate mentioned in the brochure or prevailing at the time of issuance of the scheme or the registration therein.
In Delhi Development Authority Vs. Pushpendra Kumar Jain 1994 Supp (3) SCC 494 brushing aside the question of maintainability of a writ petition in relation to some what a similar issue regarding escalation of the cost of the flats, the Court on consideration of the scheme held that the right to a flat arises to an allottee only on the issuance of the letter of allotment. Therefore, the price prevailing on the date of such allotment has to be applied rather than the price at the time of submission of application or any interior date.
Notwithstanding the above, the Court while entertaining the present writ petition vide order dated 7.7.2014 had issued an interim direction for allotment of a plot to the petitioner @ Rs. 5,900/- per sq. meter.
The aforesaid order directs only for allotment of the plot @ Rs. 5,900 per sq. meter as an interim measure. However, NOIDA of its own executed lease deed in favour of the petitioner on 21.10.2014 on the consideration of total of Rs. 1,33,59,960/- @ Rs. 5,900/- per sq. meter treating it to be for the purpose of IT/ITES projects and got the same duly registered.
In view of the above registered lease deed @ Rs. 5,900/- per sq. meter with no stipulation that it is provisional or tentative or is on the direction of the Court as an interim measure, the aforesaid lease deed is final and conclusive. The aforesaid lease is binding upon both the parties.
In view of the aforesaid facts and circumstances as the NOIDA on its own has accepted the rate of Rs. 5,900/- per sq. meter and has executed the sale deed without any condition it is estopped from relying upon the order/letter dated 08.05.2014 and to demand enhanced rate of Rs. 9,270/- per sq. meter.
It may be pertinent to mention here that the terms and condition of the lease deed which has been duly executed and registered are final and binding and the sale consideration or premium mentioned therein is not liable to be altered by any executive or administrative order.
In view of the aforesaid facts and circumstances when the lease deed has already been executed in favour of the petitioner @ Rs. 5,900/- per sq. meter, it would prevail over the allotment order dated 08.05.2014 which stands obliterated. Thus, the relief as claimed in the writ petition no longer survives and we have no option but to consign the petition to the record.
Order Date :- 31.7.2019 SKS