The Supreme Court has directed the Delhi Development Authority to refund Rs 165 crore along with interest at 7.5% per annum for 18 years to a company that had purchased a commercial plot in Jasola, south-east Delhi, through an auction in 2007. The total amount, including interest, could exceed Rs 400 crore.
Background of the Case
In March 2007, the DDA issued a public auction notice for a commercial plot in Jasola. Reliance Eminent Trading and Commercial Pvt Ltd emerged as the highest bidder and paid Rs 165 crore for the plot. The company also paid stamp duty and transfer duty of Rs 10 crore, and the DDA executed a conveyance deed in its favor in March 2008 on a freehold basis.
Legal Battle
In 2015, the original landowners filed a petition before the Delhi High Court, seeking cancellation of the acquisition on the grounds that they had not been compensated. The High Court agreed and cancelled the acquisition. Subsequently, the landowners forcibly reoccupied the land in December 2016.
The DDA appealed the High Court's decision in the Supreme Court. In May 2017, the apex court upheld the High Court order but gave the DDA six months to acquire the plot afresh from its original owners. If the DDA failed to do so, the land would revert to the original owners.
DDA's Failure
Despite the Supreme Court's directive, the DDA failed to initiate fresh acquisition proceedings within the stipulated time. Instead, after six months, it wrote to the company asking it to bear additional expenses for re-acquisition and inexplicably asked it to bear the legal consequences of the Supreme Court's May 2017 order.
The company demanded a refund of the amount it had paid for the plot. When the DDA remained non-committal, the company filed a suit for recovery of Rs 284 crore, which included the principal amount of Rs 165 crore with interest, along with stamp duty and property tax paid until 2018.
Supreme Court's Verdict
The matter eventually reached the Supreme Court. A bench of Justices J K Maheshwari and Atul S Chandurkar allowed the company's appeal. The apex court permitted the company to withdraw Rs 186 crore deposited by the DDA in the High Court and directed the authority to pay the balance amount within eight weeks.
This case highlights the DDA's repeated failure to streamline its functioning despite being pulled up by courts on numerous occasions over the decades.
