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Bhartesh Singh Thakur
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, August 23
The Supreme Court on Friday stayed an order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, imposing Rs 50,000 as costs on Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) Chief Administrator D Suresh and allowing the sale of an institutional plot in Gurugram.
Nehru Place Hotels and Real Estate Private Limited was allotted an institutional plot in Gurugram for Rs 14.94 crore in 2012. The company wanted to sell the property in 2016, but the HSVP denied it permission the same year.
The HSVP asserted that institutional plots were advertised with a precondition that these would not be transferable. This was mentioned in the brochure inviting applications as well as in the allotment letter, it submitted in court.
“A modification was made in February 26, 2009, according to which organisational structure of the allottee could be changed with prior approval of the Haryana Urban Development Authority Chairman subject to the original allottee retaining 51 per cent shares,” the HSVP told the High Court.
The High Court, in its judgment on July 18, ruled that the 2009 policy related only to change in organisational structure and “has nothing to do with transfer of property”. Reliance thereupon by the Chief Administrator “is not only misconceived, but mischievous”, the judgment noted.
The High Court asked the Chief Administrator to reconsider the decision of giving permission in July 2018 in view of an apex court judgment in a similar case about Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Limited.
The Chief Administrator said the Supreme Court judgment was not applicable in the present case as it had already been mentioned in terms of allotment that institutional plots could not be transferred.
The High Court subsequently imposed Rs 50,000 as costs on the Chief Administrator, to be paid to the Army Central Welfare Fund, and allowed sale of the institutional plot.
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