New Delhi: Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has failed to streamline its functioning despite having been pulled up by courts on numerous occasions over decades. In the latest instance, Supreme Court has asked DDA to refund Rs 165 crore with interest (7.5% for 18 years) — which could tot up to Rs 400 crore — to a company which had purchased in a 2007 auction a commercial plot at Jasola in south-east Delhi. In 2017, the apex court found that the land had been improperly acquired by DDA. Despite the authority being granted six months’ time for the purpose, it could not regularise the acquisition.Responding to a public auction notice of March 2007 by DDA, Reliance Eminent Trading and Commercial Pvt Ltd had emerged as the highest bidder for the plot and paid Rs 165 crore, registering the plot in its name by paying stamp duty and transfer duty of Rs 10 crore. Delhi Development Authority executed in favour of company in March 2008 a conveyance deed for the plot on a free-hold basis.In 2015, the original owners of the land filed a petition before Delhi High Court seeking cancellation of acquisition as they had not been paid compensation. The high court agreed with the petitioner and cancelled the acquisition. The owners forcibly reoccupied the land in Dec 2016. DDA appealed against the HC decision in the apex court, which in May 2017 upheld the high court order but gave DDA the option of acquiring the plot afresh from its original owners in six months, failing which the land would revert to the latter. But DDA failed to initiate fresh acquisition proceedings and wrote to the company after six months asking it to bear additional expenses for re-acquisition of plot and inexplicably asked it to bear legal consequences of SC’s May 2017 order. The company preferred to get a refund of money it had paid for the plot. Finding DDA non-committal, the company filed a suit for recovery of Rs 284 crore, which comprised principal amount of Rs 165 crore with interest, along with stamp duty and property tax paid till 2018. The matter reached SC as the company filed an appeal.A bench of Justices J K Maheshwari and Atul S Chandurkar allowed the company’s appeal. The apex court permitted it to withdraw Rs 186 crore deposited by DDA in the high court and said the balance amount would have to be paid by the authority in eight weeks.
