2010(3) LAW HERALD (P&H) (SC) 2001
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
[VACATION BENCH]
Before
The Hon’ble Mr. Justice Dr. B.S. Chauhan
The Hon’ble Mr. Justice Swatanter Kumar
Civil Appeal No. 5292 of 2004
Fuljit Kaur
v.
State of Punjab
{Decided on 03/06/2010}
For the Petitioner/Appellant : Mr. Sanjay Sarin and Mr. Ashok Mathur, Advocates.
For the Respondents : Mrs. Rachana Joshi Issar and Mr. Shailendra Kumar, Advocate
(A) Punjab Urban Estate (Sale of Sites) Rules, 1965--Punjab Urban Estates (Development and Regulation) Act, 1964--Allotment of residential plot--Appellant made an application on 23.02.1987 for allotment of a residential plot--Administration issued the allotment letter in favour of the appellant within 48 hours of submission of application making it clear that as the proper calculation could not be made and tentative price had not been determined, the allottee has to deposit provisional price of Rs. 93000/-. Subsequently additional demand of Rs. 2,19,000/- was made, however, instead of depositing the said amount, appellant challenged the said Demand Notice contending that the additional demand was arbitrary and unreasonable--However, the said writ petition been dismissed by the High Court-- Appeal--High Court considered all statutory provisions and calculations made by the respondents as under what circumstances the "tentative- price" had been fixed and concluded that the demand was justified--Nothing produced on record to show that the tentative price determined by the State could be unreasonable--Even if some other similarly situated persons have been granted some benefit inadvertently or by mistake, such order does not confer any legal right on the petitioner to get the same relief. (Paras 8, 15, 26 & 27)
(B) Constitution of India, 1950--Special Leave Petition--Dismissal of Special Leave Petition in limine--Whether an order of withdrawal passed by Supreme Court amounts to confirmation/approval of the judgment and order of the High Court--Held that an order rejecting the Special Leave Petition at the threshold without detailed reasons does not constitute any declaration of law or a binding precedent. (Para 8)
(C) Constitution of India, 1950, Art. 14--Punjab Urban Estate (Sale of Sites) Rules, 1965--Punjab Urban Estates (Development and Regulation) Act, 1964--Land & Property--Allotment of residential plot--Legality--Unique case which reveals that an influential person can have allotment of a residential plot in discretionary quota within 48 hours of submission of application and then assert in Court that she has a right to have a land on a throwaway price and not to deposit the sale price for quarter of a century--Allotment had been made to the appellant within 48 hours of submission of her application though in ordinary cases, it takes about a year--Appellant had further been favoured to pay the provisional price of Rs. 93,000/- in four installments in two years--Making the allotment in such a hasty manner itself is arbitrary and unreasonable and is hit by Art. 14 of the Constitution--Appeal dismissed. (Para 16)
(D) Words and Phrases--"Tentative price" means the price determined by the State Government from time to time in respect of a sale of site by allotment and while doing so, the Government has to take into consideration various factors including the amount paid as compensation
