DELHI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY Vs. BHOLA NATH SHARMA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Whether the Delhi Development Authority (for short, the DDA), at whose instance land of the Respondents and others situated at Village Bahapur was acquired for Planned Development of Delhi and who was asked to release Rs. 14,15,82,253/- for payment of compensation can be treated as "person interested" within the meaning of Section 3(b) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (for short, the Act) and it was entitled to an opportunity to participate in the proceedings held before the Land Acquisition Collector and the Reference Court for determining the compensation is the question which arises for consideration in these petitions filed against the judgment of the Division Bench of the Delhi High Court whereby market value of the acquired land was fixed at Rs. 2,000/- per sq. yd. and direction was issued for payment of compensation to the contesting Respondents with 15 per cent solatium and 6 per cent interest.

(2.) Since the DDA was neither made a party to the proceedings held by the Land Acquisition Collector or the Reference Court nor it was given an opportunity to adduce evidence on the issue of determination of compensation and the High Court substantially increased market value of the acquired land without issuing notice to it, an application has been filed on behalf of the DDA for permission to file the special leave petitions. Another application has been filed for condonation of 372 days delay in filing the special leave petitions.

(3.) The case of the DDA is that its functionaries came to know about the impugned judgment only in June, 1999 when letter dated 3.6.1999 sent by the Land Acquisition Collector for release of Rs. 14,15,82,253/- was received by the Member (Finance). According to the DDA, a clarification was sought from the Land Acquisition Collector on the issue of its liability to pay more than Rs. 14 crores by pointing out that a portion of the acquired land was occupied by the Jal Board but without waiting for the latters response, Sub Divisional Magistrate, Kalkaji issued warrant dated 14.10.1999 for attachment of the bank account under Section 70 of the Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1887 necessitating challenge to the direction given by the High Court for payment of enhanced compensation to the contesting Respondents. In the application for condonation of delay, it has been averred that the delay was occasioned because after having learnt about the judgment of the High Court, the concerned functionaries of the DDA took some time to collect the papers relating to the acquisition and the special leave petitions were filed after obtaining opinion of the Advocate-on-Record and the Solicitor General.