DDA Vs. VIDEOCON INDUSTRIES LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS Bench has vide judgment dated 14th November, 2011 allowed the appeal of the DDA by setting aside the order of the learned Single Judge insofar as limiting the claim of the appellant DDA for unearned increase, to the rate of ` 100/- per flat/floor space, and upholding the demand of the appellant DDA for unearned increase. While so upholding the demand of the appellant DDA, notice in para 13 of the judgment was taken of the argument of the respondent/Review Applicant that the appellant DDA while computing the unearned increase had considered the market rate / price, more than that declared by the Delhi Government from time to time. The said argument was however negatived by holding that the appellant DDA having itself from time to time published market price for the purpose of unearned increase and the demand on the respondent/ Review Applicant being in terms of the prices so notified, in the absence of any challenge to the said Circulars of the DDA, DDA could not be held bound to compute the unearned increase on the basis of market price declared by any other agency.

(2.) THIS review application is confined to the aspect of market price which can form the basis of the demand for unearned increase. It is the case of the respondent/Review Applicant that DDA had been calculating unearned increase on the basis of schedule of market prices notified by the Department of Urban Development, Ministry of Urban Affairs and Employment, Government of India and there was no occasion for the DDA to depart from the said rates; that the Circulars relied upon by the DDA were provisional and in the absence of any notification of the market price by the competent authority i.e. the Ministry of Urban Affairs and Employment, DDA could not on its own determine the market rate/price. It is thus the case in the review application that the market rate of `57,960/- per sq mtr. as published by the Ministry of Urban Development for the relevant years 1998-2000 ought to have been applied instead of the rate of `88,128/- per sq mtr. applied by the DDA in computing the demand. Review is also sought of the demand qua interest on unearned increase.

(3.) ON the basis aforesaid, the senior counsel for the respondent/Review Applicant has contended -