BANWARI LAL SHARMA Vs. UOI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE present Letters Patent Appeal challenges the judgment and order dated 04.08.2004 of the learned Single Judge, whereby CM Nos. 370/04 and 3467/04 in WP(C) No. 959/99 and WP(C) No. 892/04 and 906 -69/04, filed by the Village Sahoorpur Extn. Residents Welfare Association (the fifth Respondent here), were disposed of. It is contended that the effect of the impugned judgment is to suspend and reverse the judgment and order dated 11.11.2003 of another learned Single Judge in WP (C) No. 959/99.

(2.) THE relevant facts are that WP (C) No. 959/99 was filed by one Shri Banwari Lal Sharma (the appellant herein) who resides in Village Sahoorpur, Mehrauli. He alleged that the land comprising Khasra no. 92 in the village had been illegally encroached upon. His contention was that the land in question, had been transferred to the Forest Department in the year 1988. The alleged encroachers were not impleaded in the writ petition originally. The petitioner sought a direction to the respondents (Union of India and the State authorities concerned), to remove the unauthorised occupants on the said land and to develop and maintain the same as a wild life sanctuary. Based on two notifications (dated 09.10.1986 and 03.11.1987), the learned Single Judge concluded that the land had not vested in the Forest Department, but was to be used by the Gaon Panchayat for maintenance and development of forest and trees or any other work of public utility for the purposes of Delhi Land Reforms Act, 1954. Accordingly, the learned Single Judge, vide judgment and order dated 11.11.2003, allowed the writ petition and directed the Development Commissioner of the Department of Forests to remove the encroachment and to ensure that the land is utlilized for forest and trees or for public utility within a period of four months. An application (CM No. 370/04) was thereafter filed by the appellant herein, seeking that the direction in the order dated 11.11.2003 should be complied with. The application was disposed of by order dated 14.1.2004; a direction restraining any construction on the site was made; the Development Commissioner was directed to demolish all existing structures on the land within one week. Another application (CM 3467/04) was filed pointing out to the Court that other writ petitions (WP (C) No.892/04 and 906 -69/04) were filed by the fifth respondent herein, wherein an order against demolition and dispossession had been secured. It was then directed that both the writ petitions be taken up together. This was done on 04.08.2004 when the Court directed that the order dated 11.11.2003 passed in WP(C) No. 959/99 be suspended for a period of six months for a decision on whether the colony is to be regularized or not. Therefore, this appeal has been preferred.

(3.) IN October 2004, the Government of NCT of Delhi issued a public notice inviting applications from the welfare associations to be regularized. The fifth respondent submitted an application. Thereafter, a list of 1432 unauthorized colonies was prepared by the Government of NCT of Delhi, where the fifth respondent's colony was at serial no. 1030. In October 2005, the Director of Authorized Colonies Cell filed an affidavit where he stated, inter alia, that the Government of India had issued revised guidelines on 10.2.2004 by which the cut - off date had been extended from 31.3.1993 to 31.3.2002.