SUDARSHAN SHARMA Vs. DDA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) LATE Shri R.K. Sharma, husband of the petitioner got himself registered with DDA under its New Pattern Registration Scheme, 1979 (NPRS-79) for allotment of a flat from the respondent-DDA. Shri R.K. Sharma expired on 27.7.1997. On this death, the petitioner applied for mutation of the registration in her name. After taking requisite documents from the petitioner, the DDA transferred the registration in her name, vide letter dated 13.11.2001 issued to her by the Senior Assistant Director, MIG (H), Vikas Sadan.

(2.) IN a draw of lot held on 30.7.2003, an MIG flat was allotted by the DDA and a demand letter bearing block dated 26.9.2003-6.10.2003 is stated to have been sent to the petitioner. The case of DDA is that the aforesaid letter was sent by registered post. The case of the petitioner on the other hand is that the aforesaid letter was never received by her.

(3.) THE main question which arises for consideration in this case is as to whether the demand-cum-allotment letter bearing the block date 26.9.2003-6.10.2003was actually served upon the petitioner or not. A perusal of the aforesaid letter which is available in the file of DDA brought to the Court would show that the allotment was in the name of late Shri R.K. Sharma, deceased husband of the petitioner. The name of Shri R.K. Sharma has been scored off by pen and the name of the petitioner Smt. Sudershan Sharma has been written by hand, on the said letter. The question which then arises is, as to whether this exercise was undertaken before or after dispatch of the aforesaid letter and whether the said letter was sent to a correct person at the correct address. The respondent-DDA has placed on record a copy of the dispatch register which shows that the aforesaid demand-cum-allotment letter was sent to one Mr. Om Prakash at the address F-5/8, Krishana Nagar, Delhi. The record of DDA also shows that vide letter dated 10.8.2007, Deputy Director MIG(H) of DDA, requested Postmaster, Sarojini Nagar, New Delhi asking him to inform as to whether the aforesaid demand-cum-allotment letter had been delivered to Mr. Om Prakash or not. This was followed by a reminder dated 10.9.2007 making a similar request to the Postmaster Office, Sarojini Nagar, New Delhi. Vide communication dated 29.8.2007, the concerned Postmaster informed DDA that the case was time-barred meaning thereby that record in this regard was not available with the Postmaster. It appears from a perusal of the dispatch documents and the aforesaid letters sent by Deputy Director of DDA to the Postmaster that the demand-cum-allotment letter was dispatched to one Mr. Om Prakash and not to the petitioner Smt. Sudarshan Sharma. Since the demand-cum-allotment letter, whether in the name of Shri R.K. Sharma or in the name of the petitioner Smt. Sudarshan Sharma was addressed to Mr. Om Prakash, that being the name of the addressee written on the envelop in which the demand letter was sent, there is no way the said letter could have been received by the petitioner.