EXPRESS TOWERS P LTD Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS civil miscellaneous application has been filed in the main writ petition after the said writ petition had been disposed of on 1st March., 1993. The petitioner, Express Towers, in the writ petition was the purchaser of the property in question from the respondent Nos. 4 and 5 in the writ petition. The applicants in this C.M. were respondent Nos. 4 and 5 in the writ petition and had entered into the agreement to sell the property in question on 21st May, 1987. However, on an application by the purchaser (Express Towers) to the IT authorities seeking permission for the sale, the Inspecting CIT vide order dt. 10th July, 1987 decided that the property be acquired by the Central Government. The said order regarding acquisition of the property by the Central Government was challenged by way of this writ petition by Express Towers which was allowed by this Court by order dt. 1st March, 1993 and the order of the appropriate authority acquiring the property under the IT Act, 1961 ('the Act') was quashed.

(2.) IT appears that subsequently the property was re-auctioned by the IT authorities on 17th Sept., 1993. In the writ petition which was disposed of on 1st March, the Court observed:

(3.) WE have gone through the subsequent order dt. 26th May, 1993 passed by the IT authorities again acquiring the property and we do not find that any question was raised by the applicants regarding interest before the appropriate authority, as directed by the Court in the writ petition. The learned counsel for the applicant relied on Annexure A filed along with rejoinder to the present application, which is a notice issued by the owners, through advocate, to the IT authority on 31st Oct., 1995 and to an earlier letter sent by the owners on 4th Aug., 1993 and the subsequent reminders. In the notice dt. 31st Oct., 1995, the owners through their advocate had called upon the appropriate authority to satisfy their demand for interest within two weeks, failing which they would be constrained to take appropriate legal action. But this letter of 1995 was sent subsequent to the fresh order of acquisition. Even the letter dt. 4th Aug., 1993 was sent after the fresh order was passed on 26th May, 1993.