INDER PURI WELFARE ASSOCIATION Vs. UOI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS petition purports to have been filed in public interest. It prays for a direction to the respondent Delhi Development Authority (in short 'DDA') to remove the illegal encroachments allegedly made by respondent No. 2, who happens to be a retired SDM of Delhi Government, over an area which according to the petitioner measures 2 acres of land. The petitioner's case appears to be that the land in question belongs to the respondent DDA and has been illegally occupied by the said respondent. It is further the case of the petitioner that the respondent has raised unauthorized construction. The DDA in its affidavit, inter alia, stated that respondent No. 2 and his nephew had encroached upon an area measuring more than 1600 square yards in Khasra No. 428 of Southern Ridge Revenue Estate.

(2.) ON behalf of respondent No. 2, an affidavit was filed denying any encroachment. As per the respondent No. 2, he has been in occupation of the land for a long time. It was also the case of the respondent No. 2 that he is entitled to retain the possession for the beneficial enjoyment of the said land as he is entitled to conferment of lease hold rights in terms of a policy circular dated 18th July, 1983. He also relied on an order passed by the learned Single Judge of this Court in Writ Petition (Civil) Nos. 4828-29/2005 disposed of on 21st February, 2006, observing that DDA was under a direction from this Court to implement the policy mentioned above and to confer perpetual lease hold rights to the residents of village Todapur. As per the respondent No. 2, so long as the said process does not culminate in an order of conferment of lease hold rights to all those persons who are occupying Government/DDA land in village Todapur, no proceedings for eviction on the ground of unauthorized occupation of any such land can be initiated by the respondents. The learned counsel for the DDA submitted before this Court on 7th April, 2008, that since the process of verification of the lands was spreading over more than 5 villages, the same had not been completed and the process of verification of the claims of persons, such as respondent No. 2 for conferment of perpetual lease hold rights was in progress.

(3.) ACCORDINGLY , on 7th April, 2008, this Court passed the following order :-