RAKESH KUMAR SHARMA Vs. DISTRICT JUDGE, DISTRICT HARIDWAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner was allotted 23 bighas of land for storage of building material and machines since the work was given to the petitioner for construction of a road by the Government. The land admittedly comes under the Nagar Palika Parishad, Haridwar. Since the allotment was for a particular purpose (i.e. for construction of road), after the period of construction was over, a notice under Sec. 4 of the Uttar Pradesh Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1972 (from hereinafter referred to as the "Act"), was given to the petitioner asking him to vacate the land and handover its possession to the Nagar Palika Parishad, Haridwar. The petitioner did not do that. Thereafter calculating the recovery amount of 23 bighas at the rate of Rs.600.00 per year on Khasra Nos. 569, 570 and 571 of Jwalapur, Haridwar, the petitioner has been directed to deposit an amount of Rs.4,98,750.00 (Four Lakh Ninety Eight Thousand Seven Hundred Fifty Only) from 12/12/1986 till 31/8/2001 when the notice was given. Petitioner gave a reply to the said notice and he admits that land was given by the Nagar Palika Parishad, Haridwar but the objection which was raised is that he received the notice from the Executive Officer and not from the Nagar Palika Parishad, Haridwar. The second objection is that whereas 23 bighas of land at the rate of Rs.600.00 per year was leased out, but they have never given the physical possession of 23 bighas of land. Therefore it was alleged that cost of the lease has been wrongly calculated. The petitioner, all the same, did not vacate the land.

(2.) Since the petitioner did not vacate the land, the Nagar Palika Parishad, Haridwar moved an application before the Prescribed Authority under Sec. 4 of the Act. The Prescribed Authority came to the conclusion that there is a clear-cut admission on the part of the petitioner that the land in question belongs to Nagar Palika Parishad, Haridwar and the same has been leased out to the petitioner. The application filed by the Nagar Palika Parishad, Haridwar under Sec. 4 of the Act was allowed by the Prescribed Authority vide order dtd. 14/8/2006 directing the eviction of the petitioner from the land in question and a penalty of Rs.4,98,750.00 (Rupees Four Lakh Ninety Eight Thousand Seven Hundred Fifty Only) was also imposed upon the petitioner. Against this order, the petitioner preferred an appeal before the learned District Judge, Haridwar, which was also dismissed vide order dtd. 22/12/2006. Aggrieved, the petitioner has filed the present writ petition before this Court.

(3.) Vide order dtd. 2/3/2007, an interim relief was granted by this Court to the petitioner, which reads as under:-