PRADEEP KUMAR SAH Vs. STATE OF UTTARAKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard Sri S.S. Yadav, learned counsel for the appellant-writ petitioner, Sri Sandeep Kothari, learned Standing Counsel for respondent nos. 2 to 5 and Sri S.S. Chaudhary, learned Brief Holder appearing on behalf of the State Government and, with their consent, the Special Appeal is disposed of at the stage of admission.

(2.) The appellant-writ petitioner sought permission for construction of the third-floor of his hotel; and sanction was accorded to him, by the District Level Development Authority, in the year 2012. The sanction was to remain in force for a period of five years, which expired in the year 2017. The appellant-writ petitioner failed to complete construction within this five year period, i.e. before 2017. On the ground that he was not permitted to continue construction thereafter, he invoked the jurisdiction of this Court filing Writ Petition (M/S) No. 1394 of 2019; and a learned Single Judge of this Court, by his order dated 20.05.2019, directed the District Level Development Authority to decide the appellant-writ petitioner's representation. On the petitioner approaching the District Level Development Authority, the latter, by its order dated 24.07.2019, rejected the appellant-writ petitioner's request for grant of permission. Aggrieved thereby, the writ petition in which the order under appeal was passed.

(3.) In the order under appeal, the learned Single Judge observed that the ground for rejection was in accordance with law in as much as the construction, for which a map was sanctioned, was to be made within a period of five years; this limitation in law was for a valid purpose, since, after a period of five years, there was the distinct possibility that the building bye-laws may have changed, as had happened in the present case; and there was no anomaly in the order dated 24.07.2019.