RUCHIKA JAIN Vs. MUNICIPAL CORPORATION, CHANDIGARH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh issued an advertisement in respect of 61.21 Acres Development Scheme, Manimajra. As per the advertisement, auction of sites in the aforesaid scheme was to be held on 4.8.2000. The petitioner herein was interested in a booth site. She participated in the auction conducted on 4.8.2002, and made a bid for booth site No. 754. Her bid being the highest, was accepted. On the fall of hammer, she was required to deposit 10% of the said amount. Since her bid was for Rs. 8,60,000/-, she deposited Rs. 86,000/- (as 10% of the bid amount), on the same day.

(2.) THE petitioner has placed on record the general terms and conditions of sale of commercial sites/built up booths (by auction on 99 years lease hold basis) at Manimajra, on the record of this case as Annexure P-1. Some of the relevant terms and conditions are being extracted hereunder :-

(3.) THE general terms and conditions of sale/lease extracted above also reveal that after the lessee makes payment of 25% (or more) of the premium, the lessor has to execute an allotment letter in his (lessee's) favour. It is not a matter of dispute that the allotment letter in the present case in furtherance of the acceptance of the bid of the petitioner, was executed by the lessor (i.e. Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh) on 26.9.2000. The allotment letter acknowledged the fact that the petitioner had already paid a sum of Rs. 2,15,000/-. It is the case of the petitioner that he had in fact deposited a total of Rs. 2,80,000/- towards premium by 21.8.2000. The aforesaid factual position has not been disputed in the written statement. Again on 2.9.2000, the petitioner claims to have deposited a further sum of Rs. 3,80,000/-; which fact is also not denied. It is, therefore, evident that by 2.9.2000, the petitioner had made a total deposit of Rs. 7,46,000/- as against the bid amount of Rs. 8,60,000/-.