Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited vs State of Gujarat and Others

M.R. Shah, J.

Rule. Shri Mengdey, learned Assistant Government Pleader waives service of notice of Rule on behalf of respondent Nos. 1 and 2 and Shri Murli Devnani, learned advocate waives service of notice of Rule on behalf of respondent No. 3.

In the facts and circumstances of the present case and with consent of learned advocates appearing on behalf of respective parties, petition is taken up for final hearing today.

By way of this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, petitioner has prayed for appropriate writ, direction or order quashing and setting aside the impugned order passed by the Collector, Junagadh dated 14.12.2009, by which the Chief Officer of respondent No. 3, Municipal Borough is directed to recover a sum of Rs. 13,75,828/- towards the balance sale consideration with respect to the land in question at Rs. 1985 per sq.meter i.e. market price prevailing as on November 2009 as well as the consequential communication by the Chief Officer of the Chorwad Municipal Borough dated 02.12.2009.

The facts leading to the present Special Civil Application in nut-shell are as under:

Petitioner Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (hereinafter referred to as ''BSNL'') applied for the allotment of government waste land admeasuring 888.80 square yards from survey No. 1125 paikee plot No. 49 & 50 opposite H.G. Ambani Girls High School, Chorwad on 25.08.1998, for the purpose of telephone exchange building alongwith staff quarters. That the Executive Committee of the Chorwad Municipal Borough passed Resolution No. 9(2) dated 31.08.1998 granting allotment of the said land to the petitioner. That the Municipal Borough directed the petitioner to pay Rs. 1 lakh on 27.09.1998 and to keep the physical possession of the said allotted land on the condition that the petitioner shall have to pay the differential amount as and when Government determines its sale price in future. That the petitioner paid aforesaid amount of Rs. 1 lakh on 16.11.1998 and consequently petitioner was handed over the physical possession of the said land on 23.12.1998. That thereafter, the Chorwad Municipal Borough granted permission for construction of the telephone exchange building and staff quarters on 04.02.1999. That thereafter, the Municipal Borough approached Collector for determination of the market price and there were various correspondences right from 1998 onwards to mutate the name of the petitioner in the Municipal record. It appears that the Collector, Junagadh sent its proposal to the Deputy Secretary on date 02.09.2009 for determination of the market price with an opinion that as on the date on which the possession of the disputed land in question was handed over to the petitioner, the market price was Rs. 535/- per sq. meter and consequently, petitioner is required to pay Rs. 3,97,767/- and out of which petitioner has already paid Rs. 1 lakh and therefore, petitioner is required to pay balance amount of Rs. 2,97,767/- with 12% interest from 13.12.1998. The Collector, Junagadh also observed that Deputy Town Planner, Junagadh has determined the market price of the land in question as on 29.07.2009 at Rs. 1985 per sq. meter and Rs. 535 per sq. meter as on 31.12.1998. It appears that thereafter by impugned communication dated 14.12.2009, Collector, Junagadh has granted the permission to the Municipal Borough to determine the market price of Rs. 14,75,828/- at the rate of Rs. 1985 per sq. meter and consequently deducting a sum of Rs. 1 lakh deposited by the petitioner, Collector, Junagadh has directed the Chief Officer of the Municipal Borough to recover a sum of Rs. 13,75,828/- from the petitioner and to execute registered sale deed. Consequently, by communication dated 02.12.2009, Chief Officer has directed the petitioner to pay the balance amount and get the registered document executed. Being aggrieved and dissatisfied with the aforesaid order passed by the Collector, Junagadh directing the petitioner to pay a sum of Rs. 13,75,828/- being the balance sale consideration considering the market price as on 2009, petitioner has preferred present Special Civil Application under Articles 226 of the Constitution of India.

Shri Gaurang Bhatt, learned advocate appearing on behalf of the petitioner has vehemently submitted that impugned order passed by the Collector, Junagadh directing the petitioner to pay the balance amount of sale consideration considering the market price as on 2009, is absolutely illegal and most arbitrary which deserves to be quashed and set aside.

It is submitted that the petitioner was granted and allotted the land by the Municipal Borough in the year 1998 for the purpose of telephone exchange and therefore, petitioner is required to pay the sale consideration considering the market price prevailing on the date of allotment and not considering the market price as on the day on which the State Government and/or Collector decided the application. It is submitted that even as per the Town Planner, Junagadh and the Collector, Junagadh, the market price prevailing as on the date of allotment was Rs. 535 per sq. meter and as per the policy, petitioner is required to pay interest on the differential amount of the sale consideration. It is submitted that petitioner is ready and willing and even bound to pay the balance sale consideration considering the market price at Rs. 535 per sq. meter with 12% interest from December 1998 i.e. from the date of allotment. Therefore, it is requested to allow the present petition.

Shri Mengdey, learned Assistant Government Pleader is not in a position to dispute the fact that petitioner came to be allotted the land in question by Chorwad Municipal Borough in 1998 and in fact the possession was already handed over to the petitioner in the year 1998 on payment of Rs. 1 lakh subject to further payment of balance sale consideration fixed by the Collector and/or appropriate authority. Therefore, the petitioner is required to pay sale consideration considering the market price prevailing at the time of allotment and handing over of the possession. By impugned communication, Collector, Junagadh has directed the petitioner to pay balance sale consideration considering the market price prevailing as on 2009, which is absolutely illegal and most arbitrary. At the most petitioner can be saddled with the liability to pay the interest on the balance of sale consideration from the date of allotment/possession. Even from the communication by the Collector to the State Government, it appears that even it is the policy to charge interest only from the date of allotment and handing over of the possession. Under the circumstances, the impugned communication/order passed by the Collector directing the petitioner to pay the balance sale consideration considering the market price at the rate of Rs. 1985 per sq. meter i.e. market price prevailing in the year 2009, deserves to be quashed and set aside. However, petitioner is required to pay the interest at the rate of 12% on the balance sale consideration considering the market price prevailing at the time of allotment/possession i.e. from December 1998 which the learned advocate appearing on behalf of the petitioner has agreed to pay.

In view of the above and for the reasons stated above, the impugned order passed by the Collector, Junagadh directing the petitioner to pay the balance sale consideration considering market price at Rs. 1985 sq. meter i.e. market price prevailing as on 2009, is hereby quashed and set aside and the same is modified to the extent that petitioner shall pay the balance sale consideration considering the market price at Rs. 535 per sq. meter with 12% interest from the date of allotment/possession i.e. December 1998, which the petitioner shall pay/deposit with the Collector within a period of four weeks from today. Rule is made absolute to the aforesaid extent. No costs.