NEW DELHI: The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) continues to struggle with its operations, facing repeated reprimands from the courts over the years.
The most recent case involved a Supreme Court directive for the DDA to reimburse Rs 165 crore, along with interest (7.5% per annum for 18 years), potentially amounting to Rs 400 crore. This follows a 2007 auction in which a commercial plot in Jasola, southeast Delhi, was sold to a company. In 2017, the Supreme Court ruled that the land was improperly acquired by the DDA and granted the authority six months to rectify the acquisition.
Reliance Eminent Trading and Commercial Pvt Ltd, the highest bidder during the public auction in March 2007, paid Rs 165 crore to secure ownership of the plot, alongside Rs 10 crore in stamp duty and transfer duty. A conveyance deed for the freehold plot was executed in March 2008.
In 2015, the land’s original owners petitioned the Delhi High Court for cancellation of the acquisition due to unpaid compensation. The court sided with the petitioners and annulled the acquisition. The land was forcibly reclaimed by the owners in December 2016. The DDA appealed to the Supreme Court, which upheld the High Court’s ruling while offering the authority an opportunity to reacquire the land from its original owners within six months; otherwise, the land would revert back to them.
However, the DDA did not initiate the necessary reacquisition proceedings. Instead, it sent a letter to the company after the six-month period, requesting them to cover additional costs for reacquisition and the legal implications of the Supreme Court’s order from May 2017. The company opted instead to seek a refund of the amount paid for the plot.
After finding the DDA unresponsive, the company filed a lawsuit demanding Rs 284 crore, which included the principal sum of Rs 165 crore plus interest, along with the stamp duty and property tax until 2018. This matter escalated to the Supreme Court after the company filed an appeal.
A bench comprising Justices J K Maheshwari and Atul S Chandurkar accepted the company’s appeal, allowing them to withdraw Rs 186 crore previously deposited by the DDA in the High Court, with the remaining balance mandated to be paid by the authority within eight weeks.
