Delhi High Court - Orders
Braham Construction Company vs East Delhi Municipal Corporation on 23 September, 2020
Author: Hima Kohli
Bench: Hima Kohli, Subramonium Prasad
$~06
* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
+ W.P.(C) 6423/2020 & C.M. No.22727/2020 (stay)
BRAHAM CONSTRUCTION COMPANY ..... Petitioner
Through Mr. B.L. Wali, Advocate.
versus
EAST DELHI MUNICIPAL CORPORATION ..... Respondent
Through Mr. Gaurang Kanth, Standing
Counsel, EDMC.
CORAM:
HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE HIMA KOHLI
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SUBRAMONIUM PRASAD
ORDER
% 23.09.2020 HEARD THROUGH VIDEO CONFERENCING
1. The petitioner is aggrieved by the NIT dated 14.8.2020, issued by the respondent/EDMC in respect of a parking site situated near Anand Vihar Railway Station listed at Sr. No.2a, page No.152 of the paper book on land belonging to the DDA. The petitioner also seeks directions to the respondent/EDMC not to cancel the allotment letter dated 14.7.2020 issued in its favour, temporarily allotting surface parking on the DDA land near Anand Vihar Railway Station in lieu of a parking site earlier allotted to it, namely, DDA Market, Sarita Vihar, on an alternative basis.
2. On the last date of hearing, Mr. Kapil Datta, Advocate had appeared for the respondent/EDMC and stated that he had been furnished a copy of the paper book only that morning, i.e., on 15.9.2020 and would need time to take instructions. While granting time to the respondent/EDMC to obtain W.P. (C) 6423/2020 Page 1 of 4 instructions, it was directed that an officer competent to assist learned counsel for the respondent/EDMC shall be linked into the virtual hearing on the next date of hearing.
3. Today, Mr. Kanth, learned Standing Counsel appears on behalf of the respondent/EDMC. We have enquired from him as to whether any officer of the respondent/EDMC has logged in. On the first call, learned counsel had stated that no officer has logged in. On the second call, he states that the Area Inspector has presented himself in his office and is now with him.
4. We are surprised to hear that instead of deputing a senior ranking officer, an Area Inspector has been deputed by EDMC to log into the court hearing. The second surprise is that as per the respondent/EDMC, the fresh NIT dated 14.8.2020 issued by it in respect of the site in question, i.e., DDA land near Anand Vihar Railway Station is proposed to be cancelled as no 'NOC' was obtained from the DDA before issuing the NIT.
5. Mr. Kanth, learned Standing Counsel, EDMC states that in any event, the petitioner cannot succeed in the preset petition for the reason that the temporary allotment of the parking site made in its favour vide letter dated 15.7.2020, states that the allotment was done on the same terms and conditions as the original NIT dated 28.6.2019 and in the said NIT, the contractor was granted a period of 20 days to deposit the Earnest Money, which period in the instant case, had commenced on 15.7.2020 and expired on 4.8.2020, whereas the petitioner had deposited a Bank Draft in the treasury of the EDMC after another ten days, on 14.8.2020.
6. On enquiring from learned counsel for the respondent/EDMC as to whether the Bank Draft was enchased, he answers in the affirmative. It is noteworthy, the amount continues to be retained by the respondent/EDMC W.P. (C) 6423/2020 Page 2 of 4 in spite of its stand that the petitioner had deposited the EMD belatedly and therefore, is not entitled to temporary allotment of the subject parking site having violated the terms of the letter dated 14.7.2020.
7. The mystery deepens further inasmuch as admittedly, the respondent/EDMC has no policy in place of making alternate allotments of a parking site and in the instant case, for reasons that have got this court curious, EDMC appears to have deviated from its policy to accommodate the petitioner. It is a different matter that the petitioner could not adhere to the timeline within which the EMD was required to be deposited for grant of a temporary allotment and has filed the present petition.
8. We would like to highlight that several orders have been passed by the High Court over the years where civic authorities have been directed that without obtaining an NOC from the land owning agency, they ought not to issue NITs for allocation of parking sites as several litigations have spewed on account of parking sites not being made available to the contractors after they succeed in the auctions. Despite the said orders, we find that the respondent/EDMC has not obtained an NOC from DDA before temporarily allotting the subject site to the petitioner and has gone a step further by issuing a fresh NIT for the very same site on 14.8.2020.
9. It is deemed appropriate to direct a senior ranking officer, not below the rank of an Additional Commissioner, EDMC to file an affidavit explaining the facts and circumstances in which EDMC had deviated from its own policy by granting a temporary allotment of a parking site to the petitioner, the circumstances in which the EMD deposit made by the petitioner well beyond the prescribed period was accepted, the Bank Draft enchased and the money retained and the background in which a fresh NIT W.P. (C) 6423/2020 Page 3 of 4 dated 14.8.2020, was issued for the subject parking site without obtaining a prior NOC from the DDA, being the land owning agency. The said affidavit shall be filed within 10 days with a copy to learned counsel for the petitioner. The affidavit shall be supported by the relevant documents. As it is stated by learned counsel for the respondent/EDMC on instructions that the NIT dated 14.8.2020 in respect of the subject site, is going to be scrapped by the EDMC, the relevant documents in this regard shall also be filed.
10. List on 20.10.2020. The deponent of the affidavit directed to be filed by the respondent/EDMC, shall remain virtually present on the next date.
HIMA KOHLI, J SUBRAMONIUM PRASAD, J SEPTEMBER 23, 2020 NA W.P. (C) 6423/2020 Page 4 of 4