{"id":149705,"date":"2010-08-19T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-08-18T18:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/greater-mohali-area-dev-vs-manju-jain-ors-on-19-august-2010"},"modified":"2017-12-30T02:07:44","modified_gmt":"2017-12-29T20:37:44","slug":"greater-mohali-area-dev-vs-manju-jain-ors-on-19-august-2010","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/greater-mohali-area-dev-vs-manju-jain-ors-on-19-august-2010","title":{"rendered":"Greater Mohali Area Dev. &#8230; vs Manju Jain &amp; Ors on 19 August, 2010"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"docsource_main\">Supreme Court of India<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_title\">Greater Mohali Area Dev. &#8230; vs Manju Jain &amp; Ors on 19 August, 2010<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_author\">Author: . B Chauhan<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_bench\">Bench: P. Sathasivam, B.S. Chauhan<\/div>\n<pre>                                                               REPORTABLE\n\n              IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA\n               CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION\n\n                CIVIL APPEAL NO. 6791 OF 2010\n             (Arising out of SLP (C) No. 6427 of 2008)\n\nGreater Mohali Area Development Authority &amp; Anr. ...... Appellants\n\nVersus\n\nManju Jain &amp; Ors.                                .......Respondents\n\n\n\n\n                         JUDGMENT\n<\/pre>\n<p>Dr. B.S. CHAUHAN, J.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>1.   Leave granted.\n<\/p>\n<p>2.   This appeal has been preferred against the judgment and<\/p>\n<p>order dated 22.11.2007 passed by the High Court of Punjab<\/p>\n<p>and Haryana at Chandigarh, in Civil Writ Petition No. 16621 of<\/p>\n<p>2007, by which the High Court has set aside the judgments<\/p>\n<p>and orders of the Revisional Authority dated 31st July, 2007<\/p>\n<p>and the Appellate Authority dated 30th March, 2006 and the<\/p>\n<p>order of cancellation of the suit plot dated 20th August, 2003<\/p>\n<p>by the statutory authority.\n<\/p>\n<p>3.   Facts and circumstances giving rise to this case are that<\/p>\n<p>the respondent No.1 applied vide application No.026012,<\/p>\n<p>dated 27.1.1997, for allotment of a flat under a hire purchase<\/p>\n<p>scheme along with application money of Rs.20,000\/-. After<\/p>\n<p>considering the application of the respondent No.1 along with<\/p>\n<p>other applicants, a draw of lots was held on 28.6.1997 and an<\/p>\n<p>M.I.G. flat was allocated to the respondent No.1 and she was<\/p>\n<p>informed    vide   letter   dated       19.11.1997   about   the   said<\/p>\n<p>allocation. As per the said allocation letter, the allotment was<\/p>\n<p>for a tentative cost to the tune of Rs.4,79,200\/-. Respondent<\/p>\n<p>No.1 would deposit a further 15% of the price of the flat within<\/p>\n<p>30 days of the issuance of the allotment letter and the balance<\/p>\n<p>amount     was to be deposited in equal monthly installments<\/p>\n<p>over a period of 13 years. It was also open for her to make<\/p>\n<p>payment of the balance amount in a lump sum within 60 days<\/p>\n<p>from the date of issue of the allotment letter.         The authority<\/p>\n<p>issued the letter of allotment dated 9th March, 1999 in her<\/p>\n<p>favour, which made it clear that the price of the house was<\/p>\n<p>Rs.5,55,200\/- and that she had to send her acceptance of the<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">                                    2<\/span><br \/>\nallotment and deposit 25% of the amount within 60 days of<\/p>\n<p>the receipt of the allotment letter.   She had to deposit the<\/p>\n<p>balance amount in monthly installment over a period of 13<\/p>\n<p>years. The respondent No.1 did not make any response to the<\/p>\n<p>said letter nor did she deposit any amount.     The appellant-<\/p>\n<p>authority on her query vide letter dated 28th August, 2003,<\/p>\n<p>informed the respondent No.1 that the allotment made in her<\/p>\n<p>favour stood cancelled, as she did not deposit any amount in<\/p>\n<p>pursuance of the allotment letter dated 9th March, 1999.<\/p>\n<p>4.   Being aggrieved, respondent No. 1 preferred an appeal<\/p>\n<p>before the Estate Officer of the appellants challenging the<\/p>\n<p>order of cancellation.   The said appeal was dismissed vide<\/p>\n<p>order dated 30th March, 2006, against which the respondent<\/p>\n<p>No.1 preferred a revision which was also dismissed by the<\/p>\n<p>Revisional Authority vide order dated 31.7.2007.<\/p>\n<p>5.   Being aggrieved, respondent No. 1 preferred Writ Petition<\/p>\n<p>No.16621 of 2007 challenging the orders passed by the<\/p>\n<p>authorities of the appellants, as well as the State Government.<\/p>\n<p>The writ petition has been allowed quashing all the orders<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">                              3<\/span><br \/>\npassed by the authorities of the appellants and of the State of<\/p>\n<p>Punjab. Hence, this appeal.\n<\/p>\n<p>6.   Mr. Satinder S. Gulati, learned counsel appearing for the<\/p>\n<p>appellants, has submitted that the respondent No.1 was sent<\/p>\n<p>the letters of allocation as well as the allotment by Registered<\/p>\n<p>Post. She did not send her acceptance nor did she deposit any<\/p>\n<p>amount whatsoever and she filed an appeal wherein she did<\/p>\n<p>not take the ground that she had not received the letter of<\/p>\n<p>allotment. Respondent No. 1 had made very vague pleadings<\/p>\n<p>stating that she had not heard anything from the appellants<\/p>\n<p>after depositing the application fee.   She failed to make any<\/p>\n<p>deposit at any stage and the High Court has wrongly<\/p>\n<p>proceeded as if she did not have any notice of the allocation or<\/p>\n<p>allotment.   The High Court summoned the officer of the<\/p>\n<p>appellant-authority and quashed the order of cancellation and<\/p>\n<p>all other consequential orders only on the ground that the<\/p>\n<p>allotment letter had not been sent to the correct person at<\/p>\n<p>correct address, placing reliance upon the receipt and<\/p>\n<p>dispatch register of the authority alone.       The appellant-<\/p>\n<p>authority was not given a proper opportunity to file a reply to<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">                               4<\/span><br \/>\nthe writ petition.   Thus, the order impugned passed by the<\/p>\n<p>High Court is liable to be set aside.\n<\/p>\n<p>7.   On the other hand, Shri Govind Goel, learned counsel<\/p>\n<p>appearing for the respondents, has submitted that greater<\/p>\n<p>injustice has been done to the respondent by the authorities,<\/p>\n<p>as in spite of the order of allotment, the allotment had been<\/p>\n<p>cancelled without issuing any show cause notice to her or<\/p>\n<p>sending any information whatsoever. The High Court has<\/p>\n<p>rightly taken note of the fact that the notice was sent to an<\/p>\n<p>incorrect person and to the incorrect address. Therefore, the<\/p>\n<p>order of the High Court does not warrant interference. The<\/p>\n<p>appeal lacks merit and is liable to be dismissed.<\/p>\n<p>8.   We have considered the rival submissions made by<\/p>\n<p>learned counsel for the parties and perused the record.<\/p>\n<p>9.   The Appellate Authority, after considering the pleadings,<\/p>\n<p>appreciating the evidence on record and hearing both the<\/p>\n<p>parties, came to the conclusion that respondent No. 1 did not<\/p>\n<p>deposit the required amount and did not execute the hire-<\/p>\n<p>purchase agreement and she failed to give any cogent reason<\/p>\n<p>for the same. The appeal was rejected.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">                                5<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p>10.   Before the Revisional Authority, no factual foundation<\/p>\n<p>had been laid by respondent No. 1 on relevant factual aspects,<\/p>\n<p>particularly, on the fact that she had not received the<\/p>\n<p>allotment letter. The only relevant ground reads as under:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>            &#8220;That due to some financial difficulties,<br \/>\n      the applicant-petitioner could not arrange the<br \/>\n      huge sum of Rs.1,19,800\/- to be paid within<br \/>\n      the stipulated period. The applicant-petitioner<br \/>\n      also approached some banks for loan but the<br \/>\n      Bank Authorities did not agree to grant loan<br \/>\n      for the purpose. However, now the applicant-<br \/>\n      petitioner has arranged funds for the purpose<br \/>\n      and is willing and ready to make the payment<br \/>\n      at any time.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>      The revision was dismissed by the Revisional Authority<\/p>\n<p>vide order dated 31.7.2007.\n<\/p>\n<p>11.   This   ground impliedly amounts to admission that<\/p>\n<p>respondent No. 1 was fully aware of her liability and she could<\/p>\n<p>not fulfill the requirement only for non-availability of funds.<\/p>\n<p>The fact that she had not received the allotment letter was<\/p>\n<p>neither pleaded before the Appellate Authority nor before the<\/p>\n<p>Revisional Authority. Thus, there was no occasion for either of<\/p>\n<p>the said authorities to record a finding on this factual aspect.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">                               6<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p>12.   In the writ petition filed on 25-10-2007 before the High<\/p>\n<p>Court, a totally new case was built up on a new factual matrix,<\/p>\n<p>i.e. that respondent No. 1 had never received the allotment<\/p>\n<p>letter and after waiting for a long time when she made a<\/p>\n<p>representation to the authorities, she was informed that<\/p>\n<p>allotment made vide letter dated 9.3.1999 has been cancelled<\/p>\n<p>vide order dated 28.8.2003.\n<\/p>\n<p>13.   The Writ Petition came for admission before the High<\/p>\n<p>Court on 29.10.2007, wherein the following order was passed:-<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>      &#8220;Let concerned records be produced by Greater<br \/>\n      Mohali Area Development Authority, Mohali on<br \/>\n      12.11.2007. Copy of the order be given dasti<br \/>\n      under the signature of Bench Secretary.&#8221;\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>14.   When matter came up on 12.11.2007 before the High<\/p>\n<p>Court, the appellants herein did not appear, and thus, the<\/p>\n<p>Court passed the following order:-\n<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>      &#8220;Accordingly, Special Secretary to Govt. of<br \/>\n      Punjab, Department of Housing and Urban<br \/>\n      Development, Mini Secretariat, (ii) Chief<br \/>\n      Administrator,    Greater     Mohali      Area<br \/>\n      Development Authority and (iii) Addl. Chief<br \/>\n      Administrator of Punjab Urban Planning &amp;<br \/>\n      Development Authority, Mohali, are directed to<br \/>\n      remain present in Court on 22.11.2007 to<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">                              7<\/span><br \/>\n      explain reasons for disobeying order dated<br \/>\n      29.10.2007 of this court.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>      A copy of this order be given to Mr. A.G. Masih,<br \/>\n      Senior Deputy Advocate General, Punjab for<br \/>\n      ensuring compliance.&#8221;\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>15.   The officers of the appellants received the order dated<\/p>\n<p>29.10.2007 on 13.11.2007 and that is why, they did not enter<\/p>\n<p>appearance and none of their officers could be present in the<\/p>\n<p>Court on 12.11.2007. To this effect, an affidavit was filed on<\/p>\n<p>20.11.2007.      A specific plea was taken therein that the<\/p>\n<p>allotment letter was sent to respondent No. 1 at the correct<\/p>\n<p>address under registered cover as was recorded at serial<\/p>\n<p>no.364 of the Register for dispatch of registered letters and on<\/p>\n<p>which the stamp of the Post Officer, SAS Nagar, dated<\/p>\n<p>11.3.1999 had been affixed along with 11 other registered<\/p>\n<p>letters dispatched on that date.         Photocopies of those<\/p>\n<p>allotment letters were appended along with affidavit.    It was<\/p>\n<p>further submitted that the letter of cancellation was also sent<\/p>\n<p>to the same address where the allocation and allotment letters<\/p>\n<p>had been sent.\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">                               8<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p>16.   The matter came up before the Court on 22.11.2007<\/p>\n<p>when the writ petition filed by the respondent No. 1 stood<\/p>\n<p>allowed without examining the entire record placed before the<\/p>\n<p>Court, only on the ground that the dispatch register did not<\/p>\n<p>contain the correct name and address of respondent No.1.<\/p>\n<p>      The writ petition was finally allowed by the High Court<\/p>\n<p>within a period of 26 days of its filing without giving any<\/p>\n<p>proper opportunity to the present appellants to file a reply and<\/p>\n<p>produce material to controvert the averments made in the writ<\/p>\n<p>petition.\n<\/p>\n<p>17.   The High Court failed to note that the appellants had<\/p>\n<p>taken a specific plea that the letter of allotment had been<\/p>\n<p>communicated to respondent No. 1 by Registered Post.           The<\/p>\n<p>Privy Council in Harihar Banerjee Vs. Ramshashi Roy AIR<\/p>\n<p>1918 PC 102, held that there can be a presumption of receipt<\/p>\n<p>of a letter sent under postal certificate in view of the provisions<\/p>\n<p>of Section 114 Ill.(f) of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872<\/p>\n<p>(hereinafter the Evidence Act).\n<\/p>\n<p>18.   In Mst. L.M.S. Ummu Saleema Vs. B.B.Gujral &amp; Anr.<\/p>\n<p>AIR 1981 SC 1191, this Court dealt with the issue of<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">                                  9<\/span><br \/>\npresumption of service of letter sent under postal cover, and<\/p>\n<p>observed:-\n<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>       &#8220;The certificate of posting might lead to a<br \/>\n       presumption that a letter addressed to the<br \/>\n       Assistant Collector of Customs was posted on<br \/>\n       14-8-80 and in due course reached the<br \/>\n       addressee. But it is only a permissible and<br \/>\n       not an inevitable presumption. Neither Section<br \/>\n       16 nor Section 114 of the Evidence Act compel<br \/>\n       the Court to draw a presumption.          The<br \/>\n       presumption may or may not be drawn. On<br \/>\n       the facts and circumstances of a case, the<br \/>\n       Court may refuse to draw the presumption.<br \/>\n       On the other hand, the presumption may be<br \/>\n       drawn initially but on a consideration of the<br \/>\n       evidence, the Court may hold the presumption<br \/>\n       rebutted.&#8221;\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>19.   In C.C. Alavi Haji Vs. Palapetty Muhammed &amp; Anr.<\/p>\n<p>(2007) 6 SCC 555, this court re-iterated a similar view that<\/p>\n<p>Section 27 of General Clauses Act, 1897 and Section 114 Ill.(f)<\/p>\n<p>of the Evidence Act, give rise to a presumption that the service<\/p>\n<p>of a notice has been effected when it is sent to the correct<\/p>\n<p>address by registered post. This Court held as under :-<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>       &#8220;Section 27 gives rise to a presumption that<br \/>\n       service of notice has been effected when it is<br \/>\n       sent to the correct address by registered<br \/>\n       post&#8230;&#8230;&#8230; Unless and until the contrary is<br \/>\n       proved by the addressee, service of notice is<br \/>\n       deemed to have been effected at the time at<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">                               1<\/span><br \/>\n       which the letter would have been delivered in<br \/>\n       the ordinary course of business.&#8221;\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>20.   This Court has reiterated a similar view in Gujarat<\/p>\n<p>Electricity Board &amp; Anr. Vs. Atmaram Sungomal Poshani<\/p>\n<p>AIR 1989 SC 1433; Chief Commissioner of Income Tax<\/p>\n<p>(Admn.), Bangalore Vs. V.K. Gururaj &amp; Ors. (1996) 7 SCC<\/p>\n<p>275; Poonam      Verma    &amp;   Ors.   Vs.   Delhi   Development<\/p>\n<p>Authority (2007) 13 SCC 154; Sarav Investment &amp; Financial<\/p>\n<p>Consultancy Private Limited &amp; Anr. Vs. Llyods Register of<\/p>\n<p>Shipping Indian Office Staff Provident Fund &amp; Anr. (2007)<\/p>\n<p>14 SCC 753; Union of India Vs. S. P. Singh (2008) 5 SCC<\/p>\n<p>438; Municipal Corporation, Ludhiana Vs. Inderjit Singh &amp;<\/p>\n<p>Anr. (2008) 13 SCC 506; and V. N. Bharat Vs. Delhi<\/p>\n<p>Development Authority &amp; Anr. AIR 2009 SC 1233.<\/p>\n<p>21.   In view of the above, the High Court ought to have<\/p>\n<p>examined the issue in the correct perspective, as respondent<\/p>\n<p>No. 1 did not controvert the plea taken by the appellants of<\/p>\n<p>sending the allotment letter by Registered Post.<\/p>\n<p>22.   Mere draw of lots\/allocation letter does not confer any<\/p>\n<p>right to allotment. The system of draw of lots is being resorted<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">                               1<\/span><br \/>\nto with a view to identify the prospective allottee. It s only a<\/p>\n<p>mode, a method, a process to identify the allottee i.e. the<\/p>\n<p>process of selection. It is not an allotment by itself. Mere<\/p>\n<p>identification or selection of the allottee does not clothe the<\/p>\n<p>person selected with a legal right to allotment. (See Delhi<\/p>\n<p>Development Authority Vs. Pushpendra Kumar Jain, AIR<\/p>\n<p>1995 SC 1).\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>23.   Constitution Benches of this Court in Bachhittar Singh<\/p>\n<p>Vs. State of Punjab &amp; Anr. AIR 1963 SC 395; and State of<\/p>\n<p>Punjab Vs. Amar Singh Harika AIR 1966 SC 1313, have held<\/p>\n<p>that an order does not become effective unless it is published<\/p>\n<p>and communicated to the person concerned.           Before the<\/p>\n<p>communication, the order can not be regarded as anything<\/p>\n<p>more than provisional in character.\n<\/p>\n<p>      A similar view has been reiterated in Union of India &amp;<\/p>\n<p>Ors. Vs. Dinanath Shantaram Karekar &amp; Ors. AIR 1998 SC<\/p>\n<p>2722; and State of West Bengal Vs. M.R. Mondal &amp; Anr.<\/p>\n<p>(2002) 8 SCC 443.\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">                               1<\/span><br \/>\n      In Laxminarayan R. Bhattad &amp; Ors. Vs. State of<\/p>\n<p>Maharashtra &amp; Anr. (2003) 5 SCC 413, this Court held that<\/p>\n<p>the order of the authority must be communicated for<\/p>\n<p>conferring an enforceable right and in case the order has<\/p>\n<p>been passed and not communicated, it does not create any<\/p>\n<p>legal right in favour of the party.\n<\/p>\n<p>      Thus, in view of the above, it can be held that if an order<\/p>\n<p>is passed but not communicated to the party concerned, it<\/p>\n<p>does not create any legal right which can be enforced through<\/p>\n<p>the court of Law, as it does not become effective till it is<\/p>\n<p>communicated.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>24.   Clause 4 of the allotment letter reads as under:-<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>      &#8220;In case you accept this allotment, you should<br \/>\n      send your acceptance by registered post along<br \/>\n      with amount of balance of twenty five percent of<br \/>\n      price within sixty days from the date of receipt of<br \/>\n      allotment letter.&#8221; (Emphasis added)<\/p>\n<p>In the instant case, an acceptance letter had not been sent by<\/p>\n<p>respondent No.1. Thus, the allotment in her favour remained<\/p>\n<p>of no significance.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">                                 1<\/span><\/p>\n<p>25.   The respondent No.1 raised the plea of non-receipt of the<\/p>\n<p>letter of allotment first time before the High Court. Even if it is<\/p>\n<p>assumed that it is correct, the question does arise as to<\/p>\n<p>whether such a new plea on facts could be agitated before the<\/p>\n<p>Writ Court. It is settled legal proposition that pure question of<\/p>\n<p>law can be raised at any time of the proceedings but a<\/p>\n<p>question of fact which requires investigation and inquiry, and<\/p>\n<p>for which no factual foundation has been laid by a party before<\/p>\n<p>the Court or Tribunal below, cannot be allowed to be agitated<\/p>\n<p>in the Writ Petition.    If the Writ court for some compelling<\/p>\n<p>circumstances desires to entertain a new factual plea the<\/p>\n<p>court must give due opportunity to the opposite party to<\/p>\n<p>controvert the same and adduce the evidence to substantiate<\/p>\n<p>its pleadings. Thus, it is not permissible for the High Court to<\/p>\n<p>consider a new case on facts or mixed question of fact and law<\/p>\n<p>which was not the case of the parties before the Court or<\/p>\n<p>Tribunal below. (Vide State of U.P. Vs. Dr. Anupam Gupta,<\/p>\n<p>AIR 1992 SC 932; Ram Kumar Agrawal &amp; Anr. Vs. Thawar<\/p>\n<p>Das   (D)   through     Lrs.,   (1999)   7   SCC   303;   Vasantha<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">                                  1<\/span><br \/>\nViswanathan &amp; Ors. Vs. V.K. Elayalwar &amp; Ors. (2001) 8 SCC<\/p>\n<p>133; Anup Kumar Kundu Vs. Sudip Charan Chakraborty,<\/p>\n<p>(2006) 6 SC 666; Tirupati Jute Industries (P) Ltd. Vs. State<\/p>\n<p>of    West   Bengal,   (2009)   14   SCC   406;   and   Sanghvi<\/p>\n<p>Reconditioners (P) Ltd. Vs. Union of India &amp; Ors. (2010) 2<\/p>\n<p>SCC 733.\n<\/p>\n<p>      In the instant case, as the new plea on fact has been<\/p>\n<p>raised first time before the High Court it could not have been<\/p>\n<p>entertained, particularly in the manner the High Court has<\/p>\n<p>dealt with as no opportunity of controverting the same had<\/p>\n<p>been given to the appellants.\n<\/p>\n<p>      More so, The High Court, instead of examining the case<\/p>\n<p>in the correct perspective, proceeded in haste, which itself<\/p>\n<p>amounts to arbitrariness. (Vide Fuljit Kaur Vs. State of<\/p>\n<p>Punjab AIR 2010 SC 1237).\n<\/p>\n<p>26.   In Teri Oat Estates (P) Ltd. Vs. U.T. Chandigarh &amp; Ors.<\/p>\n<p>(2004) 2 SCC 130, this Court held that cancellation of an<\/p>\n<p>allotment should be a last resort. The allotment should not be<\/p>\n<p>cancelled unless the intention or motive on the part of the<\/p>\n<p>allottee in not making due payment is evident.      The drastic<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">                                1<\/span><br \/>\npower of resumption and forfeiture should be exercised       in<\/p>\n<p>exceptional cases but that does not mean that the statutory<\/p>\n<p>rights conferring the right on the authority should never be<\/p>\n<p>resorted to. In exceptional circumstances, where the allottee<\/p>\n<p>does not make any payment in terms of allotment, the order of<\/p>\n<p>cancellation should be passed.     Sympathy or sentiment by<\/p>\n<p>itself cannot be a ground for passing an order in favour of<\/p>\n<p>allottees by the courts nor can an order be passed in<\/p>\n<p>contravention of the statutory provisions.<\/p>\n<p>27.   If the instant case is examined in the light of the<\/p>\n<p>aforesaid settled legal propositions, it becomes clear that<\/p>\n<p>respondent No.1, did not make any response whatsoever after<\/p>\n<p>applying for allotment. No explanation could be furnished by<\/p>\n<p>respondent No.1 for why she kept quiet for 4= years after<\/p>\n<p>receiving the allocation letter and why she did not make any<\/p>\n<p>attempt to find out what had happened to her application.<\/p>\n<p>Respondent No.1 did not send her acceptance of the allotment;<\/p>\n<p>did not deposit the amount which became due in 1999 itself;<\/p>\n<p>and did not execute the required hire-purchase agreement<\/p>\n<p>with the appellant-authority. Thus, it is solely because of her<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">                               1<\/span><br \/>\nthat no concluded contract could come into existence between<\/p>\n<p>the parties.   In such a fact-situation, the respondent No.1<\/p>\n<p>could not be      handed over possession of the flat.         The<\/p>\n<p>forfeiture of the earnest money is in terms of the statutory<\/p>\n<p>provisions.\n<\/p>\n<p>      While deciding the writ petition, the High Court did not<\/p>\n<p>even consider the well reasoned judgments\/orders by the<\/p>\n<p>authorities under the Statute.      The Court was supposed to<\/p>\n<p>examine the correctness of those orders. More so, the relevant<\/p>\n<p>record of the authority was not examined.\n<\/p>\n<p>      No reason, leave alone a cogent reason has been given by<\/p>\n<p>the High Court for the reversal of these orders.<\/p>\n<p>28.   The High Court while deciding the case did not give<\/p>\n<p>opportunity to the authority to file a reply to the writ petition.<\/p>\n<p>The Court proceeded in haste and decided the case relying<\/p>\n<p>upon irrelevant materials. An appropriate course may be to<\/p>\n<p>set aside the Judgment and order of the High Court and remit<\/p>\n<p>it for consideration afresh. However, as a period of 13 years<\/p>\n<p>has already been elapsed, since the proceeding came into<\/p>\n<p>existence and we ourselves have examined the entire record<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">                                1<\/span><br \/>\nand re-appreciated the evidence, such a course would not<\/p>\n<p>serve any purpose.\n<\/p>\n<p>29.   In view of the above, the appeal is allowed. The judgment<\/p>\n<p>and order of the High Court is set aside and the orders passed<\/p>\n<p>by the authorities under the statute are restored. No order as<\/p>\n<p>to costs.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>                                      &#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;.J.\n<\/p>\n<p>                                            (P. SATHASIVAM)<\/p>\n<p>                                     &#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;.J.\n<\/p>\n<p>                                           (Dr. B.S. CHAUHAN)<br \/>\nNew Delhi,<br \/>\nAugust 19, 2010<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">                               1<\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">1<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Supreme Court of India Greater Mohali Area Dev. &#8230; vs Manju Jain &amp; Ors on 19 August, 2010 Author: . B Chauhan Bench: P. Sathasivam, B.S. Chauhan REPORTABLE IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CIVIL APPEAL NO. 6791 OF 2010 (Arising out of SLP (C) No. 6427 of 2008) Greater Mohali Area [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-149705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-supreme-court-of-india"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Greater Mohali Area Dev. ... vs Manju Jain &amp; Ors on 19 August, 2010 - Free Judgements of Supreme Court &amp; High Court | Legal India<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/greater-mohali-area-dev-vs-manju-jain-ors-on-19-august-2010\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Greater Mohali Area Dev. ... vs Manju Jain &amp; 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