AR,Lakshmanan, J. - (1.) THIS appeal is directed against the judgment and order dated 14.5.1996 passed by the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad in Civil Misc. Writ Petition No. 36735 of 1995. The appellant-Bareilly Development Authority (hereinafter referred to as "the BDA") was set up by the State of U.P. by Notification dated 19.4.1977 issued under Section 3 of the U.P. Urban Planning and Development Act, 1973. The BDA issued an advertisement calling for applicants to apply for allotment of flats to be constructed by it in the Priyadarshani Nagar Yojna of Bareilly under the Pushpanjali Scheme and the Kusumanjali Scheme. The appellant also issued a Brochure giving the terms and conditions under which the said applicants could apply for and be allotted the flats under the said Scheme. The estimated cost of the said flats was also given in the said Brochure and it was clearly mentioned that the final costing will be done later and the costing of the flats was subject to the right of the appellant to amend the same. The Brochure also did not contain any prescribed date or time period for either construction of the flats or the delivery of possession.
(2.) THE respondents in this appeal applied for allotment of flats in Kusumanjali Scheme. As per the Brochure, 52 flats under the Scheme were to be of 57.10 Sq. Mtrs. (614.39 Sq. Ft.) and were to cost as follows : Ground Floor - Rs. 2,10,000.00 First Floor - Rs. 2,00,000.00 301 Second Floor - Rs. 1,90,000.00 Third Floor - Rs. 1,80,000.00 Respondents 1-5 registered themselves for the flats in Kusumanjali Scheme and also paid the required registration fee. The construction of the flats was started and thereafter, there was some dispute between the BDA and its contractor and the construction was delayed for nearly one and a half year and finally the construction was re-started though only two floors instead of original four were built in the Kusumanjali Scheme and thus only 22 flats were built out of 52 originally intended. After the draw of lots, the respondents were issued allotment letters indicating therein in Clause 2 that the price of the flat was still an estimated one and that the final costing would be done after completion on the basis of the actual costs and would be informed thereafter to the allottee which would be payable by them. Clause 2 of the Allotment Letter (Annexure-B) reads as under: "The estimated cost of the flat is Rs. 2,10,000/-. The final cost would be intimated to you on the basis of actual costing after the completion of the Scheme, which would be payable by you." A Final Costing Committee was set up by the BDA consisting of the Secretary, the Chief Accounts Officer and the Executive Engineer of the BDA and the Committee, after due deliberation, recommended that on the basis of the actual cost of each flat, the price had to be enhanced (in the case of flats on the ground floor, for example, increasing from Rs. 2,10,000/- to Rs. 2,81,100/-). The Committee also recommended that the allottees be given additional time to deposit the enhanced amount of the price as the said allottees had already deposited their respective quarterly instalments. It has further recommended that in case the allottees fail to deposit the said amount in the time prescribed, interest @ 18% be charged from them. The respondents were duly informed by individual notices by the appellant about the final costing of the said flats and also that they were required to deposit within 15 days of the receipt of the said notice the balance amount of price of the flat as well as the proposed lease rent. The respondents filed objections to the said increase in price. The said representations were rejected by the appellant on 21.10.1993 (Annexure-D). When the flats were ready for delivery of possession, in view of the reluctance shown by the respondents in paying the enhanced amount, the BDA offered the option to the respondents to either file an undertaking by way of affidavit that they would pay the enhanced amounts or to take back their deposit sums with interest. All the respondents filed their undertakings by way of affidavits dated 19.5.1994 and undertook unconditionally to be bound by the final costing of the flats by the BDA and also to pay the enhanced amount. The affidavit reads thus : AFFIDAVIT I, Shrimati Vrinda Gujarati, Wife of Shri B.K. Das, am the resident of 330, Madhobadi, Bareilly and I hereby on oath state as following: 1. That the decision taken in future by the Bareilly Development Authority regarding the increase in the cost of the Flat No. 9-A (Ground Floor), Kusumanjali Scheme, Priyadarshani Nagar, Bareilly allotted to me would be binding on me. 2. That the deponent is ready to deposit the entire amount of the increase in cost. Sd/- Varinda
(3.) ON 19.6.1993 to 13.7.1994, the BDA delivered possession of the said flats on various dates to the respondents. The respond- ents, after taking possession of their respective premises and after filing the above undertakings once again made representation to the appellant against the final costing of the said flats. The BDA, in the meantime, sent another notice to the respondents to pay the enhanced 302 unpaid amounts of the costs with 18% interest or else legal action would be taken against them. Since the respondents failed to pay the said amount in spite of repeated demands, the BDA initiated recovery proceedings against the respondents under the U.P. Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950 and recovery certificates were issued against the respondents by the Tahsildar, Bareilly. Being aggrieved, the respondents filed C.M.W.R No. 36735 of 1995 before the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad challenging enhancement in the final cost of the flats and praying, inter alia, that the recovery proceedings against the respondents initiated by the BDA for recovery of the unpaid amounts be quashed. The High Court stayed the recovery proceedings.provided the respondents deposited Rs. 45,000/- on or before 31.1.1996. Before the High Court, the BDA placed the Chart showing the details of the reasons for enhancement of the price. (Annexure-N). The High Court by its judgment and order dated 14.5.1996 allowed the writ petition filed by the respondents herein and issued further directions to the BDA regarding adjustment of various amounts against the final price of the flats, though the High Court did not either strike down the enhanced price or hold it illegal. Aggrieved by the said judgment, the BDA has preferred this appeal by way of special leave petition. We heard Shri Bharat Sangal, learned senior counsel appearing for the BDA and Mr. A.K. Sanghi and Mr. Punit D. Tyagi, learned counsel appearing for the respondents.;