D. P. WADHWA, J. - (1.) SPECIAL leave granted.
(2.) THESE 11 appeals are directed against the judgment dated 29/07/1994 of the Division Bench of the Delhi High Court passed in appeal against the judgment of the learned single Judge dated 27/05/1994. The judgment of the learned single Judge decided as many as 25 writ petitions, while he allowed 14 of them 11 were dismissed. Delhi Development Authority (for short 'the DDA') had filed Letters Patent Appeals against the judgment of the learned single Judge allowing the writ petitions. 11 of these are before us. The writ petitioners were aggrieved by the order of the DDA rejecting their applications for allotment of plots for which they had applied in terms of public notice dated 8/02/1976 and they had also deposited the earnest money and had further paid 30 Per Cent of premium as per the subsequent notice issued in September, 1976. The rejection of the request of the appellants for allotment of plots was principally on two grounds : (1) the applicants were not having licences under Section 416 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act and (2) Rule 6 (v) of the Delhi Development Authority (Disposal of Developed Nazul Land) Rules, 1981 (for shot 'Nazul Rules') also required the applicants to be possessed of municipal licence. Both these objections of the DDA did not find favour either with the learned single Judge or the Division Bench in Letters Patent Appeals. So these appeals by DDA.
(3.) NOTICE dated 8/02/1976 informed all concerned of the decision of the DDA to the industries functioning in non-conforming areas or the areas which were under acquisition for various public purposes to obtain land in the conforming industrial areas which had been developed by the DDA in different localities in Delhi in accordance with the provisions of the Master Plan. The applicants were required to make applications on prescribed forms. The notice also informed the applicants to deposit earnest money on the basis of the size of the plot applied by them for allotment. Price of the land was to be deposited in four quarterly instalments. The last date for receipt of the application was 31/03/1976. A second notice was issued by DDA in September 1976 requiring the applicants to pay 30 Per Cent of the total premium of the land by 31/10/1976. This notice also specified the rates to be charged for different types of developed plots. It is not disputed that the appellants did apply, deposit earnest money as well as the premium as required by the two notices. Their applications however came to the rejected in the year 1988 and the earnest money and premium were also refunded. In the letter rejecting the applications no ground was mentioned as to why the applications were rejected. But it is a common ground that these were rejected as the applicants did not possess the municipal licence and any allotment on that account would contravene the statutory provisions of the Nazul Rules. Section 416 of the DMC Act is as under : "416. Factory, etc., not to be established without permission of the Commissioner. (1) No person shall, without the previous permission in writing of the Commissioner, establish in any premises, or materially alter, enlarge or extend, any factory, workshop or trade premises in which it is intended to employ steam, electricity, water of other mechanical power. (2) The Commissioner may refuse to give such permission, if he is of the opinion that establishment, alteration, enlargement or extension of such factory, workshop or trade premises, in the proposed position would be objectionable by reason of the density of the population in the neighbourhood thereof, or would be a nuisance to the inhabitants of the neighbourhood." Contravention of this provision entails penal consequences and its punishment is provided under Section 461 which is as under : "461. Punishment for certain offences. Whoever - (a) contravenes any provision of any of the sections, sub-sections, clauses, provisions or other provisions of this Act mentioned in the first column of the Table in the Twelfth Schedule; or (b) fails to comply with any order or direction lawfully given to him or any requisition lawfully made upon him under any of the said sections, sub-sections, clauses, provisos or other provisions, shall be punishable - (i) with fine which may extend to the amount, or with imprisonment for a term which may extend to the period, specified in that behalf in the third column of the said Table or with both; and (ii) in the case of a continuing contravention or failure, with an additional fine which may extend to the amount specified in the fourth column of that Table for every day during which such contravention of failure continues after conviction for the first such contravention or failure." If we refer to Twelfth Schedule as mentioned in the section, the punishment is as under : JUDGEMENT_420_6_1997Html1.htm Rule 6(v) of the Nazul Rules is as under : "6(v) to industrialists or owners and occupiers of warehouses who are required to shift their industries and warehouses from non-conforming areas to conforming area under the Master Plan, or whose land is acquired or is proposed to be acquired under the Act; Provided that the size of such industrial plot shall be determined with reference to the requirement of the industry or warehouses set up or to be set up in accordance with the plants and such industrialists and owners of warehouses have the capacity to establish and run such industries or warehouses and on the conditions that the land allotted at pre-determined rates shall not, in any case, exceed the size of the land which has been, if any, acquired from such industrialists or owners and occupiers of warehouses and which form part of Nazul land; Provided further that in making such allotment, the Authority shall be advised by the Land Allotment. Advisory Committee :" ;