CWP No.2721 of 20098 -: 1 :- IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATES OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH CWP No.2721 of 20098 Date of decision: May 20, 2009. M/s Kamal Transport Corporation ...Petitioner(s) v. State of Punjab & Anr. ...Respondent(s) CORAM:HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SURYA KANT 1. Whether Reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment ? 2. Whether to be referred to the Reporters or not ? 3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the Digest? Present: Shri Sandeep Jain, Advocate for the petitioner. Shri Palvinder Singh, Sr. Deputy Advocate General, Punjab. Shri Jaspreet Singh, Advocate for respondent(s) No.2. ORDER Surya Kant, J. - (Oral): This order shall dispose of CWP No.2721 of 2008 and 7639 of 2009 as common questions of law and facts are involved in these cases. For brevity, the facts are being taken from CWP No.2172 of 2008. The petitioner seeks quashing of the letter dated 11.9.2007 (Annexure P-15), asking it to deposit interest and penal interest on the delayed payments of the due installments of plot No.37, Jai Inder Singh Transport Nagar in Truck Stand Scheme, Amritsar. The petitioner disputes CWP No.2721 of 20098 -: 2 :- its liability to pay the same on the plea that the Improvement Trust, Amritsar has failed to deliver possession of the subject plot due to illegal encroachment made by someone else. Notice of motion was issued and in response thereto, the Improvement Trust, Amritsar has filed its reply affidavit in which it is averred that the possession of the plot was handed over to the petitioner on 23.4.2001. Learned Counsel for the parties have been heard and the records have been perused. There is indeed no dispute that the subject plot was allotted to the petitioner vide allotment letter dated 13.2.2001 on the following terms and conditions:- “1. The remaining 75% of the sale price may be paid either in lumpsum within 30 days from the date of issue of this memo, without any interest or in five half yearly equated installments with simple interest @ 12% per annum as per schedule mentioned below. 2. In case you fail to deposit the installments by due date as indicated in the schedule, you will be liable to pay penal interest @ 12% + 6% per annum from the overdue period. 3. In case you do not pay the installments within six months of its having become due, the Trust shall be entitled to resume the plot under subject which can be restored to on payment of due installments + interest + penal interest + 20% penalty. 4. In no case amount of interest, penal interest and 20% CWP No.2721 of 20098 -: 3 :- penalty on the default will be waived off, it the payment is not made within the stipulated period as stipulated in the schedule. 8. The possession of the above said plot can be had from the Trust within a period of 30 days from the date of this memo and if you fail to take over the possession within 30 days, then it will be presumed that you have taken over the possession of the site from the Trust.” No provision of any Rules/regulations/bye-laws and/or terms and conditions of the allotment have been referred to which might absolve the petitioner from its liability to pay interest or penal interest on the delayed payments unless the possession is delivered. In the light of the principles laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in a recent decision dated 17.3.2009 delivered in Civil Appeal No.1994 of 2006 (U.T. Administration & Anr. v. Amarjeet Singh & Ors.), the petitioner's challenge to the levy of interest/ penal interest on the delayed payments cannot be entertained. The writ petition qua the impugned order Annexure P-15, therefore, must fail. As regards the petitioner's allegation that the subject site has been encroached upon by one Dhian Singh, I am of the considered view that the petitioner is entitled to be delivered physical possession of the plot free from encroachments. The writ petition is accordingly disposed of with a direction to the Improvement Trust, Amritsar and the Deputy Commissioner, Amritsar to ensure that the unauthorized encroachments, if any, made on the petitioner's plot is removed at the earliest in accordance with law. It is made clear that in case the respondents fail to remove the CWP No.2721 of 20098 -: 4 :- encroachments within a period of four months from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order, subject to deposit of all the arrears of interest/penal interest by the petitioner, it shall be at liberty to represent to the Improvement Trust, Amritsar to allot an alternative site and in that event, the respondents shall be obligated to allot an alternative plot to the petitioner in a time-bound manner. Dasti. May 20, 2009. [ Surya Kant ] kadyan Judge