CWP No.19380 of 2009 (O & M) ::1:: IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Date of decision: 09.05.2011 (i) CWP No.19380 of 2009 (O & M) Om Parkash .. Petitioner Versus State of Haryana and others .. Respondents (ii) CWP No.19448 of 2009 (O & M) Tej Parkash Singh .. Petitioner Versus State of Haryana and others .. Respondents (iii) CWP No.19443 of 2009 (O & M) Gulzar Singh .. Petitioner Versus State of Haryana and others .. Respondents (iv) CWP No.19454 of 2009 (O & M) Anil Kumar .. Petitioner Versus State of Haryana and others .. Respondents CWP No.19380 of 2009 (O & M) ::2:: (v) CWP No.19563 of 2009 (O & M) Kanwar Manjit Singh .. Petitioner Versus State of Haryana and others .. Respondents (vi) CWP No.19562 of 2009 (O & M) Naresh Kumar .. Petitioner Versus State of Haryana and others .. Respondents (vii) CWP No.19561 of 2009 (O & M) Kulwant Singh .. Petitioner Versus State of Haryana and others .. Respondents (viii) CWP No.19552 of 2009 (O & M) Parveen Kumar .. Petitioner Versus State of Haryana and others .. Respondents CWP No.19380 of 2009 (O & M) ::3:: (ix) CWP No.224 of 2010 (O & M) Sher Pal Singh .. Petitioner Versus State of Haryana and others .. Respondents (x) CWP No.228 of 2010 (O & M) Shadi Lal .. Petitioner Versus State of Haryana and others .. Respondents (xi) CWP No.295 of 2010 (O & M) Tarsem Chand .. Petitioner Versus State of Haryana and others .. Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE RANJIT SINGH. Present:- Mr.S.S. Dinarpur, Advocate, for the petitioner. Ms. Shruti Jain, AAG, Haryana, for the State. Mr.Jagdeep Singh, Advocate, for the respondents. **** CWP No.19380 of 2009 (O & M) ::4:: RANJIT SINGH J. (ORAL) This order will dispose of 11 writ petitions i.e (i) CWP No.19380 of 2009 (O & M), (ii) CWP No.19448 of 2009 (O & M), (iii) CWP No.19443 of 2009 (O & M), (iv) CWP No.19454 of 2009 (O & M), (v) CWP No.19563 of 2009 (O & M), (vi) CWP No.19562 of 2009 (O & M), (vii) CWP No.19448 of 2009 (O & M), (viii) CWP No.19448 of 2009 (O & M), (ix) CWP No.224 of 2010 (O & M), (x) CWP No.228 of 2010 (O & M) and (xi) CWP No.295 of 2010 (O & M) as the common questions of fact and law are involved in these cases. The facts are being taken from 19380 of 2009. The respondent- Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board (for short-'the Board') issued advertisement for auction of plots in new Grain Market (Extension), Ambala City. In the advertisement, it was clearly given out that all the modern facilities have been provided and the auction was accordingly held on the basis of such undertaking. The petitioners, therefore, had participated in the auction and were allotted plots. Allotment letters were issued on 08.01.2001 and they were offerred possession. Their grievance is that without completing the requirements of grain market and without providing basic facilities the offer of possession was made. The petitioners would contend that they have purchased the shop in auction for 27,31,000/- but in fact, no basic facilities were provided as was given out in the advertisement. With this grievance, a writ petition No.9539 of 2001 was filed before this Court seeking direction to the respondents to provide basic amenities in the market with further request to postpone the recovery of CWP No.19380 of 2009 (O & M) ::5:: instalments till such basic amenities were made available. This writ petition was disposed of on 02.04.2002. Copy of the order is annexed with the writ petition as Annexure P-3. Despite that, the respondents failed to provide basic amenities which necessitated the petitioners in the present petition to approach this Court again through CWP No.5452 of 2003. The prayer made in this writ petition was that the respondents cannot claim interest and penal interest and penalty etc. on the instalments due as the basic amenities had not been provided. This writ petition was also disposed of on 24.06.2003 with the direction to the respondent No.3 to decide the representation of the petitioners within 8 weeks. The representation was rejected and thereafter, demand was made for recovery of the outstanding dues from the petitioner on 02.08.2003. The petitioners were again constrained to approach this Court thorough CWP No.14305 of 2003. This Court, then disposed of this writ petition in terms of the judgment rendered in CWP No.4190 of 2002, which is annexed with the petition as Annexure P-7. While allowing CWP No.4190 of 2002, this Court had directed the respondent to provide water supply and sewerage facilities and other facilities as mentioned in the sanctioned building plans to all the plot holders in the New Grain Market, Naneola, District Ambala within a period of one year. The Court had also observed:- “ It is further directed that the respondents would not charge interest and penal interest from the petitioners till the water and sewerage facilities are provided to them in the New Grain Market. It is CWP No.19380 of 2009 (O & M) ::6:: also made clear that the petitioners will raise construction on the allotted plots as per the approved design within a period of two years from the date of providing of the water and sewerage facilities in the New Grain Market. However, in the meanwhile the petitioners will continue to pay intalments of the price already fixed without interest. The clause of interest would come into operation after the facilities of water supply and sewerage are provided to the petitioners in the New Grain Market. If the petitioners commit any default in making payment of installments in the aforesaid manner, they will be liable to pay interest on the said default as provided in the allotment letter. Whatever instalments have fallen due till today, the petitioners shall pay the same to the respondents within a period of two months. If any new default in the payment of instalments is committed, the petitioners would be liable to pay interest also.“ Thus, the Court had directed that whatever instalments had fallen due till the date of the order, the petitioners were to pay the same to the respondents within a period of two months and the interest could be charged only in case there was any default in payment of the instalments not otherwise. The petitioners, are those who had to approach the Court subsequently through writ petition No.14305 of 2003. This writ petition was also disposed of in CWP No.19380 of 2009 (O & M) ::7:: the same terms on the ground that the issue involved was fully covered by the judgment passed in CWP No.4190 of 2002. The said writ petition No.14305 of 2003 was accordingly disposed of in the same terms. Now the petitioners have approached this Court with the grievance that the liability to charge interest cannot be fastened on the petitioners as they had deposited the instalments whatever due within a period of two months from the date of the order passed in CWP No. 14305 of 2003. The respondents, on the other hand, would submit that only ratio of the law laid down in order passed in CWP No.4190 of 2002 was kept in view while disposing of Civil Writ Petition No.14305 of 2003 but the liability to pay interest for depositing the due amount within two months cannot be applied to these cases. I am not prepared to accept the submissions made by the respondents. Once, the writ petition filed by the petitioner was allowed in terms of order (Annexure P-7) passed in writ petition No.4190 of 2002, the direction issued in order Annexure P-7 would ipso facto apply to the case of the petitioners. The entire payment was made in December, 2004. If the direction issued in Annexure P- 7 is noticed, this may not be possible to require the petitioner to pay interest on the amount due. The submission that the facilities were provided in the year 2002 and the interest could be charged up to the date of payment from 2002 can also not be accepted. As such plea if available, was required to be raised when the Court was disposing of the writ petition No.14305 of 2003. Once, this defence was not projected in the said writ petition, the same cannot be allowed to be CWP No.19380 of 2009 (O & M) ::8:: raised in the present petitions. The prayer made in the writ petitions, therefore, deserves to be allowed. The writ petitions are accordingly allowed. The direction is hereby issued that the petitioners would not be liable to pay any interest on the amounts which they have paid within two months from the date of order passed on 04.11.2004 in CWP No.14305 of 2003. All the writ petitions are disposed of with above terms. (RANJIT SINGH) May 9, 2011 JUDGE Sukhpreet