Nisha Singla v. Adarsh Colony Cooperative House Building Society Ltd. & Ors.
Background
The appellant, a founder member of a cooperative house-building society in Ludhiana since 1975, had been allotted a residential plot that was later caught up in decades of disputes: cancelled allotments by an administrator, fresh allotments, and multiple rounds of litigation before cooperative society authorities, the Punjab and Haryana High Court, and even an earlier round before the Supreme Court, which had already dismissed her appeal once (with liberty to seek review) and then dismissed her review petition too. Despite all this litigation, the core factual question of whether she had ever actually been given physical possession of the plot allotted to her remained unresolved.
Decision Breakdown
The Supreme Court found that although the appellant was not entitled to the larger 500-square-yard plot she had claimed, her entitlement to the smaller 250-square-yard plot originally allotted to her was not seriously disputed: yet the record showed she had still not been handed physical possession of it. Invoking its special power under Article 142 of the Constitution to do "complete justice," the Court did not decide the possession question itself but directed the Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Punjab, to hold an inquiry within four months to determine whether the plot was validly allotted to her and whether it (or a suitable alternative, if the original plot is no longer available) can now be handed over, after hearing all affected parties. With these directions, the appeals were finally disposed of.
Lesson Learnt
Even after losing multiple rounds of litigation on technical or procedural grounds, a person's genuine and undisputed underlying entitlement, such as possession of a lawfully allotted plot, can still be protected by the Supreme Court using its special constitutional powers to ensure substantial justice is actually delivered, rather than letting the claim die on procedural technicalities.