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Om Prakash Dhabai & Anr. v. The State of Rajasthan & Ors.

Civil Appeal · 2017 INSC 1108Decided 14 Nov 2017
Civil Appeal No. 18741 of 2017
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice R. Banumathi

Background

The appellants' dispute concerned the allotment of a shop/plot under a 6 May 1997 letter issued by the Commissioner (Headquarters) of the Jaipur Municipal Corporation. The litigation had dragged on for years, and in an earlier order dated 13 January 2017 the Supreme Court had noted that the respondents (the State and the Corporation) considered the specific vacant space (in "S-Block") to be land earmarked under the city's Master Plan for parking, creating uncertainty over whether allotment there could proceed.

Decision Breakdown

On instructions, the appellants' counsel informed the Court that the appellants were willing to take the shop allotment at their own risk, meaning that if and when the Master Plan was implemented and the space was needed for parking, they would accept eviction at that time. The Supreme Court disposed of the appeal on these recorded terms: allotment was to proceed strictly per the original 1997 allotment letter, the appellants would be liable to pay the same usual charges levied on similarly situated allottees, and no costs were awarded.

Lesson Learnt

Parties can resolve protracted land-allotment litigation by voluntarily accepting a conditional, "at their own risk" allotment, getting a tangible benefit now in exchange for giving up any future claim to resist eviction if the land is later needed for its originally planned public use.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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