Licence for Suntec City cancelled, High Court told
Saurabh Malik
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, August 19
More than six years after a licence was given to M/s Indian Co-operative Housing Building Society Limited for developing “Suntec City” on 108.58 acres in New Chandigarh, the “competent authority” has cancelled it.
As a bunch of petitions evolving around the issue came up for resumed hearing before the Bench of Justice Arun Palli and Justice Vikram Aggarwal, the State counsel submitted that an affidavit to this effect had been submitted by GMADA senior town planner Harpreet Kaur.
The Bench also referred to another status report, which said the promoters were instructed to furnish the original consent letters for the disputed area, but they failed to do so. The ownership/title of the petitioners over the disputed area of 27.78 acres in one village and 2.71 acres in another had been established and verified, and no longer formed a part of the change of land use (CLU) previously granted to the promoters.
It also said the promoters had been directed to submit and obtain approval for a revised layout plan, as the licence stood cancelled. They were also instructed not to carry out development activity on the remaining project area. Petitioners’ counsel Charanpal Singh Bagri and Gurjit Kaur Bagri, however, argued partial alteration or modification of the CLU was impermissible under the Punjab Regional Town Planning and Development Act and that the authorities were obliged to revoke the CLU permissions in their entirety.
The court observed the Punjab Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) registered the project `de hors’ the fact that promoters had failed to submit even the joint development agreement or collaboration agreement in an apparent violation of the Punjab State Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Rules, 2017.
The Bench noted Punjab Additional Advocate-General during the course of hearing shared a communication dated August 5, issued by RERA to the promoters “whereby a notice for revocation of registration of the project `District Seven’ under Section 7 (1) (b) (c) and (d) of the Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Act, 2016, has been issued. And 30 days’ period to submit response, if any, has been afforded, after which appropriate orders, in this regard, would be passed”.
The Bench was also told that an FIR for cheating and other offences was registered on November 19, 2022, under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471, 472 and 120-B IPC at the Mullanpur police station against four accused –Ajay Sehgal, Suresh Kumar Bajaj, Rajesh Girdhar and Ashish Kamra.
Documents regarding 250 sq yd plot allegedly sold by the accused/accused’s company out of petitioner Balwinder Singh’s land were examined during Sehgal’s interrogation. The State counsel added Bajaj was evading arrest and proceedings to declare him a proclaimed offender had since been initiated.
