DELHI ADMINISTRATION THROUGH ITS SECRETARYversusUMRAO SINGH

                         [2011] 11 S.C.R. 838


A     DELHI ADMINISTRATION THROUGH ITS SECRETARY
                                    v.
                            UMRAO SINGH
                   (Civil Appeal No. 8526 of 2011)
                          OCTOBER 11, 2011
B
          [R. V. RAVEENDRAN AND A.K. PATNAIK, JJ.]

          Delhi Development Authority (Disposal of Developed
    Nazul Land) Rules, 1981 - rr. 4, 6 - Government of India
C 1considered the recommendations of the Committee set up to
    study the measures for controlling land values and stabilizing
    land prices in the urban areas of Dell7i and framed 1961
    scheme for acquisition, development and disposal of land -
    By office order dated 3.4.1986 issued by Delhi
D Administration, 1961 Scheme was amended - Whether 1961
    scheme could have been amended by administrative order
  . dated 3.4.1986- Held: Sub-rule (1) of r.4 of Rules stated that
    the Authority may, in conformity with the plans, and subject
    to the other provisions of the rules, allot Nazul land to
E individuals and other categories of persons - Sub-rule (2) of
    r.4 further provided that the Authority shall in conformity with
    plans and subject to the Rules dispose the Nazul Land by
    auction to the categories of institutions named in clauses (a)
    to (g) in sub-rule 2 of r. 4 - There is nothing in r. 4 to indicate
F that the 1961 Scheme has been incorporated in r.4 - r.6(1)
    of the Rules only provided that if the Authority decides to allot
    Nazul land to the individuals eligible under the 1961 Scheme,
    then Nazul land shall be allotted at pre-determined rates and
    not at the rates determined in a public auction - High Court
    took an erroneous view in the impugned order that r. 6 of the
G Rules, which was a statutory rule, laid down conditions for
    allotment of land under the 1961 Scheme and the conditions
    for allotment of land under the 1961 Scheme could therefore
    be amended by only statutory rules uls.56 read with s.22 of

H                                  838
 DELHI ADMINISTRATION THROUGH ITS SECRETARY 839
                v. UMRAO SINGH
  the Act - r. 6 of the Rules did not stipulate the conditions for   A
  allotment under the 1961 Scheme and the 1961 Scheme
· being an administrative scheme could be amended without
  a statutory rule -Delhi Development Act, 1957 - ss.22, 56.
     Ramanand v. Union of India and Ors. AIR (1994) Delhi
                                                                     B
29 - approved.

                       Case Law Reference:
     AIR (1994) Delhi 29        approved               Para 6
    CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No.                  C
8526 of 2011.

    From the Judgment & Order dated 15.12.2008 of the High
Court of Delhi at New Delhi in Civil WP No. 2147 of 1992.
                                                                     D
                              WITH

Civil Appeal No. 8527 of 2011.

    Parag P. Tripathi, ASG, Rachana Srivastava for the
Appellant.                                                           E

    Bharat Jain, N.S. Vashisht and lrshad Ahmad for the
Respondent.

     The order of the Court was delivered by
                                                                     F
                           ORDER

     A. K. PATNAIK,.J. 1. Leave granted.

    2. These are appeals against the common judgment and
order dated 15:12.2008 of the Division Bench of the High Court       G
of Delhi in Civil Writ Petition Nos.2147 of 1992 and 2148 of
1992 (for short the 'impugned order').

   3. The facts very briefly are that in the year 1959, the
Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, set up a              H
    840       SUPREME COURT REPORTS                [2011] 11 S.C.R.


P. Committee to study the problems of introducing measures of
    control on land values and stabilizing land prices in the urban
    areas of Delhi and this Committee submitted its report
    recommending some measures. The Government of India
    considered the recommendations and conveyed its decision
B to the Chief Commissioner, Delhi, by its letter dated
    02.05.1961 regarding acquisition, development and disposal
    of land {hereinafter called 'the 1961 Scheme').The 1961
    Scheme inter alia contemplated that land may be allotted at
    pre-determined rates, namely, at the cost of acquisition and
c development plus the additional charges mentioned in the
    Scheme, to individuals whose land has been acquired as a
  . result of the Chief Commissioner's notifications dated
    17.07.1959, 03.09.1957, 13.11.1959 and 10.11.1960 or other
    such notifications with a view to rehabilitate such individuals.
   Pursuant to the 1961 Scheme, land-owners, whose land was
0
    acquired, applied for allotment of alternative plots pursuant to
    advertisements inviting applications and after the necessary
   requirements as stipulated in the 1961 Scheme were complied
   with, plots were allotted to the persons wl)o were the recorded
    owners prior to the issue of notification under Section 4 of the
E Land Acquisition Act.

      4. By an Officer Order dated 03.04.1986 issued by the
  Delhi Administration, Delhi, Land and Building Department, the
  1961 Scheme was amended. The Office Order dated
F 03.04.1986 is extracted hereinbelow:-
                  "DELHI ADMINISTATION, DELHI
                LAND AND BUILDING DEPARTMENT
                    VIKAS MINAR, NEW DELHI.
          37(32)/1/12                         Dated: 3rd April' 86
G
                              Office Order
          In supersession of and previous order issued on the
          subject, the Administrator 'Delhi is pleased to order that
          following norms should be followed in respect of allotment
H
DELHI ADMINISTRATION THROUGH ITS SECRETARY 841
       v. UMRAO SINGH [A.K. PATNAIK, J.]
   of altertlative plots in lieu of the land acquired for Planned     A
   Deveil.9pment of Delhi under the scope of large scale
   Acquisition, Development and Disposal of ~and in Delhi of
   the Gov~rnment of India contained in their letter dated
   2.5.1961:
    1.      In 6rder to make applicant eligible for all allotment     B
            of alternative plot, the minimum land acquired for
            Planned Development of Delhi will be one bigha
            instead of 150 sq. yds. which was being followed
         · ""earlier.
                                                                      c
    2. '.   In case the applicant has purchased the requisite
            land of 1 bigha he should have·purchased the same
            5 years earlier than the date of notification under
            Section 4 of the Delhi Land Acquisition Act in order
            to make him eligible for allotment of alternative plot.   D
    3.      Condition No. 2 will, however, riot be applicable in
            respect of ancestral cases.
    4.      Minimum size of the plot will be restricted to 250
            sq. yards where land acquired is more than 10             E
            bighas. Cases where land acquired is more than
            5 bighas but upto 10 bighas plot size of 150 sq.
            yds. will be recommended and in respect of the
            cases where the land acquired ranges between 1
            bigha to 5 bighas, the size of the plot will be           F
            restricted to 80 sq. yrds.
    5.      The plot will be allotted by DOA on pre-determined
            rates fixed by the Competent Authority from time to
            time.
   It is also clarified that these orders shall also apply to all     G
   pending applications.
                                              {P.S. Bhatnagar)
                                                 SECRETARY
                                       (LAND AND BUILDING)"           H
    842     SUPREME COURT REPORTS                  [2011] 11 S.C.R.


A It was, thus, stipulated in the amended Scheme that in case the
  applicant has purchased the requisite land of one bigha, he
  should have purchased the same five years earlier than the date
  of notification under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act in
  order to make him eligible for allotment of alternative plot.
B        5. On 27.01.1984, a notification was issued under Section
    4 of the Land Acquisition Act for acquisition of 3787 bighas
    and 12 biswas of land situated in Village Andheria for the public
    purpose of Planned Development of Delhi, which included the
    lands of the respondents, and the respondents were paid
C   compensation in accordance with the Awards. The Government
    thereafter invited applications for allotment of alternative plots
    under the 1961 Scheme and the respondents applied for
    allotment of alternative plots in their applications dated
    07.11.1986. As the applications submitted by the respondents
D   lacked material particulars and were not accompanied with the
    relevant documents, the respondents were intimated to furnish
    material particulars and the relevant documents including the
    sale deeds by which they had purchased the land. The
    respondents furnished the particulars and documents and on
E   scrutiny, it was found that the respondents had purchased the
    land in the years 1982 and 1983. The applications of the
    respondents were rejected by communications dated
    30.09.1991 as they had purchased the lands within five years
    of the date of the notification under Section 4 of the Land
F   Acquisition Act, i.e. 22.01.1984.
       6. Aggrieved, the respondents filed Civil Writ Petition
  Nos.2147 of 1992 and 2148 of 1992 in the High Court and
  contended that the 1961 Scheme had been incorporated in the
  Delhi Development Authority (Disposal of Developed Nazul
G Land) Rules, 1981 (for short 'the Nazul Land Rules'), which are
  statutory in character and these rules could not be amended
  by an administrative order dated 03.04.1986. The High Court
  accepted the contention of the petitioner and held in the
  impugned order that Nazul Land Rules had been made by the
H Central Government under clause U) of sub-section (2) of
DELHI ADMINISTRATION THROUGH ITS SECRETARY 843
       v. UMRAO SINGH [A.K. PATNAIK, J.]
Section 56 read with sub-section (3) of Section 22 of the Delhi     A
Development Act, 1957 (for short 'the Act') and could be
amended only in the manner prescribed under Section 56 read
with Section 22 of the Act and by an administrative order a
further condition could not be stipulated under Rule 6 of the
Nazul Land Rules. The High Court accordingly set aside the          B
communications dated 30.09.1991 rejecting the applications
of the respondents for alternative plots and remitted the matter
to the appellants to consider the request of the respondents in
the light of the provisions contained in the Nazul Land Rules
and made it clear that the appellants would be permitted to take    c
into consideration the nature of the policy as well as the
condition stipulated in the 1961 Scheme as explained in the
Full Bench judgment of the High Court in Ramanand v. Union
of India & Ors. (AIR 1994 Delhi 29].
     7. The only contention raised by the learned counsel for       D
the appellant before us is that the view taken by the High Court
that the 1961 Scheme could not have been amended by the
administrative order dated 03.04.1986 was not correct.
Learned counsel for the respondents, on the other hand,
supported the impugned order of the High Court.                     E
     8. Rules 4 and 6 of the Nazul Land Rules, which are
relevant for deciding the issue raised in this appeal, are
extracted hereinbelow:
    "4. Persons to whom Nazul land may be al/otted.-(1) The         F
    Authority may, in conformity with the plans, and subject to
    the other provisions of these rules, allot Nazul land to
    individuals, [body of persons, firms, companies], public
    and private institutions, co-operative house building
    societies, other co-operative societies of individuals,         G
    cooperative societies of industrialists and to the
    departments of the Central Government, State
    Governments and the Union territories.
    (2) The Authority shall, in conformity with plans and subject
    to the provisions of these rules, dispose the Nazul land by     H
    844       SUPREME COURT REPORTS                  (2011] 11 S.C.R.


A         auction to the following institutions :
          (a) hospitals;
          (b) dispensaries;
          (c) nursing homes;
B
          (d) higher or technical education institutions;
          (e) community halls;
          (f) clubs;
c         (g) schools:
          Provided that nothing in. this sub-rule shall affect the
          allotment of land to the Central Government, State
          Government, Union territory, local body, autonomous
          bodies or organisations owned by the Central
D
          Government."
          "6. Allotment of Nazul land at pre-determined rates.-
          Subject to the other provisions-of these rules, the Authority
          shall allot Nazul land at the pre-determined rates in the
E         following cases, namely:-
          (i) to individuals whose land has been acquired for planned
          development of Delhi after the 1st day of January, 1961,
          and which forms part of Nazul land:

F         Provided that if an individual is to be allotted a residential
          plot, the size of such plot may be determined by the
          Administrator after taking into consideration the area and
          the value of the land acquired from him and the location
          and the value of the plot to be allotted;
G         (ii) to individuals in the low income group or the middle
          income group other than specified in clause (i) -
                  (a) who are tenants in a building in any area in
                  respect of which a slum clearance order is made
                  under the Slum Areas Act;
H
DELHI ADMINISTRATION THROUGH ITS SECRETARY 845
   1
  · ··. 1 .,
      , .
             v. UMRAO SINGH [A.K. PATNAIK, J.]
        . (b) who, in any slum area or the other congested           A
          area, own any plot of land measuring less than 67
         'square metres or own any building in any slum area
          or other congested area;
   (iii) to individuals, other than those specified in clauses (i)
   and (ii), ·who are in the low income group or the middle          B
   income group, by draw of lots to be conducted under the
   supervision of the Land Allotment Advisory Committee;
   (iv) to individuals belonging to Scheduled Castes and
   Scheduled Tribes or who are widows of defence personnel           C
   killed in action, or ex-servicemen, physically handicapped
   individuals subject to the provisions of rule 13;
   (v) to industrialists or owners and occupiers of warehouses
   who are required to shift their industries and warehouses
   from non-conforming areas to conforming area under the            D
   Master Plan, or whose land is acquired or is proposed to
   be acquired under the Act:
   Provided that the size of such industrial plot shall be
   determined with reference to the requirement of the
   industry or warehouses set up or to be set up in                  E
   accordance with the plants and such industrialists and
   owners of warehouses have the capacity to establish and
   run such industries or warehouses and on the condition that
   the land allotted at pre-determined rates shall not, in any
   case, exceed the size of the land which has been, if any,         F
   acquired from such industrialist or owners and occupiers
   of warehouses and which form part of Nazul land:
   Provided further that in making such allotment, the Authority
   shall be. advised by the Land Allotn:ient Advisory                G
   Committee;
   (vi) to co-operative group housing societies, co-operative
   housing societies, consumer co-operative societies and
   co-operative societies of industrialists on "first come first
   served basis."                                                    H
    846      SUPREME COURT REPORTS                  [2011] 11 S.C.R.

A       9. It will be clear from sub-rule (1) of Rule 4 of the Nazul
  Land Rules that the Authority may, in conformity with the plans,
  and subject to the other provisions of these rules, allot Nazul
  land to individuals and other categories of persons. Sub-rule
  (2) of Rule 4 further provides that the Authority shall in conformity
B with plans and subject to the rules dispose the Nazul Land by
  auction to the categories of institutions named in clauses (a)
  to (g) in sub-rule 2 of Rule 4. The Full Bench of the High Court
  has held in the case of Ramanand v. Union of India & Ors.
  (supra) that Rule 4 requires that the allotment of land shall be
C made in conformity with the plans and 'plans' means the Master
  Plan and the Zonal Development Plan for a zone. Thus, there
  is nothing in Rule 4 which envisages allotment of Nazul land to
  different category of persons to indicate that the 1961 Scheme
  has been incorporated in Rule 4. The Full Bench of the High
  Court has also held in the aforesaid decision that the word
D 'may' in sub-rule (1) of Rule 4 cannot be construed as 'shall'
  and discretion has been vested in the Authority to allot land to
  the categories of persons mentioned in the sub-rule.
       10. Rule 6 is titled "Allotment of Nazul land at pre-
E determined rates" and it provides that subject to the other
  provisions of the rules, the Authority shall allot Nazul land at the
  pre-determined rates in the cases enumerated in clauses (i)
  to (iv) and clause (i) of Rule 6 covers cases of individuals
  whose land has been acquired for planned development of
F Delhi after the 1st day of January, 1961 and which forms part
  of Nazul land. Sub-Rule (1) of Rule 6, therefore, only provides
  that when the Authority decides to allot land to any individual
  under the 1961 Scheme, it shall allot at the predetermined
  rates.
G       11. This is the view that the Full Bench of the Delhi High
    Court has taken in Ramanand v. Union of India & Ors. (supra).
    The relevant portion of the Full Bench judgment is quoted
    hereunder:
          "Rule 6, in reality, controls the rates of premium chargeable
H
 DELHI ADMINISTRATION THROUGH ITS SECRE:IARY 847
        v. UMRAO SINGH [A.K. PATNAIK, J.]

        only in those cases where land is allotted to the persons       A
        mentioned therein. In other cases, the rules provide for sale
        of land at the market price determined by the highest bid
        on public auction of land."
  Thus, according to the Full Bench of the High Court in
                                                                        8
. Ramanand v. Union of India & Ors. (supra) Rule 6 controls the
  rates of premium chargeable only in those cases where land
  is allotted to the persons mentioned therein and in other cases,
  the rules provide for sale of land at the market price determined
  by the highest bid on public auction of land.
                                                                        c
      12. We are therefore of the considered opinion that Rule
 6(1) of the Nazul Land Rules is not really a rule which
 incorporates the 1961 Scheme, but it only provides that if the
 Authority decides to allot Nazul land to the individuals eligible
 under the 1961 Scheme, then Nazul land shall be allotted at pre-       D
 determined rates and not at the rates determined in a public
 auction. The High Court has taken an erroneous view in the
 impugned order that Rule 6 of the Nazul Land Rules, which was
 a statutory rule, laid down conditions for allotment of land under
 the 1961 Scheme and the conditions for allotment of land under         E
 the 1961 Scheme could therefore be amended by only statutory
 rules under Section 56 read with Section 22 of the Act. In our
 considered opinion, Rule 6 of the Nazul Law Rules did not
 stipulate the conditions for allotment under the 1961 Scheme
 and the 1961 Scheme being an administrative scheme could               F
 be amended without a statutory rule made under Section 56
 read with Section 22 of the Act.
        13. In the result, the appeals are allowed and the impugned
 order is set aside. There shall be no order as to costs.

 D.G.                                             Appeals allowed.      G