NEERAJ KAPOORversusRANBIR SINGH DAHIYA AND ORS.

                         NEERAJ KAPOOR                                     A
                               v.
                 RAN BIR SINGH DAHIY A AND ORS.

                            JULY 31, 2001

    [SYED SHAH MOHAMMED QUADRI AND S.N. PHUKAN, JJ.]                       B


     Haryana Municipalities Management of Municipal Properties and State
Properties Rules, 1976:

       Lease-Urban land given on lease by Municipal Committee-Lessee C
constructing shops in two floors and giving the same to two sub-lessees-In
order to eliminate middleman, Municipalities under "the 1984 Policy" and
"the 1991 Policy" granting direct leases in favour ofsub-lessees-After coming
into force the 1991 Policy both sub-lessess applied for transfer of lease in
their favour-Municipal Committee granted lease to respondent in respect of D
both floors-Held, both the appellant and the respondent stand in the same
position and are joint sub-lessees of demised land-Municipal Committee to
accept both of them as joint lessess and grant joint lease in their favour.

     CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 4939-40
of 2001.                                                                   E
     From the Judgment and Order dated 7.9.99 and 27.8.97 of the Punjab
and Haryana High Court in R.A. No. 359/97 and C.W.P. No. 248 of 1997. ·

     Dhruv Mehta, Ms. Shobha, Ms. Anu Mehta and S.K. Mehta for the
Appellant.                                                                 F
     Mahabir Singh, Mahinder Singh Dahiya, B.S. Mor and S.M. Hooda for
the Respondents.

     The following Order of the Court was delivered:
                                                                           G
     Delay is condoned. Leave is granted.

     The appellant before us challenges the order passed by a Division
Bench of the High Court of Punjab & Haryana dismissing C.W.P. No. 248/
1997 on August 27, 1997 and the order dismissing Review Application No.
                                  189                                      H
     190                      SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2001] SUPP. 1 S.C.R.

 A 359/1997 filed in the said writ petition, on September 7, 1999.
        A narration of relevant facts would be necessary to appreciate the
  controversy in these appeals. The subject matter of the dispute is an extent
  of 3? sq. yards of land comprising Shop No. 14, Near Button Factory, Subhash
  Chowk, Sonepat (under the Municipal Committee, Sonepat, rin A-class
B Municipality) hereinafter referred to as "the demised land" which was given
  on lease by the Municipal Committee, under Haryana Municipalitie~
  Management of Municipal Properties and State Properties Rules, 1976 to one
  Prem Kumar Sardana. It appears with the permission of the Municipality the
  said Sardana raised construction, Shop No. 14 (ground floor and first floor).
C In 1971, he leased out the ground floor in favour of one Janak Raj Kapoor
  who started a printing press therein as the sub-lessee. He died on January 20,
   1989 leaving behind him a wife and a son, the present appellant who has
  been running the press therein. The first respondent was inducted into the
  possession of the first floor as a sub-lessee by the said Sardana in 1989. Thus
  both the appellant and the first respondent are sub-lessees of the demised
D land.

         The Government of Haryana had taken a policy decision to eliminate
   the middle-man, namely, the lessor of the Municipalities and grant direct
   leases in favour of the sub-lessees. One such policy was issued in 1984
E (hereinafter referred to as "the 1984 Policy") which was for a limited period
   and was replaced by the Policy contained in the letter of the Commissioner
   & Secretary to Government of Haryana, Local Bodies Administration Deptt.
   dated May 2, 1991 (hereinafter referred to as "the 1991 Policy"). The first
  respondent applied to the Chief Executive Officer, Municipality, Sonepat for
  transfer of the plot of land in his favour on September 9, 1991. Though the
F application does not disclose that it was made in pursuance of the 1991
  policy of the Government, it is obvious that it was the benefit under that
  policy, which was sought by the first respondent. In regard to the claim of
  the appellant on November 19, 1992, the wife of the said late Janak Raj
  Kapoor also made an application to the Administrator, Municipality, Sonepat
G requesting him to transfer lease in favour of the appellant (her son) under
  policy no. 8/56/8 l-2K2 of 16.4.1984. It is a common ground that as on that
  date the 1984 policy was aot in operation. The policy of the Government
  which was in operation was 1991 policy (May 2, 1991) referred to above,
  therefore, in our view that application should be treated as an application to
  give effoct to the 1991 policy. While so, the Municipal Committee granted
H lease of the whole land in favour of the respondent no. 1 on July 12, 1992.
                            NEERAJ KAPOOR v. R.S. DAHIY A                          191

     Eventually the appellant filed an appeal against the said order before the A
     Deputy Commissioner who by order dated July 4, 1997 cancelled the transfer
     of lease of the demised land in favour of the first respondent under Section
     246 of the Haryana Municipal Act, 1973 and directed that the transfer be
     effected in favour of the appropriate person. T~at order of the Deputy
     Commissioner was assailed by the first respondent before the Commissioner B
     who by his order dated October 9, 1996 set aside the said order of the Deputy
     Commissioner. The appellant filed Civil Writ Petition No. 248/1997
     challenging the said order of the Commissioner but the writ petition was
     dismissed on August 27, 1997. He sought review of the order of the High
     Court dated August 27, 1997 in Review Application No. 35911997 which
     was also dismissed on September 7, 1999. It is against those two orders that C
     the present appeals have been filed by the appellant, by special leave.

            Mr. Dhruv Mehta, learned counsel for the appellant, contends that the
      appellant's father during his life time and thereafter the appellant has been
      running a printing press on the demised land from 1971, long before the first
      respondent came into the picture but his application was not considered on          D
      the ground that it contains reference to 1984 policy. However, the application
    · of the first respondent was allowed granting lease of the demised land in his
      favour ignoring the fact that the appellant has been in possession of the
      ground floor of that land. Mr. B.S. Mor, learned counsel for the first
      respondent, strenuously argued that the appellant not having applied for under      E
      1991 policy cannot challenge the grant of lease in favour of the first respondent
      and that he had purchased Malba of the building from the said Sardana.

             We have already pointed out above that in the application of the first
    respondent there is no reference to any policy under which the transfer of
     lease of the demised land was sought by him. It is true that there is a reference F
    to 1984 policy in the application of the appellant though on the date of the
'   application it was 1991 policy that was in force. In this situation the first
    respondent not having himself referred to the relevant policy in his application
    cannot make a grievance of the fact that the appellant did not refer to the
    correct date of the policy. The authorities gave effect to that objection which, G
    in our view, is hardly relevant and makes no difference because on the
    relevant date of the consideration of the application it was 1991 policy alone
    that \\'..as in force and the appellant applied within the time specified in 1991
    policy. That apart the first respondent is not the sole sub-lessee of the entire
    extent of the demised land. The fact that he purchased Malba from the lessor-
    Sardana, would make no difference to this position. Therefore, under 1991 H
    192                      SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2001) SUPP. l S.C.R.

A policy the lease of the demised land could not have been transferred in his
    favour. In our view, both the appellant as well as the first respondent stand
    in the same position and are joint sub-lessees of the demised land. On these
    facts the appropriate course for the Municipal Committee is to accept both of
    them as joint lessees and grant joint lease in their favour. We accordingly,
B   modify the impugned order. It goes without saying that the Municipal
    Committee shall have to take follow-up action pursuant to this order.

           Mr. B.S. Mor submits that rights of the first respondent to the Malba
    may be left open. We make it clear that we have expressed no opinion on that
    point and that it would be open to the first respondent to seek appropriate
C   relief in regard to the Malba.

          The appeals are allowed in the above terms. There shall be no order as
    to costs.

    R.P.                                                      Appeals Allowed.