THE BELGAUM URBAN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITYversusDHRUVA & ANR.

862                      [2023]REPORTS
               SUPREME COURT    3 S.C.R. 862                [2023] 3 S.C.R.


A        THE BELGAUM URBAN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
                                        v.
                               DHRUVA & ANR.
                         (Civil Appeal No. 2950 of 2023)
B                                APRIL 28, 2023
              [ABHAY S. OKA AND RAJESH BINDAL, JJ.]
             Allotment – Allotment of plots – Demand of additional price
      for the plots was raised from the respondents-allottees on account
      of enhancement of compensation of the land utilized for carving
C
      out the plots allotted – Correctness of – Held: Clause 5 in the
      allotment letter shows that option was given to vary the price of the
      plot in case there is change in the size of plot – This clause does not
      talk about demand of additional price on account of enhancement
      of compensation on account of acquisition of land for carving of
D     the plots – Even the clauses in the lease-cum-sale agreement also
      talk about the negotiated price between the vendor (appellant-
      Authority) and the vendee (respondent) – Sale consideration as such
      has not been mentioned in the lease-cum-sale agreement however,
      the price negotiated between the parties is clearly mentioned in the
      letter of allotment and the same has to be read as part of the lease-
E
      cum-sale agreement – No merit in the appeals.
            Shimla Development Authority v. Asha Rani (1996) 8
            SCC 487 : [1996] 2 SCR 1065; Tamil Nadu Housing
            Board and Others v. Sea Shore Apartments Owner’s
            Welfare Association (2008) 3 SCC 21 : [2008] 1 SCR
F
            370 – distinguished.
            Ishwar Dass Nassa & Ors. v. State of Haryana & Ors.
            (2012) 1 SCC 753 : [2011] 16 SCR 301; Preeta Singh
            (Km) and others v. Haryana Urban Development
            Authority and Others (1996) 8 SCC 756 : [1996] 1
G           Suppl. SCR 621 – referred to.
                             Case Law Reference
      [1996] 2 SCR 1065               distinguished        Para 6
      [2008] 1 SCR 370                distinguished        Para 7
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                                       862
  THE BELGAUM URBAN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY v.                                  863
                DHRUVA & ANR.

[2011] 16 SCR 301                 referred to           Para 12               A
[1996] 1 Suppl. SCR 621           referred to           Para 14
      CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 2950
of 2023.
      From the Judgment and Order dated 08.01.2016 of the High Court          B
of Karnataka, Circuit Bench at Dharwad in RSA No. 760 of 2008.
      With
      Civil Appeal Nos. 2951 and 2952 of 2023.
      S. N. Bhat, Sr. Adv., M. A. Hulyal, Tarun Kumar Thakur,
                                                                              C
Mrs. Anuradha Mutatkar, Ms. Parvati Bhat, Advs. for the Appellant.
      Manjunath Meled, Anil Kumar, Advs. for the Respondents.
      The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
      RAJESH BINDAL, J.
                                                                              D
      1. This order will dispose of bunch of appeals bearing Civil Appeal
Nos. 2950-2952 of 2023. The common judgment of the High Court vide
which five Regular Second Appeals were decided has been impugned.
        From the matters listed before this Court, it is evident that the
judgment of the High Court has been challenged only in R.S.A. Nos.            E
759, 760 and 864 of 2008 and there are no appeals filed in R.S.A. No.758
and 863 of 2008. The learned counsel for the appellant did not point out
at the time of hearing that there is any other appeal pending in this Court
challenging the common judgment of the High Court with reference to
the aforesaid two appeals.
                                                                              F
      FACTS OF THE CASE:
      3. The particulars regarding the present appeals and the respective
plot numbers in the individual cases are stated as under:

                                                                              G




                                                                              H
864               SUPREME COURT REPORTS                          [2023] 3 S.C.R.


A            4. As common legal issues are involved, the facts have been
      extracted from Civil Appeal No.2950 of 2023. The undisputed facts of
      this case are that, Respondent/ Plaintiff in the present appeal made
      application to Appellant/Defendant No.2 (Belgaum Urban Development
      Authority, in short ‘BUDA’) for allotment of residential site. The appellant
      allotted site to the plaintiff. The allotment letter was issued on 12.11.1990.
B
      Possession of the site was handed over to the plaintiff. Thereafter, lease-
      cum-sale agreement was executed on 10.05.1991 in favour of plaintiff/
      respondent.
             5. As demand of additional price for the plot was raised from the
      respondent, suit was filed. The Trial Court decreed the suit. In appeal,
C     the judgment and decree of the Trial Court was reversed. In second
      appeal filed by the appellant, the judgment and decree of the lower
      appellate court was reversed. The same is under challenge before this
      Court. The High Court, in second appeal, directed the appellant to execute
      the sale deed in favour of respondents in RSA Nos. 864,758 and 863 of
D     2008 and further directed to refund the additional price paid by the
      respondents in RSA Nos. 759 and 760 of 2008.
               ARGUMENTS:
              6. Mr. S.N. Bhat, learned Senior Counsel appearing on behalf of
      the appellant submitted that plots were allotted to the Respondents-
E     Plaintiffs vide allotment letter dated 12.11.1990. The clause contained
      in the Allotment letter mentions that the cost of the plot is tentative.
      Hence, demand of additional price cannot be said to be illegal. It was on
      account of enhancement of compensation of the land which was utilized
      for carving out the plots allotted to the Respondents-Plaintiffs. He further
F     referred to the lease-cum-sale agreements executed in favour of
      Respondent dated 10.05.1991 where no specific amount as such has
      been mentioned as consideration. It only mentions that the price was
      negotiated and the Respondents have been allowed to occupy the plot
      till such time payment of full price is made. The lease-cum-sale agreement
      further provided that the parties thereto agreed to abide by the terms
G     and conditions as specified in Karnataka Improvement Boards Rules,
      1976. While relying upon the judgment of this Court in Shimla
      Development Authority v. Asha Rani1 it was submitted that in the
      aforesaid case, this Court had allowed the Shimla Development Authority

H     1
          (1996) 8 SCC 487
     THE BELGAUM URBAN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY V.                                   865
            DHRUVA & ANR. [RAJESH BINDAL, J.]

to charge additional amount from the allottees on account of                      A
enhancement of compensation for the land acquired.
       7. The judgment of this Court in Tamil Nadu Housing Board
and Others v. Sea Shore Apartments Owner’s Welfare Association2
has also been relied upon to submit that if price mentioned is tentative,
additional amount can be demanded.                                                B
      8. In the case at hand the demand of additional price is fully justified
for the reason that the same was on account of enhancement of
compensation by the Court for the acquisition of land utilized for carving
out the plots. It is further submitted that except the five allottees who
were before the High Court, all others had deposited additional price             C
demanded from them on account of enhanced compensation.
        9. On the other hand, learned counsel for the Respondents-Plaintiffs
submits that neither in the allotment letter nor in the lease-cum-sale
agreement there is any clause in terms of which the Appellant could
demand additional price from the allottees except on account of variation         D
of size. Clause 5 of the allotment letter only gives an option to the Appellant
to re-determine the price in case the size of the plot is finally found to be
different than the allotted. To demand additional price from an allottee
on any other ground, there has to be specific clause in the allotment
letter otherwise the price mentioned is final. Even the clause as mentioned
in the lease- cum-sale agreement also does not come to the rescue of              E
the Appellant for the reason that it talks about the negotiated price between
the vendor and the vendee. The same is clearly mentioned in allotment
letter otherwise the agreement would be vague with reference to the
sale consideration.
         DISCUSSION:                                                              F
       10. Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the relevant
referred record.
      11. The relevant clauses of the allotment letter and the Lease-
cum-Sale Agreement, as have been referred to by the Appellant, are
                                                                                  G
extracted below:
         “Allotment Letter:
         “Clause 5: The dimensions noted are approximate subject
         to verification at the time of handing over possession and
2
    (2008) 3 SCC 21                                                               H
866               SUPREME COURT REPORTS                          [2023] 3 S.C.R.


A              allottees will have to pay proportionate increase price
               according to actual measurements.
               The value of the site is Rs.50,000/-+10% Augmentation of
               water supply charges is Rs.5,000/- Tentatively =
               Rs.55,000/-.”
B              “Lease-cum-Sale Agreement:
               “whereas there were negotiations between the lessee/
               purchaser on the one hand and the lessor/ vendor on the
               other for allowing the lessee/ purchaser to occupy the
               schedule property as lessee until the payment in full of the
C              price of the schedule property as might be fixed by the
               lessor/ vendor as hereinafter provided;”
             12. In Ishwar Dass Nassa & Ors. v. State of Haryana & Ors.3
      this Court considered similar issue. There was hire- purchase agreement
      executed by Haryana Housing Board in favour of the allottee. The clause
D     as contained in hire-purchase tenancy agreement, as referred to in para
      no.3 of the judgment, is extracted below:
               “2. (w) If after the receipt of the final bills for the construction
               of tenements or as the result of land award or arbitration
               proceeding or enhancement in cost of land on any account,
E              the Board considers it necessary to revise the price, already
               specified, it may do so and determine the final price payable
               by the hirer who shall be bound by this determination and
               shall pay dues, if any, between final price so determined
               and price paid by him including the price paid in lump sum,
F              provided that no change in the price shall be made after 7
               years from the date of allotment.”
             13. Demand was raised by the Estate Manager, Housing Board
      Haryana, Sonepat after about 10 years directing them to pay additional
      price on account of enhanced compensation pertaining to the land on
      which the tenements were constructed. Interpreting the aforesaid clause,
G
      this Court held that as per the condition provided for in the hire-purchase
      tenancy agreement, the cost of the tenements can be increased either
      on account of cost of construction or enhancement of compensation for
      acquisition of land. However, interpreting the clause further it was held
      3
H         (2012) 1 SCC 753
  THE BELGAUM URBAN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY V.                                 867
         DHRUVA & ANR. [RAJESH BINDAL, J.]

that the demand raised from the allottees was not justified for the reason   A
that the clause itself provided that such a demand could be raised within
seven years of allotment. Relevant paragraphs therefrom are extracted
below:
      “10. A conjoint reading of the allotment letter and Clause
      2(w) of the hire-purchase tenancy agreement, which every               B
      allottee is required to execute makes it clear that the price of
      the tenement specified in the allotment letter is tentative and
      the Board can revise the price after receiving final bills
      representing the cost of construction or if as a result of an
      order of the court or an award made by the arbitrator it is
      required to pay higher cost for the land used for construction         C
      of the tenements. In either case, the allottee is bound to pay
      the additional amount which would represent the final price
      of the tenement. If the cost of land is enhanced for any other
      similar reason then too the Board can revise the price and
      ask the allottees to pay additional price. In a given case, the        D
      Board may revise the tentative price more than once and the
      allottees are bound to share the burden of additional cost.
      11-12.                      xxxxxxxxxx
      13. Unfortunately, the learned Single Judge and the Division
      Bench of the High Court did not give due weightage to the              E
      prohibition contained in Clause 2(w) of the hire-purchase
      tenancy agreement and negatived the appellants’ challenge
      to the demand of additional price by assuming that the Board
      is vested with the power to revise the price at any time. The
      use of the expression “or enhancement in cost of land on               F
      any account” after the expression “the receipt of the final bill
      for the construction of tenements or as the result of land award
      or arbitration proceeding” shows that while framing the
      Regulations, the Board had kept in view all the eventualities
      which could lead to an increase in the cost of land made
      available for construction of the tenements and yet thought it         G
      proper to put an embargo against the revision of price after 7
      years. Therefore, the learned Single Judge and the Division
      Bench of the High Court were not right in deciding the writ
      petitions and the writ appeals on the premise that once the
      cost of land gets increased on account of payment of higher            H
868               SUPREME COURT REPORTS                          [2023] 3 S.C.R.


A              compensation to the landowners the Board is entitled to
               demand additional price from the allottees.”
                                                            (emphasis supplied)
             14. The issue was also considered by this Court in Preeta Singh
      (Km) and others v. Haryana Urban Development Authority and
B     Others4. The challenge in the aforesaid case was also regarding the
      demand of additional price on account of enhanced compensation for
      the land. Referring to the Section 2(aa) of the Punjab Urban Estate
      (Sale of Sites) Rules, 1965 which defines “additional price”, as the
      allotment was in terms of the aforesaid rules, demand of additional price
C     on account of enhanced compensation for the acquisition of land which
      was utilized for carving of the plots was upheld by this Court.
             15. In Tamil Nadu Housing Board’s case (supra), Clause 18 of
      the Agreement therein clearly provided that after the finalization of the
      total cost of construction of flats in case the value of the land is increased
D     in terms of the enhancement of compensation by the Court, the allottee
      shall be liable to pay the difference. The relevant clause as referred to in
      the aforesaid judgment is extracted below:
               “19. Clause 18 of the agreement entered into between the
               parties and signed by all allottees is extremely important
E              and reads thus:
                      “18. It is expressly agreed between both the parties that
               after the finalisation of the total cost of construction of flats
               and the value of the land in accordance with the award of
               compensation declared by the Tribunals and courts, the
F              purchaser shall pay to the vendor on demand before the
               registration of the sale deed the difference between the amount
               already paid by the purchaser as per Clause 2 above and the
               price amount finally fixed by the Chairman, the vendor.”
           16. There is no such clause in the allotment letter or the lease-
      cum-sale agreement signed between the parties.
G
              17. Coming to the judgment cited by learned counsel for the
      Appellant. In Shimla Development Authority’s case (supra), allotment
      of flat was made under the ‘Self Finance Scheme’. The price informed
      was tentative. The first demand was raised on account of increase in
      4
H         (1996) 8 SCC 756
  THE BELGAUM URBAN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY V.                                    869
         DHRUVA & ANR. [RAJESH BINDAL, J.]

the cost of construction and the second demand was raised on account            A
of increase of compensation for the acquired land utilized for construction
of flats. This Court held that the land of a private owner was acquired
for construction of flats under the Self Finance Scheme, hence, the
allottees are bound to pay the increased cost on account of acquisition of
land. In addition, the allottees are also bound to bear the burden of
                                                                                B
escalation in the cost of construction.
       18. The relevant clause of the allotment letter for the hire- purchase
tenancy agreement entered into between allottee and Shimla
Development Authority as such has not been extracted in the aforesaid
order passed by this Court. However, we have perused the paper book
in that case. The allotment letter dated 14.07.1995 which is in favour of       C
the Respondent therein contains a specific clause regarding payment of
enhanced compensation in terms of decision of this Court. The relevant
clause is extracted below:
      “The amount of enhanced compensation shall be payable as
      per decision of court. 30,780/-”                                          D

       19. It was in terms of the aforesaid clause in the agreement
specifically providing for payment of enhanced compensation by the
allottee that demand thereof was upheld by this Court.
       20. A perusal of clause-5 in the allotment letter shows that option      E
has been given to vary the price of the plot in case there is change in the
size of plot. The entire clause has to be read in totality and no part in
isolation. This clause does not talk about demand of additional price on
account of any other factor specially the one raised in the present appeals,
namely, on account of enhancement of compensation on account of
acquisition of land for carving of the plots.                                   F
       21. Even the clauses as contained in the lease-cum-sale agreement
also does not come to the rescue of the Appellant for the reason that it
talks about the negotiated price between the vendor and the vendee.
The vendor in the case at hand is the Appellant and the vendee is the
Respondent. Sale consideration as such has not been mentioned in the            G
lease-cum-sale agreement, however, the price as negotiated between
the parties is clearly mentioned in the letter of allotment and the same
has to be read as partof the lease-cum-sale agreement.
      22. For the reasons mentioned above, we do not find any merit in
the appeals. The same are dismissed. However, we make it clear that in          H
870             SUPREME COURT REPORTS                            [2023] 3 S.C.R.


A     case any other allottee who has deposited the amount, initiates any litigation
      now, the same shall be considered keeping in view the delay and laches
      and principles of acquiescence.


      Divya Pandey                                               Appeals dismissed.
B     (Assisted by : Pooja Mishra and Shevali Monga, LCRAs)




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