TMI Blog2010 (6) TMI 687X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r quarter of a century. 2. This appeal has been preferred against a Judgment and Order dated 21-12-1999 in Writ Petition No. 4763 of 1992 of the High Court of Punjab Haryana at Chandigarh, dismissing the petition against the Demand Notice of additional price for residential plot. 3. Facts and circumstances giving rise to this case are that the appellant made an application on 23-2-1987 for allotment of a residential plot in Urban Estates, SAS Nagar, Punjab. The Administration, vide letter dated 25-2-1987, issued the allotment letter in favour of the appellant in respect of plot No. 702, measuring 400 sq. yards in Sector 70 Urban Estate SAS Nagar, making it clear that as the proper calculation could not be made and tentative price had not been determined, the allottee has to deposit provisional price of Rs. 93000/- in four installments upto 15-10-1989. Subsequently, vide letter dated 25-3-1992, additional demand of Rs. 2,19,000/- was made, however, instead of depositing the said amount, appellant challenged the said Demand Notice by filing Writ Petition No. 4763 of 1992 before the High Court of Punjab Haryana contending that the additional demand was arbitrary and unreasonab ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... counsel for the parties and perused the record. 7. The questions do arise as to whether such an order of withdrawal passed by this Court amounts to confirmation/approval of the judgment and order of the High Court and as to whether appellant could be treated differently. 8. There is no dispute to the settled proposition of law that dismissal of the Special Leave Petition in limine by this Court does not mean that the reasoning of the judgment of the High Court against which the Special Leave Petition has been filed before this Court stands affirmed or the judgment and order impugned merges with such order of this Court on dismissal of the petition. It simply means that this Court did not consider the case worth examining for the reason, which may be other than merit of the case. Nor such an order of this Court operates as res judicata. An order rejecting the Special Leave Petition at the threshold without detailed reasons therefore does not constitute any declaration of law or a binding precedent. [Vide The Workmen of Cochin Port Trust v. The Board of Trustees of the Cochin Port Trust Anr. - AIR 1978 SC 1283; Ahmedabad Manufacturing Calico Printing Co. Ltd. v. The Workmen ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... (i) Where an appeal or revision is provided against an order passed by a court, tribunal or any other authority before superior forum and such superior forum modifies, reverses or affirms the decision put in issue before it, the decision by the subordinate forum merges in the decision by the superior forum and it is the latter which subsists, remains operative and is capable of enforcement in the eye of law. (ii) The jurisdiction conferred by Article 136 of the Constitution is divisible into two stages. The first stage is upto the disposal of prayer for special leave to file an appeal. The second stage commences if and when the leave to appeal is granted and the special leave petition is converted into an appeal. (iii) Doctrine of merger is not a doctrine of universal or unlimited application. It will depend on the nature of jurisdiction exercised by the superior forum and the content or subject-matter of challenge laid or capable of being laid shall be determinative of the applicability of merger. The superior jurisdiction should be capable of reversing, modifying or affirming the order put in issue before it. Under Article 136 of the Constitution the Supreme Court may rev ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... for the petitioners dated January 25, 1994, seeking withdrawal of all these matters, we are constrained to remark that no reasons have been assigned as to why the State of Punjab is submitting to the impugned orders of the High Court which prima facie appear to us to be unsustainable. The direct result of the withdrawal would not only be compounding to an illegality but would otherwise cause tremendous loss to the State exchequer. We, therefore, direct that the reasons which impelled the State to seek withdrawal of these matters be placed before us in the form of an affidavit by the Chief Secretary, Punjab or the Secretary of the Department concerned justifying the step for seeking withdrawal. (Emphasis added) 13. The respondent cannot claim parity with D.S. Laungia (supra) in view of the settled legal proposition that Article 14 of the Constitution of India does not envisages for negative equality. Article 14 is not meant to perpetuate illegality or fraud. Article 14 of the Constitution has a positive concept. Equality is a trite, which cannot be claimed in illegality and therefore, cannot be enforced by a citizen or court in a negative manner. If an illegality and irregulari ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ce means such sum of money as may be determined by the State Government, in respect of the sale of a site by allotment, having regard to the amount of compensation by which the compensation awarded by the Collector for the land acquired by the State Government of which the site sold forms a part, is enhanced by the Court on a reference made under Section 18 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, and the amount of cost incurred by the State Government in respect of such reference. 2(e)- tentative price means such sum of money as may be determined by the State Government from time to time, in respect of the sale of a site by allotment, having regard among other matters, to the amount of compensation awarded by the Collector under Land Acquisition Act, 1894 for the land acquired by the State Government of which the site sold forms a part. 4. Sale Price :- In the case of sale of a site by allotment the sale price shall be : (a) where such site forms part of the land acquired by the State Government under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894; and (i) no reference under Section 18 thereof is made against the award of the Collector of such reference having been made has failed, the tenta ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... by the competent authority does not form part of the land acquired by the State Government under the Act 1894, then the sale price would mean such final price as may be determined by the State Government. However, there is nothing in the scheme of the Act 1964 and the rules from which it can be inferred that tentative price is synonymous with the provisional price, and that a person, to whom the plot has been allotted on provisional price, cannot be asked to pay the tentative price determined by the government. There is a difference between the provisional price and the tentative price and it may take a long time for the State to determine the tentative price. 20. In the instant case, the calculations had been furnished by the respondents as on what basis tentative price had been determined. A. Cost of land 1. Cost of land per acre of Sector 70 SAS Nagar Rs. 90,000/- 2. Solatium charges @30% Rs. 27,000/- 3. Interest charges from the date of Notification till the date of Award @12% from 1980 to 1984 for 4 Years Rs. 43,000/- 4. Interest charges 15% from 1984 to 1990 for 6 years on the cos ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e to be allotted at tentative price equal to the reserve price. The plots 300 and 400 sq.yds. area are to be allotted at tentative price equal to 1- times of the reserve price and plots measuring 500 sq.yds. were to be allotted at tentative price equal to double the reserve price. Taking the overall position into account the Government fixed the reserve price at Rs. 520/-per sq.yd. for calculating the tentative prices, in the above manner, for plots of various sizes. 22. There is nothing on record to show that the tentative price determined by the State could be unreasonable or arbitrary and it is not the case of the allottee that the market value of the land has not been enhanced while deciding the reference under the Act 1894. While deciding this case, the High Court placed heavy reliance upon the judgment of this Court in Preeta Singh (supra) wherein after taking note of various statutory provisions of Act 1964 and Rules 1965, particularly, Rule 2(aa) and sale price as determined in Rule 4, this Court came to .the following conclusion : 7. A conjoint reading of the above Rules would clearly indicate that the allottee is liable to pay a sale price including the additional p ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r as price is concerned, in 1991, when the names of applicants were registered, it was clarified that the price indicated was tentative price and it was subject to final price being fixed by the Board. In any case when the scheme was altered from seven types to fifteen types flats, it was stated that the amount shown was merely tentative selling price. The intending purchasers, therefore, were aware of the fact that the final price was to be fixed by the Board. In fact an agreement to that effect was executed by all prospective allottees wherein they agreed that they would pay the amount which would be finally fixed by the Board................In the circumstances, it cannot be said that the allottees were not aware of the above condition and they were compelled to make payment and thus were treated unfairly or unreasonably by the Board. 25. The instant case is squarely covered by the aforesaid Judgments of this Court and particularly, Preeta Singh (supra) and in view thereof, the appeal is liable to be dismissed. 26. Before parting with the case, it may be pertinent to mention here that the allotment had been made to the appellant within 48 hours of submission of her appl ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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