HC verdict a relief for Landowners facing unjust payment withholding by HIMUDA
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Shimla, Nov 12,
In a significant ruling reinforcing landowners’ contractual rights, the Himachal Pradesh High Court has held that a shortfall in the total land area sold cannot be treated as a defect in the title of land. The Court set aside an order by the Himachal Pradesh Housing and Urban Development Authority (HIMUDA), which had withheld payment to landowners on this ground.
Justice Ajay Mohan Goel, while deciding a petition filed by Sachin Shridhar and others versus the Himachal Pradesh Housing and Urban Development Authority, observed that the authority had acted beyond its jurisdiction by assuming a shortfall in the land area amounted to a defect in title.
“The Court is of the considered view that defect in the title of land couldn’t be confused with the alleged shortfall in the total land sold by the petitioners to the respondent,” the judge observed, holding HIMUDA’s action to be arbitrary.
The dispute stemmed from HIMUDA’s decision to withhold payment for land acquired from the petitioners, citing discrepancies between the area mentioned in the sale deed and the actual measurement recorded later. The petitioners, however, maintained that they had executed a valid sale deed, fulfilled all legal formalities, and that the authority had no legal justification for retaining their dues.
Upholding the petitioners’ plea, the High Court clarified that a minor variation in land measurement cannot be construed as a defect in ownership or title under law. It directed HIMUDA to release the withheld amount to the petitioners without further delay.
With this verdict, the High Court reaffirmed that government and statutory authorities cannot deny or delay legitimate payments on presumptions unrelated to ownership defects, thereby reinforcing legal certainty in land transactions and protecting landowners from arbitrary administrative actions.
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