JUDGMENT

ANIL R. DAVE, J.

1. Leave granted.

2. Being aggrieved by the Judgment dated 14th March, 2011 delivered by the High Court of Judicature of Andhra Pradesh at Hyderabad in O.S.A.No.18 of 2008, this appeal has been filed by the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Ltd.

3. The circumstances in which the aforestated appeal has been filed are as under:

The appellant is a Government Corporation which allots plots of land for the purpose of setting up industries to different persons. The plots are allotted on certain conditions and if the conditions are not fulfilled or if the entire payment is not made within the time stipulated, the allotment is cancelled and possession of the plot is taken back by the appellant.

In pursuance of the aforestated activity of the appellant-Corporation, under a letter dated 31st August, 1988, the appellant-Corporation had allotted a plot to M/s. Team-Asia Lakhi Semiconductors Ltd. on conditions incorporated in the said letter. The allotment was made in pursuance of an application dated 20th August, 1988 submitted by the M/s. Team-Asia Lakhi Semiconductors Ltd. and the plot was valued at Rs.1,22,67,500/- and the said amount had been calculated at the rate of Rs.250/- per sq. meter. The said amount had to be paid to the appellant-Corporation within sixty days from the date of the receipt of the allotment order. It is an admitted fact that within the period prescribed, the entire price of the plot had not been paid by the said allottee to the appellant-Corporation and in the circumstances, as per clause 8 incorporated in the said letter, which reads as under, the amount paid by the afore-named company had been forfeited.

“8. If payment as stipulated in condition (3) above is not made within 60 days of receipt of this allotment letter, this allotment letter shall stand cancelled and the EMD paid shall remain forfeited.”

4. After the Company had failed to make payment and the allotment was cancelled, a request was made by the Company to grant another plot at some reduced price and in pursuance of the said request, the appellant had addressed another letter dated 13th March, 2000 to the Company offering another plot. The Company again failed to comply with the conditions and therefore, the proposal with regard to allotment under the letter dated 13th March, 2000 also failed. Once again another plot was offered to the Company by the appellant under letter dated 3rd April, 2001 for Rs.80,00,000/- but the said transaction also did not materialize. The aforesaid facts demonstrate the chequered history and the circumstances in which the Company could not make entire payment of the plot in question, which ultimately resulted into forfeiture of the amount paid and even possession of the plot in question was with the appellant though for a limited purpose, the Company was permitted to occupy the plot.

5. It is pertinent to note that the Company, because of its very poor financial conditions, was ordered to be wound up and the official liquidator, appointed by the Company Court wanted to take possession of the plot in question so that the said plot may be sold and out of the sale price, dues of the Company may be paid. When the appellant-Corporation came to know that the official liquidator was making an effort to dispose of the plot in question, believing the plot to be one of the assets of the Company in Liquidation, a Company Application No.474/2006 in the Company Petition No.178/2003 was filed by the appellant praying for taking possession of the plot in question as the plot was in unauthorized possession of the Company. In the said proceedings, the official liquidator admitted the fact that the plot in question had not been transferred in the name of the Company. Ultimately, by an order dated 28th June, 2007 the Company application filed by the appellant had been dismissed by the High Court with a direction to the official liquidator to take appropriate steps to dispose of the plot in question.

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