( 1 ) DELHI Development Authority (hereinafter referred to as DDA) announced a scheme called the registration scheme on New Pattern 1979 of intending purchasers of flats to be constructed by the DDA. The object of the scheme was to reduce the sale price of Middle Income Group/lower Income Group (for short MIG/lig) and Janta flats so as to be within the reach of the common man. To facilitate

( 2 ) ACCORDING to the petitioners on 18th February, 1991 draw of lots in respect of allotment of flats under the scheme took place for them. Clause 9 of the scheme is important and is reproduced here below:-

"the allotment of flats under this scheme will be by draw of lot like that of Self Financing Scheme. All the applicants who register between September 1, 1979 and September 30, 1979 will have equal seniority. "

( 3 ) ANOTHER salient feature of this scheme was that 40 per cent of the MIG flats were to be allotted on cash down basis and 60 per cent of the flats on hire purchase basis. LIG/janta flats ware to be disposed of on the basis of 25 per cent on cash down basis and 75 per cent on hire purchase basis. In case of flats allotted under hire purchase basis, the cost of the land plus 20 per cent of the balance cost of the flat was to be recovered as initial deposit at the time of allotment and balance amount was to be recovered in monthly instalments spread over a period of 7 years in case of MIG, 10 years in case of LIG and 15 years in case of Janta flats, though in this writ petition the challenge is not on-cash down or hire purchase scheme or its non-implementation by DDA.

( 4 ) THE petitioners in this writ petition numbering 33 have challenged the quashing of the demand made by the respondent-DDA vide their letter of demand received by the petitioners in September 1991. According to the impugned demand letter the cost of MIG flat on the first floor was Rs. 3,45,300. 00 , second floor Rs. 3,33,300. 00 on ground floor Rs. 4,05,400. 00 , third floor Rs. 3,17,500. 00.

( 5 ) THE petitioners represented to the respondent-DDA that the allotment of the MIG flats both at Jahangirpuri and Paschim Vihar at different floors was made by respondent DDA without asking for their consent/choice and in an area which was not specifically mentioned in the original scheme of 1979. The petitioners further represented that the prices of the flats now sought to be demanded by the DDA were astronomically high and were 10 times more than the prices which were offered by the DDA. According to the petitioners this demand, apart from being arbitrary and illegal, was untenable in view of the fact that for registrants of 1979 scheme indraw of lots held on 13th January, 1989 an MIG flat at Shalimar Bagh at ground floor was allotted by DDA on payment of Rs. l,66,500. 00 and on the third floor for Rs. l,49,000. 00. Similarly, in a draw of lot held on 5th April, 1989 for the registrants of 1979 scheme, at Sarita Vihar in South Delhi the price for a flat of MIG category was Rs. 2,87,000. 00 and Rs. 2,79,100. 00 respectively. It has been further alleged by the petitioners that the draw of lot held on 31st August, 1989 for the said catetgory of registrants the DDA has demanded in Dilshad Garden (East Delhi) for MIG flats on ground floor Rs. 2,00,600. 00.

( 6 ) ACCORDING to the petitioners there is no justification for the DDA to ask more price in 1991 for the same category of registration at a higher price than those stated above. Even otherwise, the said increase is arbitrary, irrational and without any basis. The increase is not on account of cost of construction of change in plinth area as per the Scheme, argued the counsel for the petitioners. In any event of the matter, the learned counsel for the pertitioners has argued that three times prices escalated in cost of construction which can be recovered by the DDA. According to him this is as per CPWD rate schedule.

( 7 ) ACCORDING to DDA, construction of these houses under the scheme had been taken