The court established the principle that once land is covered in notifications under the DMC or the DDa acts, it is excluded from the application of the DLR, and the vesting of land in the Gaon Sabha results in the annihilation of preexisting rights of the owner or occupier.

JUDGMENT

Yashwant Varma, J. - Heard learned counsel for the petitioner. although respondents are duly represented, none has appeared when the matter was called.

2. The petitioners here which is a Residents Welfare association has instituted the present writ petition aggrieved by the order passed by the Collector dated 14 November 2012. By the aforesaid order, the Collector has proceeded to reject a representation which was made by the petitioners pursuant to the liberty accorded to them in terms of the order of 07 March 2012 passed by the Court in W.P.(C) 399/2011.

3. The grievance of the petitioners essentially lies in the continuance of proceedings under Section 81 of the Delhi Land Reforms act, 1954 [DLR act] in respect of land which undisputedly stood covered in a Notification under Section 507 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation act, 1957 [DMC act] promulgated on 24 October 1994. as per the details which are set forth in annexure P-5, the individual members were aggrieved by the initiation of action under Section 81 of the DLR act after the land in question came to be covered in the Notification issued under the DMC act.

4. Mr. Sarin, learned counsel appearing in support of this petition, has rested his case on the recent decision rendered by the Court in Sanvik Engineers India Pvt. Ltd & anr. Vs. Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Through: Its Department of Urban Development & anr. 2022 SCC OnLine Del 360 where upon a consideration of the interplay between the provisions of the DLR and DMC acts, this Court proceeded to record the following conclusions: -

'a. Section 81 is primarily concerned with ensuring that land falling within the ambit of the DLR, is not used for purposes other than those sanctioned under the enactment. The objective underlying the aforesaid provision clearly appears to be to ensure that land as defined under Section 3(13) is not misutilised or diverted to uses other than those permitted under the act. additionally, the scheme of the two provisions clearly bears out that proceedings for eviction are statutorily placed in abeyance to enable the occupier to restore the land to its original character. It is only consequent to a failure on the part of the occupier to abide by those directions that eviction and vesting follow.

B. The vesting of the land in the Gaon Sabha consequent to a failure on the part of the occupant to restore the land to its original rural state, proceeds simultaneously with eviction. Vesting as contemplated in Sections 81 and 82 clearly establishes the legislative intent to divest the occupant of all rights claimed in the land and transfer absolute title and interest in the Gaon Sabha. It essentially contemplates the annihilation of the preexisting rights of the owner or occupier.

C. Vesting here is not contemplated as operating in the limited extent of taking over possession but also of the effacement of all rights that may have existed in favor of the owner or occupier thereof. Consequent to a failure on the part of the owner or occupier to comply with the conditional decree, the land must be recognized as coming to the possession and ownership of the Gaon Sabha absolutely and free of all encumbrances.

D. Insofar as matters which would fall in the category of CaSE 1, it was fairly conceded that where no proceedings have been drawn or initiated under Section 81 prior to the issuance of the notifications, no authority or jurisdiction would be retained to invoke Section 81. This position clearly flows from the decisions of the Court that have been noticed above and which have consistently taken the view that once the land stands comprised in notifications issued under the DMC or the DDa acts, it would stand excluded from the application of the DLR. This since it has ceased to answer to the description of land as defined in Section 3(13) of the DLR. The Court thus comes to the firm conclusion that once the area has come to be urbanized and stands comprised in notifications