ORDER :

1. The instant writ petition is filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India with the following prayers:-

“(i) That the entire record pertaining to this case may kindly be called for and examined.

(ii) By an appropriate writ order or direction the impugned order dated 12/03/2004 and 27/11/2004 may kindly be quashed and set aside and consequently the action of the respondents in cancelling the allotment of land be declared to be illegal, unjustified, arbitrary and unconstitutional.

(iii) By an appropriate writ order or direction the land of 6350 Sq. Mtrs. Situated at Sector-5, Mansarovar allotted to the petitioner, its allotment be restored forthwith consequently the possession be handed over to the petitioner as per directions of the Hon’ble High Court.

(iv) By an appropriate writ order or direction any other appropriate relief to which the petitioner is found entitled to may also kindly be granted in petitioner’s favour. It is, therefore, humbly prayed that the writ petition may kindly be allowed as prayed hereinabove.”

2. Learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that the petitioner is an educational society registered under the Rajasthan Societies Act. The petitioner-society applied for allotment of land before the Rajasthan Housing Board, Jaipur and vide allotment order no. 676 dated 19.07.2001, 6,350 sq. meters of land situated at Sector 5, Mansarovar was allotted to the petitioner-society under the Disposal of Property Regulation, 1970 (Mansarovar Yojna). In pursuance to the allotment, the petitioner-society immediately deposited an amount of Rs. 97,790/-. The petitioner, being an educational society, wrote to the Rajasthan Housing Board for subsidized rates at the government level, for the allotment so made and accordingly, the file of the petitioner was sent to the Urban Development and Housing Department, Secretariat, Government of Rajasthan. In this regard, a letter was also written by the Chief Estate Manager, Rajasthan Housing Board to the aforesaid Department wherein it was informed that allotment of land can be made to educational institutes at a concessional rate. Thereafter, on 17.06.2003, the erstwhile President of the Society, Sh. Tara Chand Chandel, wrote a letter to the Rajasthan Housing Board that in the allotment letter so issued to the petitioner-society, the use of the land has been mentioned as “Samudayeek Kendra” i.e. community centre, whereas, it should be amended to reflect the land use as “Shikshan Sansthan” i.e. educational institute.

3. However, vide order dated 12.03.2004, without communicating the decision of the State Government qua the applicability of subsidized prices for educational institutes, the Rajasthan Housing Board passed an order whereby the allotment made in favour of the petitioner-society was cancelled and the amount so deposited by the petitioner-society to the tune of Rs. 97,790/-was forfeited. Thereafter, the petitioner-society wrote a letter on 10.08.2004 to the Rajasthan Housing Board expressing its willingness to deposit the entire balance amount. Despite the same, and without any notice of cancellation, a letter was received by the petitioner-society on 27.11.2004 whereby the petitioner’s request for depositing the remaining amount was rejected. Learned counsel for the petitioner-society argued that the aforesaid actions of the Rajasthan Housing Board are entirely arbitrary and illegal, the same being in contravention of the rules and provisions for allotment and allocation at concessional rates prescribed for educational institution.

4. In this background, learned counsel for the petitioner-society prayed for the setting aside of the impugned order of cancellation of allotment on the following grounds:

(a) That neither did the respondents communicate the decision of the State Government qua the applicability of subsidized prices to the petitioner-society and nor did the Rajasthan Housing Board furnish any notice of cancellation upon the petitioner-society