Administrative authorities cannot unilaterally cancel an allotment for delayed payments if they have previously accepted payments and engaged with the party beyond the default, as such conduct constitutes a waiver of strict timelines and violates the principles of natural justice and legitimate expectation.

JUDGMENT :

SAMEER JAIN, J.

1. The present petition has been instituted impugning the illegal and arbitrary action of the respondent–Jaipur Development Authority, (hereinafter referred to as ‘JDA’), whereby the second, third, and fourth installments deposited by the petitioner-trust towards allotment of land for the development of a hospital and medical education facility have been unilaterally refunded, and the allotment of land was cancelled, without any prior notice or intimation to the petitioner, sans granting any opportunity of hearing; thus resulting in gross violation of the principles of natural justice.

SUBMISSIONS MADE BY LEARNED COUNSEL REPRESENTING THE PETITIONERS :

2. At the outset, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner–trust apprised this Court with regard to the locus standi of the present petitioners. It was submitted that the petitioner No. 1-Pooranmal Phoola Devi Memorial Trust, is a duly registered trust (Trust deed annexed as annexure no.2) and is governed by the provisions of the Rajasthan Improvement (Disposal of Urban Land) Rules, 1974 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Rules of 1974’). It was further submitted that petitioner No. 2, Dr. S.S. Agarwal, is the Managing Trustee (Authorization letter annexed as annexure no.1) of the said trust and is duly authorized to represent and espouse the cause of the trust in the present proceedings. Learned counsel further contended that the petitioner–trust is actively engaged in the field of medical education within the State of Rajasthan for several decades and has been rendering services in the said domain since the year 1980. It was emphasized that the trust has established a credible standing and experience in promoting medical education and allied healthcare facilities. It was further submitted that, with a bona fide intention to expand its activities and to contribute towards the development of hospital infrastructure and medical educational institutions, the petitioner– trust had approached the State Government in the year 2015, seeking allotment of suitable land for the aforesaid purposes. Pursuant thereto, a recommendation came to be made in favour of the petitioner-trust for allotment of land for establishing a hospital and medical education center/college, in furtherance of its stated objectives.

3. In the aforesaid backdrop, learned counsel for the petitioners further submitted that, in the 118^th meeting of the Land and Building Disposal Committee held on 30.07.2015, a recommendation was made for allotment of land on concessional rates. It was further submitted that the said recommendation attained further affirmation at the highest administrative level, inasmuch as in the 3^rd meeting of the Cabinet Empowered Committee of the State Government held on 29.09.2021, a conscious decision was taken to allot the subject land to the petitioner–trust itself. Despite such decision, there was an inordinate and unexplained delay on the part of the authorities, and only after a lapse of nearly eight years from the initial