Upholding the amended rule 13(1) of BDA (Allotment of Sites) Rules, 2008, the high court has dismissed a writ appeal filed by an Arkavathy Layout site allottee.
“It is clear the facility to pay in instalments within three years is extended only to those allotted sites of small dimension. In this case, the petitioner was allotted a bungalow site measuring 50x80ft. Therefore, there is no discrimination among a particular class of allottees here,” a division bench headed by justice PS Dinesh Kumar observed while dismissing the writ appeal filed by BC Latha.
Latha was allotted site no. 589 under Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes quota, the total value of which was Rs 7,58,500. She gave Rs 3.65 lakh on August 24, 2006, and Rs 1 lakh on October 11, 2006. She did not pay the remaining amount in time.
BDA issued a notice on August 5, 2009, asking her to explain why the allotment shouldn’t be cancelled. Thereafter, she approached the authority for reconsideration of her case. BDA, meanwhile, cancelled the allotment on November 13, 2009, and refunded the amount deposited by her. However, Latha claimed to have redeposited the amount with the authority.
Later, she challenged the cancellation of site allotment and refusal to extend instalment facility to pay the balance amount.
She also questioned the amended rule 13(1), saying it is unconstitutional and violates Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution. She said the rule creates a distinction between allottees of sites measuring 6x9m (20x30ft), 9x12m (30x40ft), and 12x18m (40x60ft) over grant of instalment facility.
On October 1, 2012, a judge rejected her petition. She subsequently challenged the ruling before a division bench.
