Uttarakhand High Court Revokes Lease Cancellation Order Issued to Haridwar Housing Project in SIIDCUL

DEHRADUN: As the state government contemplates new laws to restrict the acquisition of “surplus” land by “non-residents” in Uttarakhand, the High Court (HC) has set aside a lease cancellation order concerning a residential project. The court ruled that authorities must provide the builder with a prior notice before initiating any such action.

Delhi Apartments Pvt Ltd (DAPL), the petitioner, was allotted five plots on lease within the State Infrastructure & Industrial Development Corporation of Uttarakhand Ltd (SIIDCUL), Haridwar, for developing residential apartments and commercial structures. While construction had begun on four plots, the fifth plot’s lease was cancelled despite no work starting there.

The regional manager of SIIDCUL issued the cancellation order on August 22, which DAPL contested in the HC. The petitioner’s counsel argued that the lease cancellation for the fifth plot in Sector 5A of SIIDCUL, Haridwar, was done without giving DAPL a chance to present its case.

During a previous hearing on September 23, the HC directed the respondent’s counsel to confirm whether DAPL was given an opportunity to be heard before the cancellation. At Friday’s hearing, SIIDCUL’s counsel acknowledged that no show cause notice had been issued before the lease was revoked.

As a result, Justice Pankaj Purohit, presiding over the single bench, annulled the August cancellation order and instructed the authorities to provide DAPL with a fair chance to present its case before proceeding further.