Santosh D Kaushal v. North Delhi Municipal Corporation

$~109 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI + CONT.CAS(C) 764/2025 and CM APPL.71134/2025 SANTOSH D KAUSHAL .....Petitioner Through:

Mr. Vivek Singh, Ms. Kirti Mewar and Ms. Kriti Sharma, Advocates.

versus NORTH DELHI MUNICIPAL CORPORATION .....Respondent Through:

Mr. Tushar Sannu and Ms. Pulak Gupta Joshi, Advocate for MCD and Mr.

Sachin, officer of MCD.

Mr. Raj Kumar, ASC along with Ms.

Vandana Sachdeva, Advocate for NDMC.

CORAM:

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SACHIN DATTA % 03.02.2026

O R D E R

1.

The present petition arises in the context of a judgment / order dated 08.08.2024 passed by this Court in W.P.(C) 10502/2019 titled as 'Ms. Padma Sahgal v. North Delhi Municipal Corporation', whereby, the petitioner, having the leasehold rights in respect of shop bearing nos.9 and 10, Azad Market, Kishanganj, Delhi, sought rehabilitation and allotment of alternative shops pursuant to being divested of the said shops for the purpose of the project for widening of the Kishanganj Road.

2.

Vide judgment / order dated 08.08.2024, the writ petition filed by the petitioner was disposed of with a direction that upon furnishing probate in respect of the Will relied upon by the petitioner, the respondent corporation shall proceed to make allotment of shops to her in terms of the Rehabilitation Scheme. The said order dated 08.08.2024, inter alia, reads as under:- "9. In view of the aforesaid, the Court deems it appropriate to dispose of the instant petition with the following directions:- i. Let the petitioner furnish probate with respect to the Will in question with the respondent-Corporation, once the same is The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above.

granted by the Court of the competent jurisdiction. ii. Upon the petitioner producing the probate with respect to the said Will, the respondent-Corporation is directed to proceed with the allotment of shops in question in favour of the legal representative of the original writ petitioner. iii. The respondent-Corporation shall undertake the process and shall complete the same within a period of six weeks from the date of receipt of the probate certificate."

3.

It is submitted that the petitioner communicated the grant of probate with respect to the will in question, to the corporation vide letter dated 13.12.2024 and called upon the respondent to comply with the directions contained in the order dated 08.08.2024. However, since no action was taken despite the correspondence being addressed, the present petition came to be filed.

4.

During the course of present proceedings, a demand-cum-allotment letter came to be issued by the MCD to the petitioner on 26.05.2025. The same reads as under:- The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above.

5.

Pursuant thereto, a grievance was raised by the petitioner with respect to the demand sought to be raised by respondent as a pre-condition for allotment of the shops. Consequently, in the present proceedings vide order dated 15.01.2026, the respondent (MCD) was directed to disclose whether similar demands have been raised upon the similarly situated shopkeepers as a precondition for allotment of shops. 6.

In the above background, a status report has been filed on behalf of the MCD in which it has been brought out that similar demands have been raised upon all persons / allottees to whom shops have been allotted at Sanjay Gandhi, Transport Nagar, Delhi and all of the said persons are stated to be similarly placed as the present petitioner.

7.

Learned counsel for the petitioner, however, submits that the demand sought to be raised is wholly unreasonable and unjustified in the facts and circumstances of the present case.

8.

It is further stated that in view of the delay in allotting the shops to the petitioner, the petitioner is also entitled to damages from the MCD. It is also contended that the shops sought to be allotted to the petitioner are inadequate / deficient.

9.

However, after some hearing, the petitioner accedes to comply with the demand sought to be raised vide letter dated 26.05.2025 and accepts the allotment that are sought to be made by the MCD in favour of the petitioner. It is directed accordingly.

10.

At the request of the learned counsel for the petitioner, it is clarified that the aforesaid shall be without prejudice to right of the petitioner to initiate substantive proceedings seeking to contest the aforesaid demand/s sought to be raised by the MCD and/or the right to claim damages. It is made clear that this Court has not expressed any opinion as regards the merits or maintainability as The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above.

regards any such action.

11.

No further orders are required to be passed in the present petition and the same is, accordingly, disposed of. Pending application also stands disposed of. SACHIN DATTA, J FEBRUARY 3, 2026/r The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above.