UNI case: ‘No right to retain allotted plot without norms’, says Delhi high court

NEW DELHI: The govt's move to take possession of around Rs 410 crore worth of prime land in central Delhi from news agency UNI, after an allotment period of 46 years, following a Delhi High Court order has made it clear that an allottee cannot retain possession of land after failing to adhere to stipulated conditions under any pretext, a senior central govt official has said.

He stressed that any "transfer of ownership or management of such land" to a private entity by "any means is unauthorised," as it is not permissible under the terms of allotment.

In this case, UNI, the original allottee of the land at 9, Rafi Marg, underwent Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP), and the National Company Law Tribunal, in Feb 2025, approved the resolution plan in favour of The Statesman Ltd. The new management of UNI had informed the court that it was now "willing and able" to raise funds for construction. But the court didn't accept this plea and ruled that this "cannot retroactively cure or excuse more than 45 years of persistent non-performance".

Referring to the culmination of insolvency proceedings, an official said, "As a consequence of this, the effective ownership and management control of the allottee stood transferred to a private commercial entity without any prior approval of the lessor (L&DO). This amounts, in substance, to an unauthorised transfer/change in control of the allotted premises, which is not permissible under the terms of allotment."

He added that the allotment was made to a not-for-profit national news agency for a specific institutional purpose and induction of a commercial organisation "fundamentally alters the character, purpose and eligibility of the allottee, thereby vitiating the very basis of the original grant".

The original allotment letter of Land and Development Office (L&DO) had said the land "shall" be used by UNI "only for the construction of a composite office complex to accommodate the offices" and for "no other purpose whatsoever without the prior approval of the lessor".

Officials said the govt move sets a strong precedent for allottees not transferring ownership or control of a plot of land in such a manner.

While upholding the eviction notice that L&DO had served, the HC observed that the news agency was given "more than excessive latitude for several decades since 1979", but the entity failed to comply with the allotment conditions and construction didn't start even after four decades.

As per revised allotment letter of 2000, UNI was supposed to construct a composite building on the allotted plot with the Press Council of India within two years. But the condition was not fulfilled. After issuing a show-cause notice, L&DO cancelled the allotment in March 2023.

The court upheld the cancellation of allotment and directed L&DO to take possession of the land.

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