FPA-90/DLI/2018 of Akhil Bhatnagar v/s The Competent Authority, New Delhi & Anr.
Case brief
What is this about?
Sixteen appeals were filed by subsequent purchasers challenging a notice dated 04.05.2018 directing them to vacate properties forfeited to the Central Government under SAFEMA. The Appellate Tribunal held that the notice was merely a vacation notice issued by the SDM and not an order under SAFEMA, thus no appeal lay to this Tribunal. The Tribunal further noted that the original forfeiture order dated 1978 remained final as no challenge had been pursued in higher courts. It observed that transfers of the property after the issuance of a Section 6 notice rendered the purchases void ab initio under Section 11, excluding the appellants from protection under Section 2(2)(e).
What did the court decide?
All sixteen appeals filed under FPA-87 to FPA-100 were dismissed as they were without jurisdiction and without merit. No vacation of the legally forfeited property is permitted.