Punit Beriwala, managing director of property developer Vipul Ltd, had challenged the sale of the land, claiming that he had already made advance payment for it.
Beriwala’s counsel, Lokesh Bhola of law firm Legal Icons, said his client had paid substantial consideration towards the property in 2004 to Bhai Manjit Singh, Maheep Singh and Bhai Vikramjit Singh, who owned the property. He also intimated to the counsel for a third party (JK Paper Ltd) in response to its public notice on the intention to purchase the property, he said.
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Vikramjit Singh did not respond to a message seeking comment. An email sent to JK Paper also remained unanswered at press time Wednesday. ET has seen a copy of the court order impleading JK Paper as a party.
According to Beriwala’s petition, it was agreed that the total sale consideration would be Rs 28 crore, and it would be paid in parts as it was a leasehold property with the Land & Development Office, New Delhi. The defendants had undertaken to get the property converted into freehold before transferring it in the name of the plaintiff, the petition said.
Beriwala said he had paid Rs 1.64 crore in 2004. The property was converted to freehold in 2019.Read More: Uttar Pradesh RERA cautions against panic buying of homes, says sufficient inventory available for sale
“During the pendency of the suit, it has come to the knowledge of our client that the property was purportedly purchased by the third party/JK Paper Ltd on 02.12.2021,” Bhola said. “Since then, our client has been litigating the dispute. Now, the High Court of Delhi has impleaded JK Paper Ltd in the suit as one of the parties,” Bhola said.
While wealthy individuals from other cities want to own a house in Lutyens’ Delhi, those from the city are also moving to bungalows for open spaces.
Experts believe the scarcity of such properties available for outright sale near the Lutyens’ zone, coupled with increasing demand for bungalows, will ensure that prices remain high despite market fluctuations in other parts of the city.