Gurgaon: In December last year, two individuals sought permission from then deputy commissioner (DC) Amit Khatri for manual registry of a plot they wanted to sell to four Delhi-based companies. A manual registry needs permission in Haryana because the state government moved the entire process online to make it tamper-proof after a scam in tehsil offices came to light last year.
Khatri gave permission on December 16 and the registry was completed on December 24. The registered value of the land was a little over Rs 55 crore. But in the days that followed, the registry kicked up a controversy, with the state rushing to cancel it as well as ordering a probe, amid questions on both its valuation and ownership. An amendment was also brought to the state’s registry rules.
The land in question — a sprawling 24 acres in Silokhera — was once an airstrip, owned since the 1980s by Aparna Ashram founder Dhirendra Brahmachari, yoga instructor and trusted confidant of Indira Gandhi. Following his death in a plane crash in June 1994, a dispute broke out between ashram society members over his assets, leading to a legal tussle that remains unresolved till date.
The government ordered an investigation into the registry after Laxman Chaudhary, who claims to be president of the Aparna Ashram society, filed a complaint. “Chaudhary also attached the judgment of a Gurgaon court that says the two people involved in the land deal are not authorised to do so,” said Surya Prakash, the legal representative of Laxman Chaudhary.
However, KS Pathania (74), who had approached Khatri to get the registry done along with Subhash Dutt, claimed they were “members of the recognised Aparna Ashram society whose president is Subhash Dutt”. “We are authorised to sell this land. We have done everything as per the resolution passed by the society,” said Pathania. Dutt refused to comment.
Khatri said on December 23, a day before the registry was done, he had sent a letter to the sub-registrar of Wazirabad tehsil, informing him he had withdrawn permission. “The DRO informed the concerned revenue official the same day not to carry out the registry. We also have a recording of the conversation. The cancellation letter was issued thereafter. Moreover, the permission was just to ascertain documents and that too was withdrawn later,” said Khatri.
The registry, however, was completed on December 24. On December 26, the government ordered a probe. A preliminary report was submitted on December 30 by additional deputy commissioner Prashant Panwar. Asked about its findings, Panwar refused to comment.
On December 29, meanwhile, the public relations department of the government issued a press release stating the government had on December 23 issued a notification amending the Haryana Registration Manual by inserting Para 159-A. The amendment, the department said, had been made to ensure that ‘persons with valid titles would not have to seek legal recourse to get the deed of a fraudulent sale cancelled and may continue to have the liberty to enjoy their property’. It empowered officials to accept cancellation of sale deeds in cases where a person ‘was not entitled to transfer such property’. Officials said Khatri used this amendment to set aside the registry on December 27.
Khatri’s order has now been challenged by the buyers of the land in the Punjab and Haryana high court, where the matter is listed for hearing on February 15.
Dr Yash Garg, Gurgaon’s present deputy commissioner who took charge on January 6 this year after Khatri went on study leave, said the registry had been cancelled by his predecessor and stood revoked. “The government has told us to assess whether a law and order situation could arise over the Silokhera land and to check whether CrPC Section 145 could be imposed since there is a legal tussle going on,” he added.
Asked about the status of the probe, Sanjeev Kaushal, additional chief secretary and financial commissioner, revenue and disaster management department, Haryana, told TOI, “The inquiry was conducted by our revenue consultant and the divisional commissioner. We have communicated to the divisional commissioner and deputy commissioner about the steps that need to be taken. The DC is the district’s revenue head and instructions have been given to him.”
According to documents accessed by TOI, the sale deed of the land was registered for Rs 55.06 crore, for which a stamp duty of Rs 3.85 crore and a registration fee of Rs 50,010 was paid. The type of land mentioned is uncultivable. However, Khatri’s December 27 order setting aside the registry, raised a question on the valuation. “Concerns have also been highlighted on the stamp duty paid for the deed and whether it was inadequate based on prevailing collector rates and the registration policy,” it reads.
If one takes into account the circle rate for FY 2020-21, cost of commercial land in Silokhera is Rs 44,000 per sq yard while cost of residential land is Rs 18,000 per sq yard. Going by this, the land would cost Rs 510.95 crore if sold as commercial and Rs 209.03 crore if sold as residential. According to a letter sent by the revenue department to Garg on January 19 this year, the land in question is “undoubtedly undervalued”.