NEW DELHI: No one, not even govt, can prevent a citizen from approaching courts under a mutually agreed contract, or as part of a one-time settlement (OTS) scheme, Supreme Court has said while censuring Haryana govt for asking those who had opted for an OTS scheme offering 40% discount on land dues to withdraw their litigation.Granting relief to thousands of plot owners at Panchkula, a partial working day bench of Justices Satish Chandra Sharma and Sanjeev Sachdeva said, “Your (Haryana govt’s) scheme says citizens cannot go to court if they accept OTS. How can you deprive the citizens of their right to approach court, a liberty granted by the Constitution?”Nearly four decades ago, Haryana govt had acquired more than 1,500 acres of land at Panchkula for Sectors 24 to 28 and sold the plots to individuals. Later, various authorities one after the other increased the compensation payable to farmers for their land over the next decade.Intimating plot buyers earlier, Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) sent additional demand notices to them for a corresponding increase in plot prices. This was challenged by plot owners before the Punjab and Haryana high court, which directed HSVP to recalculate the dues.Despite recalculation, the plot owners initiated fresh litigation challenging the enhanced demand notices. As the litigation persisted, HSVP in May 2018 introduced OTS scheme (OTSS) under which plot allottees were offered a 40% rebate on outstanding additional demand dues on the condition that they would withdraw their pending litigation challenging the demand notices.
