LexMRS. MANJU BHATIA AND ANR versus NEW DELHI MUNICIPAL COUNCIL AND ANR.
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A B MRS. MANJU BHATIA AND ANR v. NEW DELHI MUNICIPAL COUNCIL AND ANR. MAY 6, 1997 [K. RAMASWAMY, S. SAGHIR AHMAD AND G.B. PATTANAIK, JJ.] Housing: Damages-Building contract-Builder raising w1authorised constrnc- C tion-Demolition by Mwiicipality-Allottee of flat-Compensation to-Held, builder should pay Rs. 60 lacs including the amount paid by allottee-lf payment not paid within the time granted, builder would pay interest at the rate of 21% per annum from the expily of the said period till payment D -Equity-Tort. Rylands v.Fletcher, (1868) L.R. 3 H.L. 330; The Kingsway (1918) p. 344, 356(C.A.); Jarvis v. Moy. Davies, Smith, Vanbdervell & Company, (1936) 1 QB 399, referred to. Hanbury & Martin's Modem Equity (14th Edn. -1993) by Jill E. Mar- E tin, page 3; "Hudson's Building and Engineering Contracts (10th Edn.) by l.N. F G Duncan and Wallace; "Law Relating to Building CrJhtracts" (2nd Edn.) by M.A. Sujan; "Mcgregor on Damages, the Common Law Libra1y No. 9 (14th Edn.). by Harvey Mcgregor page 683; "Modem Law of Tort" (1995 Edn.) by K.M. Stanton (Sweet & Maxwell) p.4, 'Winfield and Jolowicz on Tort" (14th • 1994 Edn.) by W.V.H. Rogers at page 4, referred to. CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 3694 of 1997. From the Judgment and Order dated 6.9.96 of the Delhi High Court in L.P.A. No. 185 of 1996. P.C. Jain, S.K. Mehta, Aman Vechher and Arun Kathpalia for the Appellants. S.K. Verma, Chandra Sekhar, Masood Ahmed Khan, Itshad Mohd. Khan, V.B. Saharaya, R.K. Maheshwari and Anu Mohla (NP) for the H Respondents. 156 ~. M. BHATIA v. N.D.M.C. 157 The following Order of the Court was delivered : A Leave granted. We have heard learned counsel on both sides. The admitted facts are that the builder impleaded as one of the B respondents, after obtaining the requisite sanction, built 8 floors (including ground floor) on November 22, 1984 as per the guidelines which permitted 150 F.A.R. with the height restriction· of 80 feet. The construction of the building known as "White House", came to be made and the possession of the flats was delivered to the purchasers, the appellant being one of them. C At a later stage, it was found that the builder constructed the building in violation of the Regulations. Consequently, the flats of the top four floors were demolished. The demolition came to be challenged by way of the writ petition in the High Court. The High Court dismissed the same. Thus this appeal by special leave. Before we go into the controversy involved, it would be appropriate and advantageous at this stage to refer and discuss the law of equity and its role in the field of tort and equity. D In Hanbury & Martin's Modem Equity (14th Edn. - 1993) by Jill E. Martin, at page 3 it is stated, on the "General Principles of Equity" that E '"equity' is a word with many meanings. In a wide sense, it means that which is fair and just, moral and ethical; but its legal meaning is much narrower." "Developed system of law has ever been assisted by the introduction of a discretionary power to do justice in particular cases where the strict rules of law cause hardship. Rules formulated to deal with particular situations may subsequently work unfairly as society develops. Equity is the body of rules which evolved to mitigate the severity of the rules of the common law." Principles of justice and conscience are the basis of equity jurisdic- tion, but it must not be thought that the contrast between law and equity F is one between a system of strict rules and one of broad discretion. Equity has no monopoly of the pursuit of justice. Equitable principles are rather G too often bandied about in common law courts as though the Chancellor - still had only the length of his own foot to measure when coming to a conclusion. Lord Radcliffe, speaking of common lawyers, said that equity lawyers were "both surprised and discomfited by the plentitude of jurisdic- tion and the imprecision of rules that are attributed to 'equity' by their H 158 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1997] SUPP. l S.C.R. A more enthusiastic colleagues". Just as the common law has escaped from its early formalism, so over the years equity has established strict rules for the application of its principles. Indeed, at one stage the rules became so fixed that a "rigor aequitatis" developed; equity itself displayed the very defect which it was designed to remedy. We will see that today some B aspects of equ
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