HC quashes sale deed of land bought by Ghai

CHANDIGARH: In yet another setback for Bollywood producer and director Subhash Ghai, Punjab and Haryana high court on Tuesday ordered quashing of the sale deed of 20 acres of village common land purchased by his production company -'Mukta Arts' -- in Badhsa village of Jhajjar district in Haryana in 2010.
Earlier in April, the Supreme Court had asked Ghai to return 21 acres of land allotted to him in Mumbai's film city area.The HC orders came on a petition filed by Nafe Ram, a retired teacher from Badhsa village, stating that the land allotted to Ghai was for public purpose but he was putting it to personal use.
While issuing directions, a division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Jasbir Singh and Justice R K Jain directed Ghai to hand over the possession of land to the village panchayat and told the panchayat to return the money to Ghai with interest.
Nafe Ram, in his petition filed in May, had accused Haryana government of favouritism in granting permission to Ghai for buying the shamlat land. The high court had put a stay on the execution of the sale deed in May following submission of petition in the court.
Counsel for the petitioner Dipak Balyan contended in the court on Tuesday that the decision to sell the village land to 'Mukta Arts' from the village panchayat was taken under pressure and not by free will. Balyan also told the court that Haryana government machinery connived with Ghai despite the fact that the filmmaker wanted land for private purposes, and asked the village panchayat to sell off the land.
Badhsa gram panchayat had sent a resolution to Haryana government on January 6, 2010, to permit it to sell the 20 acres to 'Mukta Arts'. The state government had allowed the panchayat to sell the land in September the same year for Rs 8.02 crore.