Delhi HC Halts 111-Cr Demand on ITC Maurya Land

5 Sep 2024 , 12:13 PM

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday halted a ₹111-crore ground rent demand by the Land and Development Office (L&DO) for the past 25 years on six acres of land leased to the conglomerate in 1975. This is a significant relief to Calcutta-based ITC, which operates a luxury five-star hotel in the heart of New Delhi.

On this property in Diplomatic Enclave, New Delhi’s Sardar Patel Marg, sits the ITC Maurya hotel.

In addition to giving notice to the L&DO of the Urban Development Ministry, Justice Sanjeev Narula also halted the two demand notices dated March 14 and April 22, which demanded that ITC pay ground rent totalling ₹111.06 crore. The subject has been postponed until October 22 for additional hearings.

In addition, ITC has asked the L&DO to issue a directive to proceed with its October application for the land’s conversion from leasehold to freehold in compliance with the then-current 2003 policy.

Although ITC was given permission to use the six acres of property in 1975, a perpetual lease title was provided to it in 1988 in exchange for a yearly fee payment of ₹13.13 lakh.

Enraged by “such brazen conduct from the L&DO officials,” senior counsel Anil Kher said the HC in his appearance for the ITC that the office was acting “arbitrarily and unreasonably” in trying to retroactively amend the ground rent in violation of its own office instructions and circulars.

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