The Court passed the ruling on an appeal preferred by the Mizoram government against an order passed by a single judge Bench of the High Court in 2024, which had directed them to effectuate the land sale within six weeks.
Excel Vincom Private Limited emerged as the highest bidder and an agreement for sale was executed on October 6, 2023.
The cancellation followed representations from Kolkata Mizo Students and the Calcutta Mizo Welfare Association, which highlighted the property's historical and heritage significance and its role as a refuge for Mizo students and professionals living in Kolkata.
The entire money paid by Excel Vincom was refunded, he added.
He stressed that it was a change in government that prompted an abrupt halt to completing the sale.
The Court passed the ruling on an appeal preferred by the Mizoram government against an order passed by a single judge Bench of the High Court in 2024, which had directed them to effectuate the land sale within six weeks.
The case concerned a plot of land at 24, Ashutosh Chowdhury Avenue in Kolkata, which the Mizoram government had purchased in 1973 and used for its guest house and offices.
In May 2023, the government floated an e-tender-cum-e-auction to sell the property. Excel Vincom Private Limited emerged as the highest bidder and an agreement for sale was executed on October 6, 2023.
However, the sale agreement caused an upheaval amongst the Mizo population in the State, and the new regime cancelled the tender process on the ground that it was opposed to public interest.
The cancellation followed representations from Kolkata Mizo Students and the Calcutta Mizo Welfare Association, which highlighted the property's historical and heritage significance and its role as a refuge for Mizo students and professionals living in Kolkata.
Mizoram's Advocate General Biswajit Deb also highlighted this before the High Court, contending that the reason for shelving the sale was not because of a regime change but the sentiments of the close-knit Mizo community in Kolkata. The entire money paid by Excel Vincom was refunded, he added.
He argued that since a transfer of ownership would only commence upon the complete execution of the sale deed, which was never done, the Mizoram government reserved the right to cancel the tender at any moment.
Senior Advocate SN Mookherjee, representing Excel Vincom, countered that correspondence between the parties clearly showed that the stage of cancellation of the tender was long gone with the only thing remaining being the execution of the sale deed. He stressed that it was a change in government that prompted an abrupt halt to completing the sale.
