The Allahabad High Court has ordered the demolition of two entire residential towers and the top two floors of four other towers at Gulmohar Greens Residential Society in Ghaziabad. The court has also imposed a cost of ₹25 lakh on the project promoter and directed action against officials over irregularities connected with the development.
A Division Bench of Justice Saral Srivastava and Justice Sudhanshu Chauhan directed the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) to demolish towers 27 and 28 in their entirety, along with the ninth and tenth floors of towers 16, 17, 18 and 19, within two months.
The directions were issued on Tuesday in a 95-page judgement concerning the residential project at Katori Mill, Mohan Nagar, Sahibabad.
Demolition Costs to Be Recovered From Promoter
The High Court authorised the GDA to recover the expenditure incurred on demolition from the promoter as arrears of land revenue.
It also instructed the district administration and police authorities to provide sufficient security and assistance to GDA officials during the demolition exercise.
The court further ordered the promoter to deposit ₹25 lakh into the account of the Gulmohar Greens Residents Welfare Association (GGRWA) within one month of the judgement.
In another direction, the promoter was required to refund the sale price of common areas sold to 85 individuals.
Disciplinary Inquiry Ordered Against GDA Official
The High Court directed the Uttar Pradesh government to initiate disciplinary proceedings against the GDA vice chairman responsible for issuing or approving the third compounding map dated December 18, 2024, which permitted the illegal tower construction.
The state government must institute the inquiry within one month of the order.
The Bench also found that Inspector Surendera Singh had failed to conduct a proper and fair investigation. It ordered his suspension and directed the competent authority to initiate an inquiry into his alleged dereliction of duty.
Court Raises Concern Over Two-Decade Delay in Project Completion
The litigation arose from a petition filed by apartment owners and residents of Gulmohar Greens challenging the compounding map.
While examining the dispute, the High Court noted that construction of the project began in 2005 but remained incomplete despite the passage of more than 20 years.
The promoter had also failed to secure a completion certificate, although the Uttar Pradesh Apartment Act, 2010 places the responsibility for obtaining the certificate on the promoter.
The Bench took note of the financial difficulties faced by homebuyers who had invested their savings or borrowed money from banks and financial institutions to purchase apartments.
It observed that buyers who were already paying equated monthly instalments (EMIs) could not reasonably be expected to wait indefinitely for the promoter to obtain the completion certificate.
The court recognised that such financial obligations often left apartment owners with little choice but to occupy their flats before the completion certificate was secured.
Against this background, the High Court issued directions for demolition, recovery of expenses, disciplinary proceedings and financial payments by the promoter.
