Allahabad High Court Stays Noida Authority's Rejection of Satya Homes' Construction Permit
The Allahabad High Court has recently stayed an order issued by the Noida Authority, which denied permission to Satya Homes Pvt Ltd and others to proceed with construction on a plot of land they purchased in Sector 161, Noida. The court emphasized that the Authority's actions should be based on solid and legally justifiable reasons when rejecting applications for building permits.
The petitioners, including Satya Homes Pvt Ltd, had acquired a 9,571 square meter plot in Sector 161 back in 2015. Two years later, in 2017, they submitted an application to the Noida Authority, seeking approval to construct a guesthouse and clubhouse in Gulawali village, located within Sector 161. However, the Noida Authority swiftly rejected the application the very next day. The reason cited by the Authority was that the land in question was part of a notified area that had been earmarked for institutional development. They argued that the land would eventually be acquired for this purpose, leaving no room for private construction projects.
Satya Homes Pvt Ltd challenged the Authority’s decision, filing a writ petition with the Allahabad High Court. The court took up the matter and ordered the Noida Authority to review and reconsider its denial. The court instructed the Authority to initiate fresh proceedings and provide a detailed, legally valid reason for its actions. Despite this directive from the court, the Authority rejected a second application submitted by Satya Homes Pvt Ltd a few months later. In response, Satya Homes filed a new writ petition in April 2019, which was eventually combined with another case involving Kiran Devi and other affected parties.
Kiran Devi’s case revolved around a separate piece of land, which had previously been used for residential purposes. Under the Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, the land had been declared non-agricultural. In March 2015, Kiran Devi purchased the land through registered sale deeds with the intent to construct a house. She was not alone in this effort—64 families had purchased land in the same area with similar intentions, but all faced rejections from the Noida Authority when they sought permission to begin construction.
The petitioners, including Satya Homes and Kiran Devi, collectively argued that the Noida Authority's claim that the land had been notified for institutional development was invalid, primarily because the Authority had not yet taken any concrete steps to acquire the land. The petitioners contended that they had legally purchased the land and should be permitted to carry out construction. They requested that the court order the Authority to grant them the necessary permissions to begin building.
In defense, the Noida Authority's counsel submitted that the land in question was not part of the abadi (inhabited area) and that the petitioners had violated the Building Regulations, 2010, by initiating constructions without obtaining the required permissions. Additionally, the Authority's counsel stated that a proposal to acquire the land for institutional development had been submitted to the additional district magistrate (land acquisition) as far back as October 2012.
The Authority also alleged that the petitioners were engaged in the fragmentation of the land, selling off small plots that violated the area's planned objectives for institutional development. They argued that this practice was detrimental to the overall planning goals of Sector 161.
Despite these defenses, the Allahabad High Court took a firm stance in favor of the petitioners. On October 4, 2024, the court observed that while the Noida Authority does hold regulatory powers to oversee construction within its jurisdiction, these powers should not be used arbitrarily to impose blanket restrictions. The court found that the Authority had failed to provide a valid, legally sound reason for denying the petitioners' applications for construction.
In its ruling, the court set aside the Authority’s denial of permission and directed it to reconsider the applications in accordance with proper legal procedures. The bench of Justices Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Vikas Budhwar ordered the Authority to conduct a fresh site inspection of the land in November 2024 and to present a copy of the inspection report to the petitioners by November 14. Following the submission of the report, the petitioners and other affected parties would be given 10 days to submit their objections or concerns regarding the findings.
The court also remitted the case back to the Chief Executive Officer of the Noida Authority, instructing the CEO to pass a new, legally compliant order regarding the construction applications. The case is scheduled for its next hearing in the second week of December 2024, during which the court will review the developments based on the fresh proceedings.
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