The Allahabad High Court has ordered the demolition of two towers, and two floors each of four other towers at the Gulmohar Greens residential society in Ghaziabad, and directed the registration of an FIR against the promoter of the project for allegedly committing fraud and violating the Uttar Pradesh Apartment Act, 2010.
The court also ordered a disciplinary inquiry against a former vice-chairperson of the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) for approving an illegal compounding of the building plans, and directed the promoter to pay ₹25 lakh to the society’s residents’ welfare association (RWA).
The high court further ordered GDA to pay ₹50,000 to each petitioner, holding that residents had been harassed by the promoter in alleged collusion with the development authority.
The order, delivered on Tuesday and uploaded on Wednesday, came on petitions filed by the RWA and other residents of the high-rise society in Sahibabad. The petitioners alleged that the promoter had violated the provisions of the UP Apartment Act while obtaining approval for deviations from the sanctioned building plans, without securing residents’ consent.
The court directed GDA to demolish towers 27 and 28, each comprising five floors with eight units on every floor, and the ninth and 10th floors of towers 16, 17, 18 and 19 within two months. The constructions were undertaken by Friends Land Developers Pvt Ltd, a partnership firm of SVP Builders India Ltd.
The court set aside the third compounding order, dated December 18, 2024, holding that the deviations were not eligible for regularisation. It said the former GDA vice-chairperson had approved the compounding despite the promoter’s violations.
“We have already, on the basis of many grounds urged before us, held the third compounding dated December 18, 2024 illegal. Therefore, we hold the third compounding dated December 18, 2024 cannot be sustained and is, accordingly, set aside,” the court said, directing GDA to complete the demolition within two months of the judgment.
In the order, the court also permitted the authority to recover the demolition expenses from the promoter as arrears of land revenue.
Compounding allows property owners to pay a fee or penalty to regularise certain deviations from approved building plans, where such deviations are legally eligible for regularisation.
The court held that the approval of the third compounding order amounted to dereliction of duty by the then GDA vice-chairperson. It directed the state government to initiate a disciplinary inquiry against the official within a month.
Describing the case as one in which apartment owners had been harassed by the promoter in alleged connivance with the development authority, the court imposed a cost of ₹25 lakh on the promoter, directing him to deposit the amount with the Gulmohar Greens Residents Welfare Association within a month.
The court also found that the promoter had sold common areas of the society to 85 people identified by GDA. It directed the authority’s vice-chairperson to constitute a three-member committee to identify the areas sold.
“If any construction has been raised by them, they shall demolish the same, and thereafter, hand over such common area to the society,” the court said. It directed the promoter to refund the sale price paid by the 85 buyers, along with the cost of construction, to be assessed by the committee, and 10% interest from the date of payment.
Holding that the promoter had misrepresented facts and defrauded apartment owners by selling common areas, the court directed the concerned police station to register an FIR for fraud, misrepresentation and violations of the UP Apartment Act within two weeks of the judgment. “Accordingly, we direct the concerned police station to register an FIR against the promoter for committing the offence of fraud, misrepresentation, and violating the provisions of the (UP Apartment) Act, 2010 with impunity within two weeks from the date of the judgement.”
The court also criticised GDA officials for their alleged “collusion with the promoter”, saying their “slipshod approach” had forced residents into litigation and substantial legal expenses. It directed GDA to pay ₹50,000 to each petitioner within two months.
GDA vice-chairperson Nand Kishor Kalal and secretary Vivek Mishra did not respond to calls seeking comment on the court order.
In a statement, SVP Builders India Ltd said the judgment should be assessed in the context of the specific structures involved, sanctioned maps, authority records and the complete judicial order. It said the project had a history of approvals, compounding proceedings and correspondence with GDA, and cautioned against drawing generalised conclusions about the entire residential project based on directions concerning specific structures.
The company said it was examining the judgment and its legal implications, and would take necessary steps through due legal process in accordance with applicable law and legal advice. It added that it was sensitive to the concerns of residents and other stakeholders.
A representative of the builder said the two towers and the floors ordered to be demolished were currently vacant.
