Prayagraj: The Allahabad high court has ordered the demolition of Towers 27 and 28 of the Gulmohar Greens Residential Society in Mohan Nagar, Ghaziabad , besides directing the razing of the ninth and 10th floors of Towers 16, 17, 18 and 19.
A division bench comprising Justice Saral Srivastava and Justice Sudhanshu Chauhan, in its order dated October 27, directed the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) to carry out the demolition within two months. The court also set aside the GDA’s approval regularising the disputed construction, imposed a penalty of Rs 25 lakh on the builder, and ordered the registration of an FIR against him. The order came on petitions filed by Suresh Chander and 10 other apartment owners and residents. In its 95-page judgment, the court noted that the project was launched in 2005 and remains incomplete even after more than two decades. It observed that the promoter had failed to obtain a completion certificate despite being legally obligated to do so under the UP Apartment Act, 2010. The court also ordered the promoter to deposit Rs 25 lakh with the Gulmohar Greens Residents Welfare Association (GGRWA) within a month. Additionally, it directed the promoter to refund the sale consideration received from 85 flat owners for common areas that were illegally sold, along with construction costs to be assessed by a three-member committee. The amount is to be paid with 10% annual interest from the date the buyers made the payments.
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“In such a pitiable situation, we cannot expect apartment owners, who invested their hard-earned money and often took loans from financial institutions with the burden of paying EMIs, to wait indefinitely for the promoter to obtain the completion certificate,” the court said. Taking serious note of the approval granted for the “third compounding” of the illegal towers, the court directed the state government to institute disciplinary proceedings within one month against the then vice-chairman of the GDA who approved the compounding map on December 18, 2024. “We also permit the GDA to recover the expenses incurred in demolition from the promoter as arrears of land revenue. We further direct the district administration and police authorities to provide adequate assistance and security to the officers of the development authority while carrying out the demolition,” the bench observed. Senior advocate Sanjiv Singh appeared for another petitioner, the Gulmohar Greens Residential Society, and challenged the compounding granted to the builder. It added that many buyers were compelled to occupy their flats to ease their financial burden. The bench further held that construction of the disputed towers was illegal and criticised the investigation conducted by Inspector Surendera Singh. It observed that he had failed to conduct a fair and proper probe, suspended him, and directed the competent authority to initiate disciplinary proceedings for dereliction of duty. Download the TOI App.