Raj Singh Gehlot & Ors. v. Amitabha Sen & Ors.

 Illegal “delicensing” of residential land for commercial use without statutory authority vitiates permissions; collusion between developer and planning authorities warrants quashing of approvals and restoration of statutory planning norms.


Background

The appeals arose from a long-running dispute concerning the Ambience Lagoon Group Housing Project, Gurugram, where land licensed for a residential colony under the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Act, 1975(“1975 Act”) was partially “delicensed” and permitted to be used for a large commercial complex (Ambience Mall / Hotel). Apartment owners challenged the legality of the permissions, alleging statutory violations, fraud on planning law, and collusion between the developer and State authorities. The Punjab & Haryana High Court allowed the writ petition and invalidated the permissions, leading to the present appeals. 

 

Issues Framed

1. Whether the Director, Town and Country Planning had statutory power to “delicense” a part of land already licensed for a residential colony under the 1975 Act.
2. Whether permissions granted for commercial construction on such delicensed land were legally sustainable.
3. Whether vested rights of apartment owners in common areas stood violated.
 

Court’s Reasoning

1. Absence of statutory power to delicense

• Legal Rule: Administrative authorities can act only within powers expressly conferred by statute.
• Application: The 1975 Act and the 1976 Rules do not recognise “delicensing” as a statutory concept. The only relevant power is cancellation of licence under s. 8 of the 1975 Act, subject to statutory conditions. Resort to s. 21 of the General Clauses Act was rejected as impermissible.

2. Fraud on planning law

• Rule: Permissions obtained through suppression, manipulation, or non-compliance with mandatory statutory requirements are void.
• Application: The original licence itself was founded on a defective Form LC-I application, omitting the mandatory layout plan. Subsequent approvals for commercial use showed a pre-conceived design and active connivance of officials, resulting in cascading violations of FAR, open spaces, roads, and community facilities.

3. Violation of apartment owners’ vested rights

• Rule: Under ss. 6(1)–(2) Haryana Apartment Ownership Act, 1983, apartment owners have a permanent undivided interest in common areas, which cannot be altered without consent.
• Application: Conversion of residential land and common areas to commercial use directly infringed vested proprietary rights of flat owners and was ex facie illegal.

4. Environmental and public law dimensions

• The Court noted parallel proceedings before the NGT, environmental compensation assessments, and ongoing criminal investigations, underscoring the gravity of regulatory breaches.
 

Decision / Disposition

• Appeals by the developers and State authorities dismissed.
• High Court judgment quashing the impugned permissions and condemning the illegal delicensing affirmed.
• Connected NGT-related appeals dealt with separately. 
 

Ratio

Land licensed for a residential colony under the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Act, 1975 cannot be “delicensed” or diverted to commercial use in the absence of express statutory authority; permissions granted through such a process are void, particularly where they infringe vested rights of apartment owners and result from collusion between developers and planning authorities.

 

Case Details

• Citation: 2026 INSC 77
• Decided on: 20 January 2026
• Case Title: Raj Singh Gehlot & Ors. v. Amitabha Sen & Ors. (with connected appeals)
• Court: Supreme Court of India
• Bench: J.B. Pardiwala J. 

 
Judgment PDF

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