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The Gujarat High Court has ruled that municipal authorities cannot cancel property regularisation orders after they have been granted under the Gujarat Regularisation of Unauthorised Development Act (GRUDA). The court held that civic bodies lack the power to review or revoke such approvals once issued. The judgment came while quashing an Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation order that had withdrawn an earlier regularisation granted to unauthorised construction in a commercial building, reinforcing legal certainty for property owners.
The Gujarat High Court has held that civic bodies cannot withdraw property regularisation orders once they have been granted, ruling that municipal authorities do not possess the power to review or revoke such decisions under the Gujarat Regularisation of Unauthorised Development Act (GRUDA), 2011.
The ruling came while the court quashed an Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) order issued in 2018 that had cancelled an earlier approval granted in 2015 for the regularisation of unauthorised construction in the parking area of Swastik Complex, a commercial property located in Maninagar.
The petition challenging the cancellation was filed by property owners led by Unnati Shah. The AMC had initially accepted impact fees and regularised the unauthorised construction in 2015. However, three years later, the corporation revoked the order and issued demolition notices by invoking provisions of Section 8(4) of GRUDA.
The High Court held that once an authority has exercised its powers and either approves or rejects an application for regularisation, it cannot subsequently reopen the matter unless the law specifically provides such authority. The bench observed that the Act does not grant municipal bodies powers of review or recall and therefore the cancellation order lacked jurisdiction.
The judgment provides greater legal clarity for property owners and developers by affirming that regularisation orders cannot be reversed through administrative action alone. The court emphasised that authorities must act strictly within the powers conferred by statute and cannot assume review powers where none exist.
The case also highlights the distinction between the authority to regularise unauthorised developments and the power to revisit those decisions later. According to the court, acceptance of impact fees and issuance of regularisation orders constitute final administrative actions unless challenged through legally prescribed mechanisms.
Legal experts said the ruling could have implications for similar disputes involving unauthorised constructions that have already been regularised under GRUDA. It may also limit the scope for municipal corporations to revisit past approvals through internal proceedings.
The judgment is expected to provide greater certainty to property owners while reinforcing the principle that statutory authorities cannot exercise powers beyond those specifically provided under the law.
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