CHENNAI: The First Bench of the Madras High Court has directed the registration authorities of the Puducherry government to strictly comply with the provisions of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act and other related rules, while registering properties.
The Bench of Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice Abdul Quddoshe gave the direction last week while disposing of a PIL petition from advocate ‘Elephant’ G Rajendran, who sought to restrain the Puducherry government from giving approval to convert the agricultural land into layouts.
“The petition is thus disposed of as infructuous, but with a direction that the deeds/documents may be registered subject to strict compliance with the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, read with the Puducherry Real Estate (Regulation and Development) (General) Rules, 2017, and Puducherry Real Estate (Regulation and Development) (Agreement for Sale) Rules, 2017, and the scheme for regularisation of unapproved layouts,” the Bench said.
There can be no doubt about the correctness of these submissions, the Bench observed. But it said that on the petition being moved, interim orders were passed.
The First Bench on January 31, 2017, had restrained the Puducherry District Registrar from registering any document or sale deed relating to unapproved layouts in violation of planning permission. On the same day, while the petition was being heard, senior counsel for Puducherry had also submitted that no conversion of agricultural land had been granted in the recent past.
Now also, the Bench said the senior counsel appearing for the Puducherry government has drawn its attention to the Puducherry Real Estate (Regulation and Development) (General) Rules, 2017, Puducherry Real estate (Regulation and Development) (Agreement for Sale) Rules, 2017. “In view of the framing of aforesaid rules and scheme, the petition has become infructuous,” the Bench added and disposed of as infructuous the PIL petition.