In a huge relief to individual landowners who have purchased and registered housing plots from unapproved layouts, the Madras high court on Tuesday said registration authorities could register resale of such properties.
All forms of sale, resale and registration of unapproved plots and layouts had been put on hold since September 9, 2016 after the court had imposed a blanket ban on such transactions.
The bench headed by the then Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul had imposed the ban on a PIL filed by advocate and activist Elephant G Rajendran, who sought to stop indiscriminate conversion of farmlands into residential layouts.
The bench had directed registration authorities not to entertain and register unapproved plots, including those purchased by individual landowners who might have constructed buildings, too, on them.
It held registering officials personally liable for action if there was any violation of the judicial order. Since then, the real estate developers' lobbies had been striving hard to get the order reversed or at least diluted.
On Tuesday, in a relief to individual landowners, the first bench of Acting Chief Justice Huluvadi G Ramesh and Justice RMT Teekaa Raman permitted resale and registration of unapproved plots that had already been purchased and registered by individuals.
As for unsold plots lying with developers who own unapproved layouts across the state, the bench said they should await the government's policy on the matter.
During arguments, the bench said the interests of poor and innocent people who had purchased unapproved plots for personal use should be protected. Allowing resale of such plots, it permitted registration authorities to register such already sold plots alone.
All forms of sale, resale and registration of unapproved plots and layouts had been put on hold since September 9, 2016 after the court had imposed a blanket ban on such transactions.
The bench headed by the then Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul had imposed the ban on a PIL filed by advocate and activist Elephant G Rajendran, who sought to stop indiscriminate conversion of farmlands into residential layouts.
The bench had directed registration authorities not to entertain and register unapproved plots, including those purchased by individual landowners who might have constructed buildings, too, on them.
It held registering officials personally liable for action if there was any violation of the judicial order. Since then, the real estate developers' lobbies had been striving hard to get the order reversed or at least diluted.
On Tuesday, in a relief to individual landowners, the first bench of Acting Chief Justice Huluvadi G Ramesh and Justice RMT Teekaa Raman permitted resale and registration of unapproved plots that had already been purchased and registered by individuals.
As for unsold plots lying with developers who own unapproved layouts across the state, the bench said they should await the government's policy on the matter.
During arguments, the bench said the interests of poor and innocent people who had purchased unapproved plots for personal use should be protected. Allowing resale of such plots, it permitted registration authorities to register such already sold plots alone.