The Delhi High Court has directed the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to decide 1,373 pending applications for converting properties from leasehold to freehold within two months, after collecting Rs 155.06 crore in conversion charges from applicants.
A bench of Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Vikas Mahajan said the applications must be processed under the policy applicable to them. The court was hearing a group of petitions filed by Delhi residents who said the DDA had failed to act on their requests despite receiving the required payments.
According to the report, the pending applications were submitted between 2020 and 2026. The court noted that the situation was particularly serious for property owners who had applied and paid the conversion charges prevailing at the time, but were still waiting for a decision from the development authority.
Of the 1,373 applications, 308 had already been approved, but the corresponding conveyance deeds had not been executed. A conveyance deed is the document that formally transfers ownership rights under the conversion process. The delay therefore extends beyond administrative scrutiny in some cases and affects the completion of the ownership transfer itself.
The court said the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and the DDA could formulate a policy for applications submitted in the future. However, it directed that the existing applications should be dealt with under the current policy rather than being held back pending any future framework.
The order brings renewed attention to the administrative consequences of Delhi’s leasehold property system. In a leasehold arrangement, the occupant’s rights are governed by the terms of a lease granted by the relevant authority. Freehold conversion can provide owners with a different and more complete form of title, but the process depends on document checks, payment of charges and the execution of formal ownership documents by the authority.
For applicants, the delay has implications beyond the conversion fee already paid. An incomplete conversion process can leave property owners waiting for formal documentation needed to establish the final status of their title and complete related transactions. The court said it had repeatedly brought the importance of leasehold-to-freehold conversion, as well as the difficulties faced by Delhi residents, to the attention of the ministry and the DDA.
The case also highlights the role of the DDA as both a land-owning and development authority in the capital. When applications remain pending after fees have been collected, the issue becomes one of administrative accountability as well as property documentation. The court’s direction sets a specific time limit for action on the existing backlog while leaving the authorities to frame a separate policy for future applications.
The secretary of MoHUA and the vice-chairperson of the DDA have been directed to appear in the proceedings at the next hearing, scheduled for December 11. The authorities are expected to report on action taken on the pending applications and the cases in which conveyance deeds remain unexecuted.
