The Allahabad High Court has ordered the demolition of Towers 27 and 28 at the Gulmohar Greens residential society in Ghaziabad, along with the ninth and tenth floors of Towers 16, 17, 18 and 19, citing unauthorised construction at the project in Mohan Nagar.
A division bench of Justices Saral Srivastava and Sudhanshu Chauhan directed the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) to complete the demolition process within two months. The order was passed while hearing a petition filed by flat owners and residents of Gulmohar Greens, located at 95 Katori Mill in Mohan Nagar, Sahibabad, challenging compounding orders related to the construction.
The court directed the GDA to recover the entire cost of demolition from the promoter as arrears of land revenue. The direction places the immediate financial responsibility for removing the unauthorised structures on the developer, although the recovery will be carried out through the authority.
The court’s 95-page order also recorded that the project was launched in 2005 and remained incomplete after two decades. It said the promoter had the primary responsibility under the Uttar Pradesh Apartment Act, 2010, to obtain a completion certificate, but had not fulfilled that obligation.
The order includes action against a police officer and a former GDA official. The court found that Inspector Surendra Singh had not conducted an impartial investigation and ordered his immediate suspension along with a departmental inquiry. It also directed the state government to begin disciplinary proceedings within one month against the then GDA vice-chairperson who approved the third compounding map on December 18, 2024.
The court imposed a compensation of Rs 25 lakh on the promoter and directed that the amount be deposited into the account of the Gulmohar Greens Residents Welfare Association within one month. The order also requires the promoter to refund the amount collected from 85 buyers for the sale of common areas.
Those refunds must include the construction cost and interest at 10 per cent per annum, calculated from the date of payment, according to the order. The direction addresses not only the disputed construction but also the financial consequences for buyers who were sold portions of common areas.
The case highlights the prolonged consequences of unauthorised construction in apartment projects, where residents may remain exposed to legal, financial and administrative uncertainty long after homes have been sold. In this case, the court’s directions extend across demolition, compensation, buyer refunds, police conduct and disciplinary action within the development authority.
The immediate implementation responsibility rests with the GDA, which has been given two months to complete the demolition process. The state government has one month to initiate the disciplinary inquiry against the former GDA vice-chairperson, while the promoter must deposit the compensation and begin the ordered refunds within the timelines specified by the court.
