The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Appellate Tribunal, led by Additional District and Sessions Judge Abhilash Malhotra, has instructed the MCD to reassess regularization applications for individual floors independently, without factoring in unauthorized constructions on other floors.
The ruling came after Mrs. Gagandeep Kaur Bhasin and her family challenged the MCD’s decision to reject the regularization of their third-floor property in Chittaranjan Park. The MCD had denied regularization, citing unauthorized deviations on the other floors, which were owned by different individuals.
However, during the proceedings, the MCD acknowledged in multiple status reports that there were no unauthorized deviations found on the appellants’ floor. Despite this, the MCD failed to address the illegal constructions on the basement, ground, and first floors, using those violations as a basis for rejecting the regularization of the third floor.
The Tribunal strongly criticized the MCD for its inaction and called out the “deliberate dereliction of duty” by its officials. The Tribunal ordered the MCD Commissioner to investigate the conduct of the concerned officers who neglected to act against the illegal constructions while denying regularization for a compliant property owner.
Citing Delhi High Court judgments, the Tribunal reaffirmed that deviations on one part of a building should not affect the regularization of another independent portion, provided that it adheres to the building norms. The Tribunal emphasized that the MCD’s failure to act against other unauthorized constructions should not infringe upon the appellant’s rights.
The Tribunal sent the matter back to the MCD’s Quasi-Judicial Authority for reconsideration and urged the Commissioner to ensure that the MCD’s regularization guidelines align with the Unified Building Bye-Laws and the Master Plan of Delhi-2021.
