85 homebuyers purchase flats in Ghaziabad society, two towers illegally constructed on defence land face demolition, Allahabad HC orders builder to refund residents with 10% interest

Two 10-storey residential towers at Ghaziabad's Gulmohar Greens society will have to be demolished after the Allahabad High Court found that they were built illegally. The court has also ordered an FIR against Friends Land Developers, imposed a Rs 25 lakh penalty on the builder and directed the demolition of unauthorised extra floors in four other towers.

The ruling also brings financial relief for residents who challenged the construction. The court directed the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) to pay Rs 50,000 each to 11 petitioners and ordered the builder to refund the sale price of common areas to 85 ground-floor residents, along with construction costs and 10% interest. The demolition exercise must be completed within two months.

How the Gulmohar Greens dispute unfolded

The housing project began in 2006, when SVP Builders India Limited joined hands with Friends Land Developers to develop Gulmohar Greens in Mohan Nagar, Ghaziabad. The original plan covered 87,930 square metres and proposed 34 towers, each with a basement and eight storeys, containing a total of 904 residential units.


The project soon faced objections from the Indian Air Force over 4,560 square metres of land alleged to belong to the Defence Ministry. The GDA cancelled the map approval on July 3, 2010. By then, however, the promoter had already constructed 720 of the 904 sanctioned units.

The developer subsequently approached the authority for approval of changes to the existing construction. On November 15, 2011, it applied for its first compounding, a process through which certain deviations from an approved building plan may be regularised by the competent authority. The GDA approved the existing 720 units and sanctioned a map covering 374 new units.

The dispute continued as further changes were made to the project. According to Group Captain VVS Rana (retd), a resident and one of the petitioners, the promoter modified the basement, machine room and ground floors of Towers 2 and 3 before applying for a second compounding in January 2015. That application was also approved.

The builder subsequently sought a third compounding, which the GDA sanctioned on December 18, 2024.

Residents alleged that the developer had altered the original layout without their consent and added 112 units to the project. They also alleged that common areas had been encroached upon to create space for facilities such as machine rooms and generator rooms.

The Gulmohar Greens Residents Welfare Association challenged the construction in the Allahabad High Court in 2025, with 11 residents pursuing the case.

Why the court ordered two towers to be demolished

The court ordered the complete demolition of Towers 27 and 28, which contain 80 unoccupied flats. It also directed the removal of two unauthorised extra floors in each of Towers 16, 17, 18 and 19.

These four towers were originally sanctioned to have eight storeys, but the additional construction increased their height to 10 storeys. The illegal floors contain 32 flats that are still under construction.

The court directed the Ghaziabad administration and police to provide security and assistance to the GDA while carrying out the demolition. The entire exercise must be completed within two months.

The judgment also addressed the role of the development authority in allowing the disputed construction to proceed.

The bench of Justices Sudhanshu Chauhan and Saral Srivastava found that GDA officials had colluded with the promoter. It criticised the authority for allowing deviations to be regularised despite the problems surrounding the project.

The court specifically questioned the decision to approve the third compounding on December 18, 2024, despite the vice-chairperson's knowledge of the relevant circumstances. It described the conduct as a dereliction of duty.

The court directed the Uttar Pradesh government to initiate disciplinary proceedings within one month against Atul Vats, who was the GDA vice-chairperson when the construction and approvals in question took place.

Builder accused of selling common areas to residents

A separate part of the ruling concerns common areas allegedly sold to apartment owners.

Residents claimed that the promoter had encroached upon shared spaces to accommodate facilities such as machine rooms and generator rooms. The court found that the builder had misrepresented facts and sold common areas to apartment owners.

It directed Friends Land Developers to return the sale price of these areas to 85 ground-floor residents. The refund must include the construction cost and interest at 10%.

The direction is significant because the dispute was not limited to the height of the buildings. It also concerned the use of spaces meant to be shared by residents and the money paid for those areas.

The court held that the promoter's conduct amounted to misrepresentation and fraud against apartment owners. It also directed the police to register an FIR against Friends Land Developers within two weeks of the judgment.

In addition, the court imposed a penalty of Rs 25 lakh on the developer.

Court questions why the project remains incomplete

The court's 95-page judgment also highlighted the project's prolonged incompletion. Although development began in 2006, the project remained unfinished more than two decades later.

The bench noted that the builder had not obtained a completion certificate, despite the responsibility placed on the promoter under the Uttar Pradesh Apartments Act, 2010.

A completion certificate confirms that a building has been completed in accordance with the applicable requirements. Its absence was relevant to the court's examination of the project's condition and the position of its residents.

The judgment recognised the financial pressures facing apartment owners who have invested in their homes. Residents may find themselves compelled to occupy apartments because they cannot afford to wait indefinitely for the promoter to complete the project and obtain the required certificate.

The court said apartment owners should not be forced to wait until the promoter obtains the completion certificate when their financial constraints leave them with little practical choice.

The ruling also echoes the Supreme Court's 2021 judgment in the Supertech Emerald Court case in Noida, which ordered the demolition of the Apex and Ceyane towers. Those buildings were demolished on August 28, 2022, following findings of illegal construction and collusion between the developer and the Noida Authority.

In the Gulmohar Greens case, the Allahabad High Court similarly scrutinised the relationship between the builder and the planning authority, focusing on the approvals that allowed the disputed construction to proceed.

What the builder and GDA said

GDA vice-chairperson Nand Kishore Kalal said the authority was yet to examine the judgment and would follow the court's directions in letter and spirit.

Friends Land Developers promoter Vijay Jindal could not be reached for comment, according to the report.

The ruling places obligations on both the developer and the authorities. The builder faces demolition, a penalty and an FIR, while the GDA must assist with the demolition and compensate the 11 petitioners. The state government must also initiate disciplinary proceedings against the former vice-chairperson within the prescribed period.

What happens next

The Allahabad High Court has set separate deadlines for implementing its directions.

• Within two weeks: Police must register an FIR against Friends Land Developers.
• Within one month: The Uttar Pradesh government must initiate disciplinary proceedings against former GDA vice-chairperson Atul Vats.
• Within two months: The two illegal towers and the extra floors in four other towers must be demolished, and the GDA must pay Rs 50,000 each to the 11 petitioners.

The builder must also repay the sale price of the common areas to 85 ground-floor residents, along with construction costs and 10% interest.

The specified payments to the 11 petitioners total Rs 5.5 lakh. The separate refunds to the 85 residents will depend on the sale prices and construction costs involved, so the total financial relief cannot be calculated from the available details.