New Delhi, September 2: India’s Supreme Court has asked state governments and high courts to take decisive action against unauthorised constructions, calling the practice a “social menace” that undermines urban planning, strains infrastructure and endangers public safety.
A bench of justices J.B. Pardiwala and K.V. Viswanathan, while hearing two separate matters, said illegal constructions were not merely private disputes but an issue of larger public interest requiring strict enforcement of building laws.
In one case from Howrah, West Bengal, the court dismissed a plea by a construction firm against a Calcutta High Court order directing demolition of unauthorised portions of a building. Commending the high court’s stance, the bench urged it to broaden its efforts to address such violations across Kolkata. An inquiry by the Howrah Zilla Parishad had found that builders deliberately deviated from sanctioned plans.
In another matter, the bench issued notice to the Odisha government, seeking compliance with its December 2024 ruling that laid down nationwide safeguards to curb illegal constructions. These included mandatory undertakings from builders to hand over possession only after securing valid completion or occupation certificates, periodic inspections by authorities, denial of utility connections to unauthorised structures, and disciplinary action against officials complicit in violations.
The December 2024 judgment, delivered in a case concerning an illegal building in Meerut, also directed banks to sanction loans only after verifying completion certificates and barred issuance of trade licences for unauthorised properties. The court stressed that regularisation or administrative delays could not be used to protect violators.
“If authorities strictly adhere to the directions, it would have a deterrent effect and the quantum of litigation before the courts would come down drastically,” the bench noted in its latest order.
