The Punjab and Haryana High Court has quashed the decision of the Haryana government to give powers to the Haryana Real Estate Regulatory Authority (HRERA). The government had given the officers of HRERA the power to recover the dues by giving them powers like a collector.
After this was challenged, the High Court has canceled the government’s notification. A division bench of Justice Suresh Thakur and Justice HS Grewal said that HRERA officials can only investigate and decide the amount of compensation, but they cannot recover themselves.
The court also advised the Haryana government that it should appoint the right officers by making necessary amendments in the rules. After this decision of the High Court, now the government will have to prepare a new recovery process. The Revenue Department will have to appoint special officers. HRERA will also have to change its functioning.
The government had issued a notification on May 11, 2024
The notification was issued on May 11, 2024 by the government led by CM Naib Saini in Haryana. In this, HRERA officials were given the right to directly recover amounts like interest, penalty and compensation. The government had argued that there were 5 benefits behind this.
Questions raised on notification, petition filed
After the notification was issued, Vatika Limited had filed a petition in the court challenging it. They had argued that such powers cannot be given to HRERA officials. The reason for this is that the Real Estate Act clearly states that the outstanding amount should be recovered as arrears of land revenue, and not by HRERA officials. Due to this, the officers can act arbitrarily.
The court gave the verdict after accepting the argument
The High Court heard the case accepting the petitioner’s argument. Now the High Court ruled that this move was not allowed under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016. It violates the already established legal process. The order passed by HRERA officials related to compensation, penalty or interest should be strictly implemented under the Haryana Land Revenue Act, 1887. They should not be treated like court orders.
2 main points of the High Court’s decision…
Officers can only investigate and decide compensation: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has set the limits of HRERA’s powers in an important decision. The court has clarified that HRERA officials can only investigate and decide the amount of compensation, but they cannot make recovery themselves.
Advice to make the recovery process consistent with the legal framework: The High Court has advised the Haryana government that it should make necessary amendments in the rules. Apart from this, proper revenue officers should also be appointed. The government was also advised to make the recovery process consistent with the legal framework.
The court rejected these arguments of the government
The court also rejected the state’s argument that powers under Section 27 of the Haryana Land Revenue Act can be used to allow such a decision.
On this, the court stressed that implementing a rule and giving a decision are two different tasks and they should remain separate. During the hearing, the court also criticised a previous single bench decision which had allowed HRERA orders to be enforced like civil court orders.
