The Supreme Court has held that the State Government cannot be compelled to acquire slum land under Section 14 of the Maharashtra Slum Areas (Improvement, Clearance and Redevelopment) Act, 1971 (“Slum Act”) when the preferential right of the landowner to redevelop the property remains intact. The Court ruled that acquisition must remain in abeyance so long as the owner or its lawful transferee is willing to undertake redevelopment as per law.
The Bench found that although the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) had in 2015 directed initiation of acquisition of the land, no steps could be taken at that time because the land was reserved as a recreational ground and protected by a High Court injunction prohibiting slum schemes on such reserved plots until 01.03.2022. By the time the restriction was lifted, the original owner had already transferred the property to a new developer.
The Court clarified that the developer (Jyoti Builders), who voluntarily relocated slum dwellers situated on that parcel, could not claim any proprietary rights over the plot or compel compulsory acquisition merely to secure commercial advantage. Any FSI benefit linked to rehabilitation of those slum dwellers had already been fully granted and utilized in constructing sale buildings.
Reinforcing the doctrine of owner’s preferential right to redevelop, the Court held that acquisition of land under Section 14 cannot override such right, unless the owner has failed or refused to propose redevelopment within a reasonable time.
Accordingly, the Court declined to issue a writ of mandamus for acquisition of the land and upheld the High Court’s dismissal of the writ petition, observing that benefit or loss in relation to the land belongs solely to the lawful owner/developer.
The appeal was dismissed.
Case Title: Jyoti Builders v. Chief Executive Officer, SRA & Ors.
Citation: 2025 INSC 1372
Court: Supreme Court of India