Two towers at Gulmohar Greens in Ghaziabad must come down, and the promoter must face an FIR: the Allahabad High Court has ordered the demolition of two Gulmohar Greens towers after finding that the extra construction could not be compounded.
Prayagraj: Finding that the additional construction was not compoundable and that officers of the Ghaziabad Development Authority were in collusion with the promoter, the Allahabad High Court has directed demolition of two towers, and of the upper floors of four others, at the Gulmohar Greens residential society in Ghaziabad. It has also directed that an FIR be registered against the promoter [Suresh Chander and 10 Others v. State of U.P. and 2 Others].
The petitions were brought by the Gulmohar Greens Residents Welfare Association and residents of the society, and were decided by a Division Bench of Justice Saral Srivastava and Justice Sudhanshu Chauhan. The findings of fraud against the promoter are the Court’s findings for the purposes of these petitions only. The criminal allegations remain untested, the direction to register an FIR is not a finding of guilt, and the presumption of innocence applies to the promoter.
Six directions
The Court issued the following directions:
- Tower numbers 27 and 28, and the 9th and 10th floors of towers 16, 17, 18 and 19, are to be demolished within two months.
- An FIR is to be registered against the promoter within two weeks of the judgment for fraud, misrepresentation and violations of the 2010 Act.
- The investigation is to be conducted by an officer not below the rank of Additional Commissioner of Police, Ghaziabad.
- The promoter is to pay costs of Rs 25 lakh, to be deposited in the account of the Gulmohar Greens Residents Welfare Association.
- The Ghaziabad Development Authority is to pay Rs 50,000 each as costs to the 11 petitioners.
- A disciplinary inquiry is to be initiated against the former Vice Chairman of the Authority who approved the compounding.
Why compounding was held impermissible
The Bench held that the extra constructions at Gulmohar Greens could not be compounded. It held that the former Vice Chairman of the Authority had approved compounding while aware that the promoter had broken the law. Officers of the Authority, it found, were in collusion with the promoter, who had misrepresented facts and defrauded apartment owners, among other things by selling common areas.
A project of 34 towers
Friends Land Developers, a partnership firm of SVP Builders India Limited, developed the project. In 2006 the promoter proposed 34 towers with 904 units at Gulmohar Greens. The petitioners alleged that it then built more, contrary to the law and the initial plan, and that the Ghaziabad Development Authority cleared the additions through repeated compounding orders.
In September 2026, while hearing a challenge to one such compounding order, the same Bench named two advocates as Advocate Commissioners to inspect the society and check the status of the project and the possession of flats. It also wanted to know why possession had been given without a completion certificate under the U.P. Apartment (Promotion of Construction, Ownership and Maintenance) Act, 2010, and why no effective action followed against the builder despite notices.
Case Title: Suresh Chander and 10 Others v. State of U.P. and 2 Others (case number not available)
Bench: Justice Saral Srivastava and Justice Sudhanshu Chauhan, Allahabad High Court
Date of Judgment: not available at the time of writing
Appearances: not available at the time of writing