The Supreme Court closed the case against MP RERA Chief after the High Court quashed the probe, stating the removal inquiry was already withdrawn due to procedural lapses.
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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court of India, on September 2, 2025, brought an end to the controversy surrounding the removal inquiry initiated against the Chairperson of the Madhya Pradesh Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA). The matter titled AP Srivastava vs. State of Madhya Pradesh & Ors. arose after a complaint was filed against the Chairperson, prompting the State government to seek his removal under Section 26 of the RERA Act, 2016, read with Rule 35 of the Madhya Pradesh RERA Rules, 2017.
Background of the Case
The controversy began when a homebuyer filed a complaint against the Chairperson for refusing to prosecute a builder. Acting on this complaint, the State government forwarded the matter to the Madhya Pradesh High Court, requesting an inquiry for the removal of the Chairperson.
However, the Chairperson challenged the process before the Supreme Court, arguing that the State had failed to:
- Conduct preliminary scrutiny of the allegations,
- Give him an opportunity to be heard, and
- Prepare charges before forwarding the matter to the High Court.
This, he claimed, was in violation of Section 26(2) of the RERA Act and Rule 35 of the MP RERA Rules.
The RERA Authority itself also approached the Court, raising concerns about political interference in regulatory bodies and seeking guidelines to protect the independence of such authorities.
Supreme Court’s Intervention
In March 2025, the Supreme Court stayed the inquiry, observing that the process appeared prima facie contrary to statutory requirements. The Court also sought responses from the Chief Minister’s Office, the Registrar General of the High Court, and the State Chief Secretary.
When the case was heard on September 2, counsel for the Madhya Pradesh High Court informed the Bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and Sandeep Mehta that the Chief Justice-led committee had dropped the inquiry.
The committee recalled the show cause notice dated 20 February 2025, citing procedural lapses. The Supreme Court recorded this communication and noted:
“The High Court has decided to drop the inquiry. In other words, the High Court has taken a decision to recall the show cause notice dated 20-2-2025.”
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Taking note of the High Court’s decision, the Supreme Court disposed of both petitions filed by the Chairperson and the Authority. Importantly, the Bench refused to grant liberty to the High Court to reopen or reinitiate the inquiry, thereby giving finality to the matter.
The Court held:
“In the wake of the afore-stated developments, we need not now adjudicate the two petitions filed under Article 32 of the Constitution.”
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Appearance:
The petitioners: Senior Advocates Shyam Divan and Samdarshi Tiwari along with advocates Siddharth R Gupta, Mrigank Prabhakar, Sudipto Sircar, Ashish J Matthews, Aman Agarwal, Uddaish Palya, Aniket Mishra and Siddharth Sahu.
The State and the High Court: Additional Advocate General Nachiketa Joshi along with advocates Pashupathi Nath Razdan, Arjun Garg, Maitreyee Jagat Joshi, Shantanu Krishna, Astik Gupta, Akanksha Tomar, Yaduven, Sagun Srivastava and Saaransh Shukla.
Case Title:
AP Srivastava vs. State of Madhya Pradesh & Ors.
Writ Petition(Civil) No.246/2025
Read Order:
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