Calcutta High Court Directs Authorities To Decide On Homebuyer's Representation Against “Aqua Golf Villa”

Corrigendum: This report has been corrected to reflect the content of the court's order. An earlier version, which stated that the 'High Court had ordered demolition of the structure', contained information from the oral hearing and was based on a misconstrued understanding of the hearing. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

The Calcutta High Court has directed the Zilla Parishad, North 24 Parganas, to take steps in respect of the “Aqua Golf Villa” housing project based on a representation filed by a home buyer in the project.

Justice Suvra Ghosh passed the order while hearing a writ petition filed by Ashley Brian Hyams, a retired ship-captain who had booked a villa in the project developed by M/s Greentech IT City Pvt. Ltd.

Hyams had booked Villa No. AGV-19 in the project in 2014 for a consideration of Rs. 1.5 crore and had paid more than Rs. 78 lakh to the developer. Possession was promised by November 2016. However, the developer allegedly failed to hand over possession even after the promised deadline.

The petitioner subsequently sought information through RTI applications regarding the approvals and permissions obtained for the project.

According to the material placed before the Court, the RTI responses indicated that the project had not obtained the requisite sanction from the Chandpur Gram Panchayat, Rajarhat Panchayat Samiti or the Zilla Parishad, North 24 Parganas. It was also allegedly not registered with the West Bengal Real Estate Regulatory Authority (WBRERA).

The petitioner's case was further supported by an enquiry conducted by a team constituted by the Block Development Officer, Rajarhat.

The enquiry allegedly found that the developer was unable to produce documents establishing that the necessary permissions for construction had been obtained. The Pradhan of Chandpur Gram Panchayat also confirmed that no permission had been granted for construction of the “Aqua Golf Villa” project.

The petitioner also placed before the Court documents purportedly showing sanction plans and completion certificates which the developer had relied upon in separate proceedings before the National Company Law Tribunal.

The petitioner contended that a subsequent RTI reply dated June 26, 2025 established that the documents were not genuine.

Upon considering the material before it, the Court observed that the authorities had found the “Aqua Golf Villa” project illegal and unauthorised and directed the Zilla Parishad, North 24 Parganas, to take steps on the representation within four weeks. It also directed for the steps to be communicated to all parties.

The order also deals with the statutory framework governing action against unauthorised constructions under Section 23(6) of the West Bengal Panchayat Act, 1973.