Building Violations Committed In Broad Daylight Cannot Be Compounded By Tribunal: J&K High Court Upholds Demolition Order

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has held that unauthorized constructions cannot be validated by paying the compounding fees after such violations, even if a long period has elapsed since those violations. The court said that failure on the part of the competent authorities to act in a timely manner to prevent the violations cannot be a ground to condone these violations. The court held that the respondents had constructed a plinth area of 2,641 sq. ft. as opposed to the permission granted for 1,350 sq. ft., thus committing grave violations of the building permission. The court quashed the order of the tribunal, which compounded the violations/deviations, notwithstanding the fact that the construction was raised in gross violation of the building permission. The court held that there was a clear non-application of mind on the part of the tribunal, which warranted interference by the instant court. A bench of Justice Vinod Chatterji Kaul also directed that strict action be taken against the officials who were at the helm of affairs at the relevant point in time when these violations were brazenly carried out. The court said that had the authorities acted on time, the unauthorized construction could have been stopped. The court also stated that inaction by the authorities cannot now be used as a pretext to compound the said violations. The court heavily relied on Rajendra Kumar Barjatya and Another v. U.P. Avas Evam Vikas Parishad and Others, 2024 INSC 990, wherein the Supreme Court ruled that unauthorized constructions cannot be legitimized merely due to administrative delays, the passage of time, or monetary investments and issued a slew of directions to curb illegal constructions. BACKGROUND The petitions herein challenged the order of the special tribunal, which compounded the building violations by accepting the payment of compounding fees. The violations occurred when the respondent exceeded the limit of 1,350 sq. ft. by extending the construction to 2,641 sq. ft., thereby violating the building permission. The authorities passed a demolition order, which was later quashed by the special tribunal after noting that these violations resulted from inaction on the part of the competent authorities. The tribunal compounded the violations upon payment of a composition fee of ₹1,29,100/-, which is challenged in the instant petition. The court noted that despite the special tribunal finding egregious violations of the building permission, it had erred in allowing the respondent to pay the compounding fee. The court said that the order was passed without application of mind and therefore is quashed. APPEARANCE: Moomin Khan, Advocate FOR Petitioners G.A.Lone, Advocate with Muneeb Andrabi, Advocate For Respondents Case-Title: Chairman, Building Operation Controlling Authority, Srinagar & Ors vs Jameel Hussain Farooqi & Ors, 2025Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (JKL) 43 Click Here To Read/Download The Order

Building Violations Committed In Broad Daylight Cannot Be Compounded By Tribunal: J&K High Court Upholds Demolition Order

Aleem Syeed

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