Hyderabad: The High Court has ruled that the unilateral cancellation of a property registration (sale deed) is not legally valid, stating that such cancellations can only be carried out after issuing notices to all parties concerned and obtaining their consent, or upon submission of a competent court’s order.
The court also clarified that the Layout Regularisation Scheme (LRS) cannot be applied to lands earmarked for public purposes in approved layouts.
Petitions challenge rejection of LRS applications
The ruling came while hearing two separate petitions filed by K Kamalamma of Kukatpally. She challenged the rejection of her LRS application by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and the subsequent cancellation of the sale deed relating to a 287-square-yard plot in Survey No. 27/A and 27/AA of Guttala Begumpet in Serilingampally mandal of Rangareddy district.
Counsel for the petitioner informed the court that Kamalamma had purchased the property through a registered sale deed in 2014. She had constructed two temporary rooms on the site and had been paying electricity and property taxes. The structures were later demolished following complaints from neighbouring residents alleging encroachment on a road.
The petitioner argued that although a road had been shown in the draft layout, the layout was subsequently altered and the road no longer existed. Despite this, authorities rejected her LRS application and cancelled the sale deed without properly examining the facts, the counsel contended.
Govt’s arguments
Representing GHMC, the government counsel argued that the draft layout clearly earmarked the land as a road and that a gift deed transferring the road area to the municipality had also been executed. Therefore, the land could not be regularised under the LRS scheme.
After hearing both sides, Justice Alishetty Lakshminarayana observed that once roads and open spaces shown in a layout are transferred to a municipality through a gift deed, the developer ceases to have any rights over them unless the transfer is legally revoked.
The judge further held that lands reserved for public purposes are not eligible for regularisation under LRS and upheld the rejection of the petitioner’s application.
However, the court found that the cancellation of the sale deed had been carried out unilaterally and was therefore unsustainable in law. It directed the authorities to take any further action strictly in accordance with legal procedures.
To prevent any future transactions involving the disputed property, the court also directed the District Collector to include the land in the prohibited properties list until the matter is resolved through due process.
