In a landmark judgment, the Uttar Pradesh Real Estate Appellate Tribunal has allowed the appeal filed by Maa Bhagwati Commercial Realty & Resorts LLP and quashed the UP RERA order dated March 10, 2025, which had rejected registration of the company's project ‘Samrajya'.
The bench comprising Justice Suneet Kumar (Chairman) and Devindar Singh Chaudhry (Technical Member) delivered the ruling.
The appellant was represented by Senior Advocate Vishwajeet Singh, assisted by Gaurav Gupta, Pankaj Singh, Amit Yadav and Shwetank Sharma, Advocates.
This order is significant as it removes ambiguity on the registration of projects developed on leasehold land, paving the way for both private developers and State authorities to undertake such developments with legal certainty
The Tribunal held that real estate projects can be legally developed on leasehold land under the RERA Act, 2016, read with the Transfer of Property Act, 1882. “Allottees” may receive units on leasehold or sub-lease basis, similar to the model followed by development authorities in Uttar Pradesh.
Trust land leasing valid without court approval
Rejecting UP RERA's view, the Tribunal ruled that the charitable trust which leased the land was empowered under its bye-laws to do so, and prior court permission under Section 92 CPC was not necessary.
Lease tenure not a barrier
The Tribunal clarified that the lease term of 29 years and 11 months with provision for renewal was sufficient, as the Act does not prescribe a minimum tenure for registration.
While the appellant argued that the project should be deemed registered under Section 5(2) of the Act, the Tribunal held that once objections are raised within 30 days, deemed registration does not apply until the promoter addresses those objections.
Tribunal's directions
The rejection order dated 10.03.2025 was set aside. UP RERA was directed to grant registration of the project ‘Samrajya' within seven days of the order being uploaded.
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