In a significant ruling emphasizing the authority of cooperative housing society bylaws, the Gujarat High Court has ordered an immediate halt to the construction of a building in Vadodara that had already reached ten storeys. The court found the structure was being erected without a crucial No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the society, despite the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) having granted development permission.
The Core of the Legal Dispute
The conflict revolves around the 60-year-old Alka Co-operative Housing Society Ltd in Vadodara. In 2024, the owners of four plots within the society began construction after securing development permission from the VMC. However, the society's governing body raised strong objections, alleging that the new construction was encroaching upon the society's internal road and blatantly violating its bylaws, which strictly mandate that plots be used for residential purposes only.
Faced with ongoing construction, the society filed a civil suit in Vadodara, seeking an injunction to stop the work. When the local courts declined to provide relief, the society escalated the matter to the Gujarat High Court.
Arguments Presented Before the High Court
Representing the society, advocate Sharvil Majmudar argued a critical point. He submitted that while the VMC had issued a revised development permission in October 2022, the builders had completely bypassed the mandatory requirement of obtaining an NOC from the society itself. He highlighted that this condition was explicitly stated in the VMC's own permission letter.
The four plot owners defended their position by citing a society resolution from 1980 that they claimed allowed them to construct as they wished. They argued that the society was now legally "estopped" or barred from objecting. They also leaned heavily on the VMC's development permission as validation for their construction.
The VMC's stance was that the dispute was essentially a private matter between the society and its members. The civic body maintained that its granted permission was in full compliance with the General Development Control Regulations (GDCR). However, it candidly confirmed the existence of the specific condition requiring the society's NOC before commencement of construction.
The High Court's Decisive Order and Rationale
After considering the arguments, Justice Niral Mehta took firm note of the NOC condition embedded in the VMC's permission. The court observed that the ongoing construction was effectively proceeding without a valid, subsisting development permission and therefore could not be allowed to continue while the civil suit was pending.
The court's order laid down a clear principle. It stated, "It is manifest that any construction proposed to be undertaken within a cooperative housing society must strictly conform to the bylaws governing such society and must be preceded by obtaining requisite permission or consent from the society."
This ruling underscores the primacy of cooperative housing society bylaws and the necessity of internal permissions, even when external municipal approvals are in place. The stay order puts the ambitious 10-storey project on hold indefinitely, pending the final outcome of the civil suit.
