Gujarat HC Quashes Registrar’s NOC Block, Clears Path for Navrangpura Society’s Self-Redevelopment
Court Says Redevelopment Guidelines Are Directory; General Body’s Decision Cannot Be Overridden
The Gujarat High Court on October 15, 2025 struck down the Deputy Registrar’s refusal to issue a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to Shilpalaya Co-operative Housing Society Ltd., holding that self-redevelopment guidelines under the Gujarat Co-operative Societies Act, 1961 are directory, not mandatory, and cannot be used to stall bona fide projects approved by the society’s general body.
The 50-year-old 72-flat society in Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, sitting on a 4,200 sq. m. plot, had obtained a C-1 structural audit in 2024 and passed a 2025 SGM resolution with 78% approval to take up self-redevelopment with 2.5 FSI. The plan included an architect-led tender process and a ₹2.8-crore redevelopment corpus.
However, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) halted the society’s IOD (Intimation of Development) process after the Registrar declined to issue an NOC in July 2025, citing incomplete minority consultations and concerns regarding possible FSI misuse. The society challenged this, arguing that Section 74A guidelines do not vest the Registrar with approval powers and that the general body’s authority supersedes supervisory objections.
The High Court agreed, quashing the Registrar’s order and directing issuance of the NOC within 30 days. The Court reiterated that under Section 23 and Bye-law 156, a society’s general body is the final authority on redevelopment, and the Registrar’s powers are limited to verifying quorum, notice, transparency, and majority (minimum 51%)—not approving or rejecting redevelopment decisions.
Citing Rutul Park CHS vs. State of Gujarat (2024), the Bench held that NOC requirements have no statutory basis and cannot be used to paralyze Ahmedabad’s 1,100+ aging clusters. Unlike Bhavdeep CHS (2024), where fraud tainted the consent process, there was no evidence of mala fides here, and the structural audit supported urgent reconstruction.
The Court emphasized that RERA Section 4 integrates with co-operative law, supporting societies that adopt transparent, audit-backed self-redevelopment. Administrative vetoes must yield to resident welfare, especially for projects serving 180 residents facing seismic risks.
Key directives include:
- Issuance of NOC within 30 days, without extra conditions.
- Progression of the society’s IOD approval with AMC.
- Enforcement of 55% rehab quotas for low-income members via escrow.
- A ban on future NOC mandates statewide.
- ₹40,000 penalty imposed on the Registrar for overreach.
- Mandatory quarterly RERA filings.
- Federation intervention allowed only if 20% cross-plot disputes emerge.
The ruling significantly accelerates redevelopment in Gujarat’s aging urban clusters, aligning with Maharashtra’s approach by eliminating NOC bottlenecks and reaffirming that general body decisions—not bureaucratic controls—drive self-redevelopment.
