Chandigarh, March 21: The Punjab and Haryana High Court have taken a stern stance against Suntec City, a real estate project on New Chandigarh Road, by cancelling its license, Change of Land Use (CLU) permits, and sale deeds.
The court’s decision follows a protracted legal battle initiated by local farmers who alleged that the developer company used forged signatures to include their private agricultural land in the project’s sanctioned map.
Advocate Charanpal Singh Bagri, representing the affected farmers, stated that the company had been selling plots on land that was still being actively farmed by its original owners. He maintained that the fraud involved approximately ₹2,500 crore, with developers allegedly creating fake consent letters where thumb-printing farmers were shown as having signed in English.
The High Court has now sealed the company’s accounts and revoked its RERA registration to prevent further public investment in the disputed project.
Farmer Balwinder Singh affirmed that the developers obtained a CLU from PUDA in 2014 using fraudulent means, a fact the landowners only discovered in 2019 when third-party buyers arrived to claim portions of their fields.
He noted that despite approaching the police repeatedly, a case was only registered in 2022 after the High Court sought a direct report from the DGP and the Bureau of Investigation. The farmers asserted that even basic amenities like a police post and a dharamshala were falsely shown on the map to lure buyers.
Legal counsel further declared that the developers attempted to obstruct the case by allegedly threatening and attempting to bribe the legal team.
Bagri affirmed that the High Court has reprimanded the state government for the administrative lapses that allowed the license to be renewed despite the ongoing disputes.
He stated that the farmers remain in physical possession of their land and are demanding the recovery of illegal funds generated through the unauthorized sale of their property.
The court has strictly prohibited the company from any further advertising or marketing. Government officials have been questioned regarding the role of PUDA staff who approved the forged documentation, with farmers now appealing to the Punjab government for a high-level probe into the administrative collusion.
