Chandigarh, 23 February 2025 — The Punjab and Haryana High Court upheld the Chandigarh administration’s 2023 notification banning the sale of residential properties on a floor-wise basis, rejecting petitions challenging the order.
The bench of Justice Sureshwar Thakur and Justice Vikas Suri ruled that while the administration may reconsider the decision, it must do so in consultation with the Chandigarh Heritage Conservation Committee and only for areas outside Phase 1 (Sectors 1 to 30). Any revision must align with the Chandigarh Master Plan (CMP)-2031 and existing regulations.
In January 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that the first 30 sectors, part of the Le Corbusier heritage zone, could not allow floor-wise sales or conversions into apartments. The court directed the Chandigarh Heritage Conservation Committee to study redensification in these sectors. Any amendment to the CMP-2031 and 2017 apartment rules would require central government approval.
Following the ruling, the UT administration issued a notification on February 10, 2023, rejecting building plans where co-owners were not from the same family. The order extended beyond the 30 heritage sectors to the entire city, leading to legal challenges.
Senior standing counsel for the UT, Amit Jhanji, stated that the high court reviewed these challenges, including claims that the notification misinterpreted the SC order. Petitioners argued that the Supreme Court had opposed apartmentalization but not share-wise property sales.
The high court, however, found the notification consistent with the SC ruling. “The decision taken on January 23, 2023, under the chairmanship of the adviser to the administrator, aligns with the apex court’s verdict and cannot be altered,” the bench stated.
It suggested that while the UT may permit the sale of individual shares in jointly owned properties to a single owner, this should aim to curb apartmentalization and densification, particularly in Phase 1. The court upheld the statutory prohibition against building fragmentation.
“When apartmentalization leads to developers selling units to different buyers, the impugned notice remains in full compliance with the Supreme Court’s ruling, which prohibits both fragmentation and apartmentalization,” the court observed.
The UT had initially allowed apartment conversions under the Chandigarh Apartment Rules, 2001, but repealed them in 2007. A 2022 Punjab and Haryana High Court ruling permitted multiple shareholders in residential plots, even outside families. This was challenged by the Sector-15 Residents Welfare Association in the Supreme Court, leading to the 2023 ban.
Between 2016 and 2019, the Estate Office had registered 891 sale deeds involving property sales outside family ownership, despite the restriction.
Petitioners plan to appeal the high court’s decision in the Supreme Court. “SC did not ban share-wise sales, and there needs to be a provision for those who have already completed such transactions,” said Salil Dev Singh Bali, counsel for one of the petitioners.
Chandigarh, designed by French architect Le Corbusier, is India’s first planned city post-Independence and is globally recognized for its urban design. UNESCO conferred heritage status on its Capitol Complex in 2016.
