PANAJI: NOC not required as per the orders of the high court of Bombay at Goa for the registration of a sale deed of an individual’s undivided share in a plot as per survey plan under the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Act, 1974.
The order is likely to bring relief to landowners with undivided right in property whose sale transactions have been delayed due to red tape.
In the case at hand, Gajendra Desai approached the court stating that the civil registrar and sub-registrar, Pernem, refused to consider the case of registration of the sale deed of his property because he didn’t have an no-objection certifica (NOC) under Section 49(6) of the TCP Act.
However, the bench comprising Justice MS Sonak and Justice Nutan D Sardessai observed that the registrar couldn’t have refused to register the sale deed for want of the NOC.
The court noted upon analysis of the provisions in Section 49(6) of the said Act, it is satisfactory that the provision does not apply to the registration of a sale deed in respect of undivided rights in a plot which is as per the survey plan, issued by the survey department, of the plots which have development permissions for such sub-division from the authorities (the planning and development authority within a planning area, or from the TCP department within an area other than a planning area).
Desai’s lawyer, Jagannath Mulgaonkar, argued that the NOC wasn’t required as per the clarification issued by the state registrar in February 2019. Advocate general Devidas Pangam argued that if such sale deeds were registered without an NOC, the object of amending Section 49(6) might be frustrated. He added that purchasers would seek to bypass provisions relating to sub-division of plots, and that sub-division was necessary before any permission is issued for construction.
The court held that since sub-division is indeed necessary before permissions are granted for construction or development of such plots, then such requirement will continue to operate notwithstanding the registration of such a sale deed without NOC under Section 49(6) of the law.
The court further held that even the clarification issued by the chief town planner stated that transfer of an undivided share in a plot as per the survey plan does not amount to its sub-division. Therefore, the court held, even if the sale deed of an undivided share in respect of a plot as per the survey plan is to be registered, that by itself will not amount to sub division of the plot.
Source: ET Realty
