In Brief
Two third-party purchasers of commercial shops constructed unauthorisedly on a residential plot challenged the High Court's order directing demolition. The Supreme Court upheld the demolition, holding that unauthorised constructions cannot be perpetuated by passage of time, investment, or administrative delay. The original allottee received notices from 1990 onwards but ignored them, and there is no estoppel against law. Third-party buyers, who should have verified the plot's permissible use, take subject to the inherent illegality. Registration and freehold deeds do not regularise illegal construction. The Court reaffirmed that urban planning must be protected from collusion and illegality; courts must enforce building laws strictly. The appellants were ordered to vacate within three months; the deposited amount was to be refunded with interest.
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