Delhi High Court Criticizes Delays in Property Conversion Decisions
The Delhi High Court recently expressed disapproval over the inaction of both the Delhi and Central governments regarding applications for converting commercial properties from leasehold to freehold. This issue was highlighted in the case Delhi Development Authority Vs Mala Sahni Seth & Anr, where a division bench comprised of Justice Prathiba M Singh and Justice Vikas Mahajan emphasized that such delays are unacceptable.
On September 7, the court highlighted that numerous citizens are being forced to wait unnecessarily for their property conversions. The bench made these remarks while considering a petition filed by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), which was challenging previous court orders that demanded the processing of conversion applications. These applications originated from property owners at the DLF South Court Mall in Saket, who had already complied with the DDA’s conversion charges.
The property owners applied for the conversion in 2023, paying the required fees. However, the DDA failed to effectuate the transfer, even as it imposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) on the applicants retroactively. The High Court, on December 5, 2025, had instructed the DDA to process these applications, contingent on an undertaking by the applicants to fulfill the GST obligations if their petition did not succeed.
Due to persistent non-compliance by the DDA, the property owners returned to court, resulting in further directives on February 11 and March 18 to expedite the application process. The DDA countered these directives, challenging the court’s decisions.
During a hearing on July 30, the court had urged the Central and Delhi governments to urgently convene a meeting to devise a strategy for processing the backlog of applications, which had stalled the DDA’s online portal since February. However, during the September 7 session, after reviewing the meeting’s minutes, the court found no substantial progress had been made.
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The court remarked that, despite the time given, no effective measures had been taken towards policy formulation, simplification of documentation, or revision of conversion charges. As a result, the court granted one final opportunity to the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA), DDA, and the Land and Development Office (L&DO) to present a final policy before the next scheduled hearing.
The court also specified that any new policy should be prospective, ensuring it applies only to future applications. It further clarified that applications already submitted would be handled according to the policies in effect at the time of their filing.
The matter is set for further hearing on September 28. Legal representation in the case included Senior Advocate CM Rao, standing counsel Mrinalini Sen, and advocate Gauri Rajput for the DDA. Advocate Urvi Mohan represented the Registrar of Cooperative Societies, while Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma, with standing counsel Ashish K Dixit and other government advocates, represented the Union of India. Advocates Saurabh Seth and his team appeared for the property owners.
