India: Real Estate

Defective land titles in India create significant challenges for property buyers, often making ownership far more complicated than official documentation suggests. Understanding the complexities of property due diligence becomes essential when navigating India's intricate land ownership system and protecting yourself from potential legal disputes.

The Supreme Court of India has dismissed the Revenue department's appeal against a Gujarat High Court ruling that held assignment of leasehold rights of industrial plots and buildings is not subject to GST. The High Court had determined that such transfers constitute immovable property transactions rather than taxable services, applying principles from the previous service tax regime to the current GST framework.

The Bombay High Court recently delivered a significant judgment in Flagship Infrastructure Limited addressing the applicability of Maharashtra Ownership of Flats Act (MOFA) provisions to deemed conveyance proceedings in township projects. This ruling examines whether traditional flat ownership regulations extend to large-scale residential developments and what implications this holds for property rights in integrated townships.

In Balaso Bhimgonda Patil v. State of Maharashtra & Others, the Bombay High Court answered this question in the negative, holding that registration and stamping are distinct legal requirements the mere fact that a document is unregistered does not, by itself, justify its impounding under the Maharashtra Stamp Act, 1958

In Parsi Punchayet Funds and Properties, Bombay v. Ms. Katty J. Mistry (Writ Petition No. 3944 of 2000), the Bombay High Court considered an important question concerning succession to statutory tenancy under Section 5(11)(c)(i) of The Bombay Rents, Hotel and Lodging House Rates Control Act, 1947 (Bombay Rent Act): whether an heir may inherit a tenancy without having resided with the deceased tenant.

India’s rental housing market has historically operated within a fragmented and largely informal ecosystem. Residential and commercial tenancies have frequently been governed by oral arrangements, outdated rent control laws, unregistered agreements, and inconsistent state-level regulatory frameworks.

Senior Partner, Hardeep Sachdeva, Partner, Parag Maini and Partner, Shahrukh Khan, AZB & Partners, analyze the Supreme Court of India’s landmark ruling examining the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act...

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has ruled that compensation for acquired land is a constitutional right under Article 300-A, not merely an administrative formality.

A series of Special Leave Petitions emerged from land transaction disputes in Kancheepuram district, Tamil Nadu, following a public interest litigation filed before the Madras High Court. The Supreme Court maintained a status quo order from 2018 while the original petitioner who initiated the public interest litigation remained conspicuously absent throughout all Supreme Court proceedings.