‘Homebuyers Disgusted, RERA Failing’: Supreme Court
Top court says homebuyers are disappointed, asks states to rethink real estate regulators
GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 13th Feb: The Supreme Court has sharply criticised the functioning of real estate regulatory authorities across states, saying the institution was doing little for homebuyers and even facilitating defaulting builders.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said it was time for all states to rethink the constitution of RERA, noting that the people for whom the body was created were “completely depressed, disgusted and disappointed.”
“Except facilitating the builders in default, this institution is doing nothing. Better abolish this institution, we don’t mind that,” the Chief Justice remarked during the hearing.
The observations came while the court was considering a plea by the Himachal Pradesh government challenging a high court order that had stayed the shifting of the state RERA office from Shimla to Dharamshala.
The top court issued notice on the plea and stayed the Himachal Pradesh High Court’s December 30, 2025 order that had continued the interim stay on the office relocation. It permitted the state government to shift the RERA office to a location of its choice, subject to the final outcome of the writ petition pending before the high court.
The state, in its petition, said the decision to shift the office was taken to decongest Shimla and was based purely on administrative considerations.
Opposing the move, a lawyer for the respondents told the court that nearly 90 per cent of projects handled by the authority were in Shimla, Solan, Parwanoo, and Sirmaur districts, all within a 40-kilometre radius. He added that around 92 per cent of pending complaints also originated from these areas, while only about 20 projects were in Dharamshala.
During the hearing, the bench also questioned the appointment of retired bureaucrats to such authorities, with the Chief Justice remarking that they had become “rehabilitation centres” in many states.
“The people for whom this institution was created… none of them are getting any effective relief,” the bench observed.
The court also directed that appellate powers, currently exercised by the principal district judge in Shimla, be shifted to the principal district judge in Dharamshala to avoid inconvenience to affected parties.
The case is part of a broader set of petitions relating to administrative decisions in Himachal Pradesh, including the relocation of state bodies from Shimla to other cities.
