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The Allahabad High Court has ruled in favour of Empire-E-Parks by ordering a complete waiver of interest, penalties, and other charges for the period during which the developer could not take possession of the allotted plot due to delays caused by the Greater Noida Authority. Despite paying over INR 17.6 crore towards premiums, lease rent, and stamp duty, the company faced encroachments and lack of infrastructure for years. The court held that once the state admits delay on its part, it cannot limit the zero-period benefit. This decision aligns with earlier rulings and is likely to influence several similar disputes across Noida and Greater Noida.
Empire-E-Parks, an IT/ITES sector developer, has secured a significant legal victory as the Allahabad High Court directed the Greater Noida Authority (GNIDA) to provide full zero-period relief. The relief covers the entire duration from the date of allotment of the land until the developer was granted peaceful, unencumbered possession. Advertisement
The case pertains to a plot measuring around 80,941 square meters in Knowledge Park V, allotted nearly 18 years ago. However, Empire-E-Parks could not begin development work as the land was encroached upon by farmers and lacked basic infrastructure such as roads, drainage, and sewer lines. Despite these hurdles, the company paid the entire plot premium in instalments, along with lease rent and stamp duty-totalling more than INR 17.6 crore.
The developer had first approached GNIDA seeking zero-period relief, citing the authority's failure to hand over possession of usable land. However, GNIDA had limited the waiver based on a 2020 board resolution. The High Court found this restriction unjustified, especially since the authority had itself acknowledged that the land was not handed over in a usable condition for years.
Citing its earlier judgement in the Gaursons India Ltd case, the Court reiterated that once the state accepts that the delay was due to encroachments or lack of infrastructure, it cannot impose partial relief or arbitrary timeframes. It observed that Empire-E-Parks had complied with all financial obligations despite being unable to utilise the land.
The authority's own affidavits confirmed that encroachments continued even until 2024, nearly two decades after the original allotment. The Court concluded that the entire period until physical, peaceful possession must be treated as zero-period, meaning no interest or penalties should be charged for that duration.
This decision is expected to have wider implications across the Noida, Greater Noida, and Yamuna Expressway regions, where multiple developers have faced similar issues with delayed or encumbered land allotments. Several real estate firms are now likely to revisit their cases in light of this judgment.
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