Property law wire
Daily property law news for India: title judgments, stamp duty revisions, land record notifications, SARFAESI and RERA updates. Tagged by topic and by state.
Wed, 23 Sept
The Supreme Court held that under Section 14(1) of the Hindu Succession Act a widow becomes absolute owner of property that came to her on her husband's death, and that a partition with the other heirs is not needed for her to hold it in her own right. A buyer or lender tracing title through a widow's sale can rely on this instead of hunting for a partition deed.
Tue, 22 Sept
The Calcutta High Court held that a borrower cannot use a writ of mandamus to force a bank to accept or reconsider a rejected one-time settlement proposal in SARFAESI recovery. The ruling matters for lenders and auction purchasers because it reinforces that recovery challenges must usually follow the SARFAESI and DRT route rather than collateral writ proceedings.
Taxscansource
HRERA Gurugram held that the RERA Act does not prescribe a fixed limitation period for an allottee’s compensation complaint, while still requiring the complaint to be brought within a reasonable time. The order matters to buyers and developers because refund with interest may not end exposure to a later compensation claim if the delay and loss are separately pleaded.
LiveLawBizsource
CBDT Notification No. 121/2026 amends the Income-tax Rules, 2026 from 1 October 2026 for TDS on transfers of immovable property by non-residents to resident individuals or HUFs. Conveyancing teams and lenders should adjust closing checklists because Form 141 and Form 132 will capture seller, buyer, property, stamp value and TDS details for these transactions.
TaxGurusourcenotification
The Supreme Court held that a landowner’s Section 28A application for redetermination of acquisition compensation must be tied to the relevant Reference Court award and cannot be revived by a later High Court order that merely follows an earlier enhancement. This affects landowners, acquiring bodies and title teams checking whether pending compensation claims can still disturb an acquisition file.
UP-RERA has paid ₹73.84 lakh in bank-earned interest across around 430 complaints where money recovered from developers through recovery certificates remained in bank accounts before disbursement. This affects homebuyers enforcing RERA orders and lawyers tracking whether recovery proceeds have actually moved from revenue recovery to payment.
ETRealtysource
The Supreme Court issued notice to Karnataka on a challenge to the Premium FAR scheme and said it cannot be used for now to regularise unauthorised constructions. Buyers and lenders in Bengaluru should treat interim approvals under the scheme as subject to the final outcome of the case and should still verify sanctioned plans, deviations and occupancy approvals.
Bar & Benchsource
Erode district has published a proposed revision of its property guideline values, the rates used to work out stamp duty, to fix errors in the current list, and is inviting public objections for 15 days through a Collector-led Valuation Sub-Committee. This is a draft, not yet final, so anyone registering property in Erode or Gobichettipalayam over the next few weeks should check whether the draft rate for their village has changed before assuming the old guideline value still applies.
The Hindusource
Mon, 21 Sept
The Madhya Pradesh High Court upheld an appellate tribunal order directing MP RERA to register a trust’s housing project after the Registrar under the M.P. Public Trusts Act had treated the land as trust property. The decision matters for project diligence because RERA registration scrutiny may not replace title adjudication where another statutory finding has reached finality.
Supreme Todaysource
The Kerala High Court held that a lessee claiming under a lease created after a mortgage could not relitigate the same grievance in a civil suit after losing before the DRT. The ruling affects secured creditors and occupants because post-mortgage leases must be tested against the mortgage, Section 65A principles and the SARFAESI forum path.
The Supreme Court affirmed concurrent orders setting aside an auction sale because the secured creditor did not comply with the 30-day notice requirement under Rules 8(6) and 8(7) of the Security Interest (Enforcement) Rules. Lenders and auction purchasers should verify the service and timing of sale notices before relying on a SARFAESI sale certificate.
Lawtextsource
The Allahabad High Court held that the UP Awas Evam Vikas Parishad Adhiniyam, 1965 is a housing development law and is not repugnant to the 2013 land acquisition law. It also held that its provisions applying the 1894 acquisition law were not impliedly repealed, in proceedings challenging housing board schemes and acquisitions in Ayodhya.
LiveLawsource
The Bombay High Court held that compensation under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 can include loss of a milk business conducted from a cattle shed on acquired land. The ruling concerns a landowner who produced accounts and testimony showing that acquisition caused the business loss.
The Legal Affairsource
The government has issued guidelines for DILRMP 3.0, which includes assigning land parcels a 14-digit Bhu-Aadhaar identifier. The programme aims to integrate land records, maps and registration data, affecting how owners and lenders identify parcels and check records.
ABP Livesource
The Karnataka High Court dismissed appeals by the state government and Namma Whitefield RWA Federation Trust concerning land at Pattandur Agrahara in Bengaluru. The appellants claimed the parcels formed part of a tank bed, while the ruling leaves the landholders' position intact against that challenge.
The Times of Indiasource
The Allahabad High Court held that landowners whose land is acquired under the U.P. Awas Evam Vikas Parishad Adhiniyam, 1965 are entitled to the same benefits as under the 2013 land acquisition law. The ruling covers compensation, rehabilitation and resettlement benefits for landowners affected by acquisitions under the housing statute.
LiveLawsource
The Madras High Court said that TNRERA cannot determine property title disputes and that parties must approach civil courts. In a case involving land in Tambaram, the court clarified that project registration would not prejudice claims in pending title suits.
The Times of Indiasource
Telangana RERA imposed a Rs 32.17 lakh penalty on Janapriya Projects and ordered payment of interest at 10.70% to homebuyers. The authority said the developer had not explained collections made before registration in response to its show-cause notice.
NewsMetersource
The Kerala government has directed departments and department heads to ensure payment of compensation ordered by courts in land acquisition reference cases. The direction seeks to prevent execution proceedings and attachment of government bank accounts, affecting landowners awaiting payment and departments responsible for compensation.
The Times of Indiasource
The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet has approved a change to stamp duty and registration fees for rent and lease agreements lasting up to 10 years. The decision affects landlords and tenants registering tenancy agreements, with charges linked to rent and agreement duration.
NDTVsource
Sun, 20 Sept
A reported commentary argues that faster land courts will not solve title disputes unless records, maps, title and possession are handled through connected institutions and processes. The issue matters to buyers and lenders because fragmented land administration can leave a registered document unsupported by survey, revenue and possession records.
MSNsource
The Supreme Court restored a 1979 trial court decree for specific performance and held that once such a decree has been executed into a registered sale deed with possession handed over, a court cannot undo the completed sale decades later by substituting a cash payment to the buyer (the High Court had ordered Rs 15 lakh) to settle equities. A title resting on an old, fully executed specific performance decree stands and does not need to be reopened even if the underlying dispute was litigated for over four decades.
Fri, 18 Sept
The Jharkhand High Court held that a property sale by Bihar State Financial Corporation does not itself justify eviction of existing tenants. Auction purchasers, lenders and receivers must verify tenancy and rent-control exposure because possession still has to be recovered under the applicable eviction law.
LiveLawsource
The Maharashtra Real Estate Appellate Tribunal directed the promoters of RA Residences in Dadar East to deposit a 2% project-cost penalty, share sale proceeds from commercial units built using additional FSI/TDR, hand over remaining guest parking and execute conveyance for the society. The order matters to societies and title diligence teams because it treats informed consent and conveyance obligations as continuing RERA duties after possession and occupation certificate.
The Times of Indiasource
