New Delhi, Feb 05 (ANI): A view of the Supreme Court of India (SCI) building, in New Delhi on Monday. (ANI Photo/Amit Sharma)
| Photo Credit: ANI
The Supreme Court on Tuesday (January 20, 2025) set aside a Punjab and Haryana High Court order directing a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the construction of Ambience Mall in Gurugram on land originally allocated for a group housing project, holding that the High Court’s July 10, 2020, direction was “ex facie erroneous.”
A Bench comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Sandeep Mehta, however, clarified that its ruling would not affect proceedings pending before the High Court on other related issues.
“We are of the firm view that the High Court has proceeded on a totally erroneous assumption that the residential colony was required to be developed over the entire 18.98 acres and not 10.98 acres. The above conclusion drawn is ex facie erroneous in the face of the contract executed between the parties and the approved layout plan,” the Bench said.
The dispute arose from the development of Ambience Mall and other commercial complexes on approximately 19 acres of land in Nathupur village along the Delhi-Jaipur National Highway in Gurugram. While the land had been approved in the early 1990s for a group housing project, a portion of it was subsequently delicensed to permit commercial construction, a move that was later challenged by residents and buyers.
The Bench further held that the High Court’s direction for a CBI probe had been issued on the basis of unverified and inconclusive material. It also noted a “gross delay” on the part of the petitioners in approaching the High Court, pointing out that the writ petitions were filed in 2015, nearly eight years after the Ambience Mall had been constructed and had become operational.
Accordingly, the judges observed that the “rank silence and utter indifference” shown by the flat owners for nearly a decade raised a “serious doubt” over the bona fides of their challenge.
“The gross delay in approaching the High Court constituted a material and decisive factor, which by itself ought to have disentitled the writ petitioners to any discretionary relief under Article 226 of the Constitution,” the Bench said.
The court also noted that the CBI had registered an FIR pursuant to the High Court’s direction and had since filed a final report, in which the de-licensing of eight acres of land was found to be in accordance with law.
The top court on Tuesday also stayed an order of the National Green Tribunal imposing environmental compensation of ₹10 crore on the developer for alleged construction in a green area at the Ambience Lagoon Apartment complex in Gurugram. The court clarified, however, that proceedings before the tribunal could revive depending on the outcome of its judgment.
In July 2020, the High Court, while hearing a public interest litigation petition, had ordered a CBI probe after concluding that the builder and government authorities appeared to have acted in collusion. It had held that the permissions granted for the commercial complex were in serious contravention of statutory provisions under the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Act, 1975. The High Court had also directed the CBI to complete its probe within six months.
The Ambience Group operates several real estate projects, including Ambience Malls across the National Capital Region and the Leela Ambience Convention Centre. Earlier, the CBI had booked the group’s chairman and managing director, Raj Singh Gehlot, as well as unidentified officials of the Haryana Urban Development Authority, for allegedly converting residential land into commercial properties.
Published – January 20, 2026 10:07 pm IST
