SC sets aside HC order for CBI probe into Gurugram Ambience Mall project

The court clarified that while the CBI probe ordered by the high court cannot continue, the proceedings pending before it on other connected issues would not be affected

The Supreme Court on Tuesday set aside a Punjab and Haryana high court order directing a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the construction of Ambience Mall on land originally earmarked for a group housing project in Gurugram. It held that the high court’s July 2020 direction was “unsustainable in law”.

The Supreme Court held the high court’s July 2020 direction was unsustainable in law. (ANI)

A bench of justices JB Pardiwala and Sandeep Mehta clarified that while the CBI probe ordered by the high court cannot continue, the proceedings pending before the high court on other connected issues would not be affected by its ruling.

At the same time, the Supreme Court stayed the operation of orders passed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) imposing an environmental compensation of ₹10 crore on the developer for alleged construction in a green area at the Ambience Lagoon Apartment complex in Gurugram. The bench, however, observed that proceedings before the green tribunal could revive depending on the outcome and implications of the present judgment.

The case relates to the construction of Ambience Mall and other commercial structures on land measuring nearly 19 acres in Nathupur village along the Delhi-Jaipur National Highway in Gurugram. The land was initially licensed in the early 1990s for a group housing project but was later partly delicensed to permit commercial development, a move that had been challenged by residents and buyers.

In July 2020, the Punjab and Haryana high court, while allowing a public interest litigation filed in 2015, had directed a CBI probe after concluding that the builder and government authorities appeared to have acted in collusion. The high court had quashed permissions, including the licence for the commercial complex, and ordered the state to take consequential steps, besides directing the CBI to complete its investigation within six months.

In a strongly worded judgment, the high court had held that the permissions granted for the commercial complex were marred by serious statutory violations under the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Act, 1975. It found that the original group housing project envisaged on 18.98 acres was later reduced to about 7.9 acres, allegedly in breach of statutory norms and the builder-buyer agreement.

The high court had also questioned the absence of a mandatory layout plan at the stage of grant of licence, noting that the state government itself admitted that no such plan was available on record. Terming the process a “fraudulent exercise”, the court had said the sequence of events pointed to a prior meeting of minds between the developer and officials, resulting in undue enrichment of the builder at the cost of apartment buyers and the public exchequer.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday held that the direction for a CBI probe could not be sustained in law, effectively halting the criminal investigation ordered by the high court. While the detailed reasons are awaited, the bench made it clear that its decision would not preclude the continuation of other proceedings pending before the high court on related aspects of the dispute.

With respect to the environmental issues, the top court stayed the NGT’s penalty order but left the door open for the green tribunal to revisit the matter in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling.

The dispute has long been a flashpoint between residents of the Ambience Lagoon Island Residential Complex and the developer, with buyers alleging that land promised for open spaces and community facilities was diverted for commercial exploitation without disclosure or consent.