TARABAI NAGAR CO-OP. HOG. SOCIETY (PROPOSED) versus THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA AND OTHERS

Citation: [2025] 8 S.C.R. 1193 · Decided: 22-08-2025 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: SURYA KANT · Disposal: Dismissed

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Judgment (excerpt)

[2025] 8 S.C.R. 1193 : 2025 INSC 1015
Tarabai Nagar Co-Op. Hog. Society (Proposed)  
v. 
The State of Maharashtra and Others
(Civil Appeal No. 11014 of 2025)
22 August 2025
[Surya Kant* and Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh, JJ.]
Issue for Consideration
Whether the owner of the land in a Slum Rehabilitation Area (SR 
Area) has any preferential right to redevelop it under Chapter I-A 
of the Maharashtra Slum Areas (Improvement, Clearance and 
Redevelopment) Act, 1971; whether such preferential right, if any, 
entails that the owner be specially notified and invited to redevelop 
the SR Area before the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) takes 
a decision u/s.13 r/w s.3D(b)(iii), Slums Act; whether the power 
of the State Government to acquire land u/s.14 r/w s.3D(c)(i), 
Slums Act is subject to the preferential right, if any, of the owner; 
whether, in the facts of the instant case, the acquisition of the 
Subject Land by the State Government has rightly been set aside 
by the High Court.
Headnotes†
Maharashtra Slum Areas (Improvement, Clearance and 
Redevelopment) Act, 1971 – Chapter I-A – By way of the 
impugned judgement, High Court held that the scheme of 
Chapter I-A of the Slums Act creates a preferential right in 
favour of the owner of an SR Area to redevelop it – Whether 
the owner of the land in a SR Area has any preferential right 
to redevelop it under Chapter I-A:
Held: A landowner has the first right among stakeholders to 
undertake redevelopment under an SR Scheme – Owner’s right 
to develop an SR Area, holds preference over that of the SRA 
within Chapter I-A of the Slums Act – ss.3B(4)(e) and 13(1) make 
it clear that the SRA’s power to undertake redevelopment can only 
be invoked if the owner extinguishes its right to redevelop – s.13 
has its own measure to balance the rights of slum dwellers, by 
imposing the restriction of ‘reasonable time’ on the owner’s right 
* Author
1194
[2025] 8 S.C.R.
Supreme Court Reports
to redevelop – The SRA cannot undertake development of the 
SR Area unless the owner fails to come forward with a scheme 
within a reasonable time – SRA has recognised the legislative 
preference granted to the owner or landlord in Circular No. 144-A 
dated 09.11.2015, which stipulates that “the first right to file the 
Slum Rehabilitation scheme is of the owner of the land” – By 
relaxing the requirement of consent of seventy percent of the slum 
occupants, it depicts a clear intention on behalf of the SRA that 
the occupants cannot override the owner’s proposal for an SR 
Scheme – Impugned judgement upheld. [Paras 51, 53, 61, 63, 107]
Maharashtra Slum Areas (Improvement, Clearance and 
Redevelopment) Act, 1971 – Whether the preferential right of 
the owner, if any, entails that the owner be specially notified 
and invited to redevelop the SR Area before the SRA takes a 
decision u/s.13 r/w s.3D(b)(iii), Slums Act:
Held: Though, the Gazette notification or a public notice in 
newspapers shall be deemed to have informed an owner 
regarding the s.3C(1) Declaration however, it will be far-fetched 
and preposterous to further assume that such owner is also 
obligated to submit a redevelopment scheme when the said 
notification does not invite the owner to submit any proposal – 
Mere declaration of an area as an SR Area does not amount to 
inviting the landowner to redevelop the land, and the publication 
of the former cannot attract the consequences attributable to 
the latter – Mere declaration of an area as an SR Area does 
not amount to inviting the landowner to redevelop the land, and 
the publication of the former cannot attract the consequences 
attributable to the latter – Considering the dire consequences 
potentially suffered by the owner upon inadvertent failure to 
exercise its preferential right and the SRA’s previous notices, the 
requirement for a specific notice inviting the owner to submit an 
SR Scheme, as prescribed in the Impugned Judgement, must 
be read as mandatory. [Paras 69, 75]
Maharashtra Slum Areas (Improvement, Clearance and 
Redevelopment) Act, 1971 – s.14 vis-à-vis s.13 – Power of State 
Government to acquire land – Power of Competent Authority 
to redevelop clearance area – Whether the power of the State 
Government to acquire land u/s.14 r/w s.3D(c)(i), Slums Act is 
subject to the preferential right, if any, of the owner:
[2025] 8 S.C.R. 
1195
Tarabai Nagar Co-Op. Hog. Society (Proposed) v.  
The State of Maharashtra and Others
Held: The owner has a preferential 

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