Ensuring Judicial Adjudication by RERA Authority: Registry’s Administrative Limits in Complaint Maintainability

1. Introduction

This commentary examines the Karnataka High Court’s decision in Amit Garg v. Karnataka Real Estate Regulatory Authority, WP No. 34471 of 2024 (2025 KHC 12445), delivered on March 25, 2025 by Hon’ble Justice M. Nagaprasanna. The petitioner, Mr. Amit Garg, challenged an email communication dated September 23, 2024 by the Registry of the Karnataka Real Estate Regulatory Authority (“RERA”), which summarily rejected his complaint on grounds of non-maintainability. The core issue was whether the Registry could exercise a judicial function—namely, determine maintainability—without placing the matter before the constituted RERA Authority.

Key parties:

Petitioner: Amit Garg, owner of an apartment in a 17-storey “Petronas” block, Bengaluru.
Respondent No. 1: Karnataka Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA), represented by its Chairperson.
Respondent No. 2: SJR Prime Corporation Pvt. Ltd., the developer of the apartment project.

Mr. Garg alleged that the developer deviated from the sanctioned plan and sought relief by way of permanent injunction and demolition of unauthorized structures. The Registry declined to register his complaint, prompting the writ petition under Article 227 of the Constitution of India.

2. Summary of the Judgment

The High Court allowed the writ petition and quashed the Registry’s email order of September 23, 2024. It held that:

The Registry’s function is purely administrative and does not include judicial adjudication on maintainability.
Determination of maintainability is a judicial function vested in the RERA Authority itself.
The impugned email order was issued without jurisdiction and is therefore illegal.
The petition is restored; the complaint must be placed before the RERA Authority, which may decide maintainability after a hearing.

3. Analysis

3.1 Precedents Cited

The court relied heavily on the Supreme Court’s decision in P. Surendran v. State [(2019) 9 SCC 154], which dealt with the Madras High Court Registry’s refusal to number a petition under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Key takeaways from that precedent:

Administrative vs. Judicial Function: The Supreme Court reiterated that registry functions—such as numbering or procedural housekeeping—are administrative. Any adjudicatory decision (e.g., maintainability) requires judicial application of mind by a competent judicial body.
Criteria for Judicial Function: Citing Jaswant Sugar Mills Ltd. v. Lakshmi Chand [(1963) AIR 677], the Court outlined that a judicial function (i) applies objective legal standards to facts, (ii) declares rights or obligations, and (iii) follows procedural traits like hearing parties, evidence, and reasoned decision-making.

By analogy, the Karnataka High Court held that the RERA Registry could not curtail a complaint by deeming it not maintainable without placing it before the Authority members.

3.2 Legal Reasoning

The court’s reasoning unfolded in three steps:

Scope of Registry’s Powers: The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA) confers administrative duties on the Registry—scrutiny of documents, numbering, record-keeping—but does not entrust it with adjudication or determination of maintainability.
Judicial Function Cannot Be Delegated: Screening a complaint for maintainability is a judicial act requiring objective application of legal norms to the facts, a power vested in the constituted RERA Authority under Sections 31–32 of the Act. Delegation of such power to the Registry is ultra vires.
Remedy and Restoration: Interference via writ jurisdiction (Article 227) was warranted to correct the Registry’s ultra vires act. The Registry’s email was quashed and the matter remitted to the Authority for a proper adjudicatory process.

3.3 Impact

This ruling underscores the procedural safeguards built into RERA and strengthens the adjudicatory process by:

Affirming that only the RERA Authority—comprising expert judicial or quasi-judicial members—can rule on maintainability, ensuring fair hearing and reasoned decisions.
Preventing registry officers from summarily rejecting grievances, thereby safeguarding access to justice for homebuyers and allottees.
Promoting uniformity across jurisdictions: Registries of all High Courts and tribunals must refrain from exercising judicial functions beyond their administrative remit.

Future litigants will likely cite this precedent to challenge registry-level dismissals of petitions and complaints, reinforcing the procedural due process guaranteed under RERA and analogous statutes.

4. Complex Concepts Simplified

Maintainability: A preliminary legal threshold assessing whether a petition or complaint is competent to be entertained by the forum. It involves checking statutory requirements, jurisdiction, limitation, and locus standi.
Administrative vs. Judicial Function: Administrative functions relate to office processes (filing, numbering, docketing). Judicial functions involve adjudication—examining facts, applying law, and issuing binding decisions.
Article 227 of the Constitution: Empowers High Courts to supervise and correct errors in subordinate courts or tribunals within their jurisdiction, ensuring legality and procedural fairness.
Ultra Vires: An act beyond the legal power or authority granted by statute. Such acts are void and can be quashed by a court.

5. Conclusion

The Karnataka High Court’s decision in Amit Garg v. Karnataka Real Estate Regulatory Authority establishes a vital procedural safeguard: registry officers must limit themselves to administrative duties, and cannot pre-emptively adjudicate the maintainability of complaints under RERA. This judgment reinforces the rule of law by preserving the right of aggrieved parties to a fair hearing before a duly constituted judicial or quasi-judicial body. It will guide tribunals and registries to respect the division between administrative housekeeping and judicial decision-making, thus bolstering access to justice in the real estate sector and beyond.