Enforcement Officer Not An 'Authority' Under RERA Act, Orders Have No Force of Law: Madhya Pradesh REAT

The Madhya Pradesh Real Estate Appellate Tribunal (MP REAT) has recently held that an Enforcement Officer under the RERA law is not “the Authority” and therefore has no power to direct a developer to complete project amenities.

The tribunal ruled that any such order is without jurisdiction and has no force in law.

The bench, comprising Chairman Justice V.P.S. Chauhan and Judicial Member P.C. Gupta, while dealing with an appeal filed by Parth Developer against a 2022 order of a RERA Enforcement Officer, observed,

“Enforcement Officer is not an Authority,” and added that “if any order passed by the Enforcement Officer, who is not having a jurisdiction to pass that order, the order can be categorized that order passed by the coram non judice and if any order passed by the coram non judicehaving no force and it is nonest."

The case concerns Balaji Enclave, a real estate project developed by Parth Developer in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh. Two homebuyers, Yougesh Mahazan and Mukesh Verma, who were allotted a plot in the project, had approached the Real Estate Regulatory Authority complaining that several promised amenities, including a swimming pool, clubhouse, and garden, were never completed. Acting on the complaint, an Enforcement Officer in June 2022 directed the developer to finish the remaining work within four months.

The developer challenged that direction before the tribunal, arguing that the Enforcement Officer had no authority to pass such an order. It argued that the brochure relied upon by the homebuyers was not genuine and that no proper opportunity of hearing was given. The homebuyers, on the other hand, said the developer was given a chance to be heard but chose not to use it, and that work at the project site was still incomplete.

After examining the record, the tribunal noted that the RERA Act clearly defines the Authority as consisting only of a chairperson and members, and that Enforcement Officers are appointed merely to assist.

“We found that this impugned order is not passed by the Authority,” the bench said, before setting aside the 2022 order and sending the matter back to the RERA Authority for a fresh hearing.

Case Title: Parth Developer v. Yogesh Mahajan & Anr.

Citation: 2026 LLBiz REAT (MP) 3

Case Number: Appeal No. 32/2025

For Appellant: Advocate Deepak Shrivastava

For Respondents: Advocate Rahul Namdev