Promoters Cannot Split Adjoining Land Parcels to Avoid RERA Registration: Rajasthan REAT
Case Title: Harish Jasuja v. Rajasthan Real Estate Regulatory Authority & Anr.
Appeal No.: 66/2022 & Connected Appeals
Forum: Rajasthan Real Estate Appellate Tribunal (REAT)
The Rajasthan Real Estate Appellate Tribunal (REAT) has held that promoters cannot claim exemption from mandatory RERA registration by treating adjoining parcels of land as separate projects merely because the parcels are individually owned and each measures less than 500 square metres.
The Tribunal dismissed eight connected appeals filed by promoter Harish Jasuja in relation to the “City Trade Centre” project at Sri Ganganagar, holding that the project had been conceived, developed and marketed as a single integrated project and therefore required registration under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016.
Dispute Over RERA Registration
The appeals arose from proceedings concerning the registration of the City Trade Centre project. The promoter sought to rely upon separate ownership of adjoining parcels of land to contend that the individual plots fell below the 500-square-metre threshold prescribed under Section 3 of the RERA Act.
Under Section 3(2)(a), certain projects are exempt from registration where the area of land proposed to be developed does not exceed 500 square metres or the number of apartments proposed to be developed does not exceed eight.
The promoter's case was that the relevant parcels should be considered independently for determining whether the exemption applied.
Tribunal Rejects Artificial Division of Project
The Rajasthan REAT rejected this approach.
The Tribunal examined the manner in which the properties were planned and developed and found that the adjoining parcels were not functioning as genuinely independent projects. Instead, the development had been designed and marketed as one integrated project with common amenities.
The Tribunal observed that allowing promoters to structure a project through separate land parcels, each falling below the statutory threshold, could defeat the very purpose of the RERA legislation.
It cautioned that if such an arrangement were permitted, multiple persons could acquire adjoining parcels through separate sale deeds and subsequently develop them collectively while claiming exemption from RERA registration.
Common Development Relevant to Determining Project Status
According to the Tribunal, the substance of the development rather than the manner in which the underlying parcels were individually held was relevant.
Where adjoining parcels are collectively planned, constructed and marketed as a single development, they cannot simply be treated as separate projects to obtain the benefit of the registration exemption.
The Tribunal therefore concluded that the City Trade Centre had been designed, constructed and marketed as a single project and was consequently required to be registered under Section 3 of the RERA Act.
Eight Appeals Dismissed
A Bench comprising Chairperson Justice Madan Gopal Vyas and Judicial Member Yudhisthir Sharma dismissed the connected appeals filed by Harish Jasuja.
The Rajasthan REAT's official judgment records show that Appeal No. 66/2022 and several connected appeals involving Harish Jasuja were dismissed on May 12, 2026.
Key Takeaway
The decision reinforces the principle that the RERA registration exemption cannot be defeated by artificially fragmenting an integrated real-estate development into smaller adjoining parcels.
For determining whether a project falls within the mandatory registration framework, the manner in which the development is actually conceived, constructed and marketed may be more significant than the formal division or separate ownership of the underlying land parcels.
The ruling therefore serves as an important reminder that promoters cannot rely solely on individual plot sizes where the evidence establishes that the properties form part of a single integrated real-estate project.
Rajasthan High Court Upholds RERA Direction to Register ‘City Trade Centre’ Project
Case Title: Harish Jasuja v. Rajasthan Real Estate Regulatory Authority & Anr.
Case No.: S.B. Civil Miscellaneous Appeal No. 2726/2026
Connected Appeals: S.B. Civil Miscellaneous Appeals Nos. 2723/2026, 2724/2026 and other connected matters
The Rajasthan High Court has upheld the direction requiring Harish Jasuja to register the “City Trade Centre” project under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA).
The Court dismissed the challenge against the orders passed by the Rajasthan Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) and the Rajasthan Real Estate Appellate Tribunal, holding that the appeals did not raise any substantial question of law warranting interference under Section 58 of the RERA Act.
