The Bombay High Court has held that authorities under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 cannot adjudicate disputes about title or grant the kind of declaratory and injunctive reliefs a civil court can. Justice N.J. Jamadar decided the point on 2 December 2025 in Sana Hospitality Services Pvt. Ltd. v. Madan Kishan Gurow & Ors. (Civil Revision Application No. 606 of 2024).
Two parties claimed Flat No. 1703 in the "Green World" project at Belapur. Sana Hospitality relied on a registered sale deed of 2016 and an order of the RERA Appellate Tribunal for possession. The respondents relied on an agreement of 2017, said they had been in occupation since 2019 and had obtained finance on the flat, and filed a civil suit seeking declarations that their agreement was valid and Sana's sale deed was null and void.
The High Court held that the declaration and injunction sought in the suit could not be granted by the authorities under RERA, so the civil court's jurisdiction was not ousted by Section 79 of the Act. The Court added that there is a presumption in favour of the civil court's jurisdiction and against its exclusion. It dismissed Sana's revision application and left undisturbed the civil court's refusal to reject the plaint.