Team Goemkarponn
Panaji: The Supreme Court of India today declined to stay two significant judgments of the Bombay High Court at Goa, which had dealt a major blow to construction activities related to Section 17(2) of the Goa Town and Country Planning (TCP) Act and the Outline Development Plans (ODPs) for Calangute-Candolim and Arpora, Nagoa, and Parra.
A two-judge bench comprising Hon’ble Mr. Justice Vikram Nath and Hon’ble Mr. Justice Sandeep Mehta issued notice on the Special Leave Petitions (SLPs) filed by the Goa Government and the TCP Department but ordered that “status quo” be maintained in the meantime.
The apex court’s interim order effectively halts all construction and development activities arising from or linked to the now-contested decisions until the matter is finally adjudicated. The next hearing has been scheduled for August 26, 2025.
The first of the contested High Court judgments was delivered on March 13, 2025, by Justices M.S. Karnik and Nivedita Mehta. It read down Section 17(2) of the TCP Act and quashed the rules framed under it, thereby invalidating land use conversions that had already covered over 26.5 lakh square metres. The judgment was seen as a landmark decision, striking at alleged arbitrary and illegal changes in land use patterns.
The second judgment, dated June 23, 2025, was passed by Justices Bharati Dangre and Nivedita Mehta. It struck down the applicability of the ODPs for Calangute, Candolim, Arpora, Nagoa, and Parra, ruling that the Executive Order dated August 22, 2024, issued by the State Government was contrary to the provisions of the TCP Act. This decision impacted development plans covering approximately 16 lakh square metres.
Appearing for the Goa Foundation, which had filed PILs challenging these changes, were former Chief Justice of Odisha High Court, Senior Advocate Dr. S. Murlidhar, and Senior Advocate Shoeb Alam. The appeals filed by the State and the TCP Department include over 60 respondents, as the High Court decisions were the result of a batch of public interest litigations and writ petitions.
