Conversion levy must to use residential floor for shop: SC

The Supreme Court on Friday ruled that property owners in Delhi allotted plots as shop-cum-residence under the Master Plan for Delhi (MPD) 2021 must pay conversion charges if they use residential floors for commercial purposes.

- Abraham Thomas

The verdict came in a case concerning a property in New Rajendra Nagar Market that had been sealed by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) for misuse. Its owner, Vinod Kumar Arora, had been running commercial activities on the first and second floors without paying conversion charges, and later moved the top court seeking de-sealing.

Arora relied on a 2023 order by a judicial committee that had exempted shop owners from paying conversion charges, following a plea by the New Rajinder Nagar Market Federation. The MCD challenged that exemption before the Supreme Court, and both matters — the MCD’s appeal and Arora’s application — were heard together.