Bombay High Court Orders MahaRERA To Restore Physical Hearings Within Four Weeks
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Mumbai, July 25, 2025: The Bombay High Court has directed the Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) to reinstate physical hearing options within four weeks, stating that procedural fairness includes a litigant’s right to choose the mode of appearance—virtual or physical.
The order was passed by a division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Neela Gokhale in response to a petition filed by Mumbai resident Mayur Desai. The petition challenged MahaRERA’s continued virtual-only hearing practice post-COVID-19 and sought structural reforms in how the authority executes its decisions.
Before the pandemic, MahaRERA conducted physical hearings, but since COVID-19, it has been holding proceedings solely online. While acknowledging the legitimacy of virtual hearings during the pandemic, the court found their exclusive continuation post-pandemic to be procedurally restrictive and not aligned with the principles of access to justice.
“Access to justice is a constitutional right that must be substantive, not just symbolic. Litigants cannot be forced to request physical hearings—they must be provided the choice,” the bench said. It emphasized that tribunals must be accessible in both form and substance, and hybrid hearings are now constitutionally recognized.
The court also addressed broader concerns raised in the petition, including delays in listings, lack of urgent hearing mechanisms, and the absence of clarity on order pronunciations.
Rejecting MahaRERA’s argument that parties could “request” physical hearings, the court found this insufficient and issued the following key directives:
- Hybrid hearings must be restored within four weeks, allowing parties to choose between physical or virtual appearances.
- MahaRERA must revisit its April circular, especially regarding urgent non-compliance matters, and develop an efficient execution process.
- A register must be maintained for praecipes (urgent hearing requests) with clear records of acceptance or rejection.
- All orders must be uploaded with time-stamps, and specific hearing dates must be mentioned, including the next date in case of adjournments.
- The MahaRERA website must display updated contact details, daily cause-lists, and bench calendars in a transparent and timely manner.
The court reaffirmed that the right to access justice cannot be reduced to a conditional or technical formality, especially when modern infrastructure supports multiple modes of appearance.
Advocate Aseem Naphade, with Chitrangada Singh, represented the petitioner Mayur Desai. Additional Government Pleaders Vaishali Choudhari and Madhura Deshmukh represented the State. Advocates Ravi Adsure and A.K. Saxena appeared for MahaRERA.
