Building sanction applications remain subject to amended rules; pending requests create no vested right or deemed approval.

An applicant for building sanction does not acquire a vested right to approval merely because the application was pending or because the Court directed prompt consideration. The statutory scheme required express sanction before construction and did not create any deemed approval on expiry of the disposal period; that time limit was only directory. Earlier court directions did not mandate grant of sanction, and a pending request for additional floors remained subject to the rules in force when sanction was decided. Amended building restrictions validly introduced in public interest and for civic convenience therefore governed the application, and no enforceable settled expectation could override the amended regime.

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Issues: Whether an applicant for building sanction acquires a vested right to obtain sanction under the unamended building rules merely because the application was pending and the Court had directed expeditious consideration, so as to defeat subsequent amendments restricting building height.

Analysis: The statutory scheme under the municipal Act and the Building Rules required express sanction before construction and did not create any deemed sanction on expiry of the prescribed period. The time limit for disposal of an application was only directory and the Court's earlier orders, which only permitted a further application and later expressed an expectation of decision within a stated time, did not confer any mandate to grant sanction. The pending application for additional floors remained subject to the rules and restrictions prevailing at the time of sanction or refusal. Since the rules were amended, with valid municipal restrictions on height introduced in public interest and for civic convenience, no vested right or enforceable settled expectation could be claimed against the amended regime.

Conclusion: The applicant had no vested right to insist on sanction under the earlier rules, and the amended building restrictions governed the pending request.

Ratio Decidendi: In matters of building sanction, no vested right accrues merely from filing an application or from a court-fixed time for consideration; the application must be decided under the statutory rules in force at the time of sanction, unless the law itself creates a deemed approval.

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