Municipal sanction powers cannot require an outside no-objection certificate unless the governing statute expressly authorises it.

A municipal authority must exercise building-plan sanction powers strictly within its governing statute and rules, and may refuse approval only on the grounds expressly authorised there. A no-objection certificate under the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976 was not shown to be a prescribed document or valid ground for refusal under the Calcutta Municipal Corporation Act, 1980 and Schedule XVI. The Urban Land Ceiling issue had to be dealt with by the competent authority under that enactment, not imported into municipal scrutiny. The Corporation therefore could not withhold sanction for non-production of that certificate, and the plan was entitled to be processed according to law.

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Issues: Whether the Municipal Corporation could insist on a no-objection certificate from the Urban Land Ceiling Authority as a condition for sanction of the building plan, and refuse sanction for non-production of that certificate.

Analysis: The municipal power to sanction a building plan had to be exercised strictly within the Calcutta Municipal Corporation Act, 1980 and the rules framed thereunder. The relevant provisions required the applicant to furnish the prescribed particulars and documents, and permitted refusal only on the statutory grounds specified in the Act and Schedule XVI. A no-objection certificate under the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976 was not shown to be a document or particular that the Municipal Commissioner was authorised to demand for the purpose of building sanction. The Urban Land Ceiling issue was to be examined by the competent authority under that enactment, and could not be imported as a ground for withholding municipal sanction. Any insistence on such a certificate was therefore beyond the Corporation's statutory power.

Conclusion: The Corporation could not refuse or withhold sanction of the plan on the ground of non-furnishing of the Urban Land Ceiling no-objection certificate, and the petitioners were entitled to sanction in accordance with law.

Ratio Decidendi: A municipal authority cannot require a clearance or no-objection certificate under another statute unless its own governing enactment expressly authorises such a demand or makes it a valid ground for refusal of sanction.

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