Deputy Commissioners Must Issue Land-Transfer NOCs or Speaking Orders Within the Statutory Time Limit.

The petitioner, a proposed purchaser, stated that the six joint owners of a 2-katha-8.5-lessa plot agreed to sell the property and applied online for the notified service “Composite Land Sale Transfer” on 18 December 2025.

The application remained pending; the petitioner learned that it had been forwarded by the District Commissioner to the Revenue and Disaster Management Department, where it had not progressed.

The State submitted that the application was being processed and would be disposed of within twenty days.

Whether the authorities could leave an application for a No Objection Certificate (“NOC”) and the related notified service pending beyond the prescribed period without issuing a decision or a reasoned order.

Whether the authorities should be directed to complete the pending process in accordance with the governing statutory and administrative requirements.

Section 21A of the Registration Act, 1908, as amended in Assam, requires the competent authority to issue the NOC—or, if it is not issued, to provide a speaking order with reasons—within thirty days of receiving the application.

The State’s SOP dated 9 September 2025 prescribes the process for applications involving transfers between persons of different religious communities and reiterates the thirty-day requirement for disposal or a reasoned order.

Under the Assam Right to Public Services Act, 2012, an eligible person has a right to obtain a notified service within the stipulated time; the designated public servant must provide the service or reject the application with written reasons and information about appeal rights.

The notification dated 11 November 2022 identifies “Composite Land Sale Transfer” as a notified service, designates the Deputy Commissioner or nominee as the responsible public servant, and prescribes a forty-five-day service timeline.

The application had remained unresolved for more than eight months, notwithstanding the statutory and notified time limits.

The Court held that the authorities were required to bring the matter to a decision rather than leave it pending, and considered the Department’s undertaking that it would dispose of the application within twenty days.

It therefore directed completion of the process in accordance with Section 21A, the 11 November 2022 notification, and the 9 September 2025 SOP, without deciding the merits of the proposed transfer.