What the Punjab & Haryana High Court Order Means for Oberoi's Three Sixty North Buyers
Barely weeks after Oberoi Realty announced its much-talked-about entry into the Delhi-NCR market, the celebration has been tempered by a courtroom setback. Days after Mumbai-based luxury real estate developer Oberoi Realty's foray into Gurugram with the Rs 6,000 crore 'Three Sixty North' project, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered the developer not to make fresh allotments of apartments to homebuyers until Haryana's Department of Town and Country Planning decides a pending complaint filed by local developer Advance India Projects Ltd (AIPL). The order, dated July 7, 2026, has understandably raised questions among prospective buyers who were eyeing one of the most anticipated luxury launches the city has seen.
At the heart of the dispute is the chain of title through which Oberoi Realty came to control the 14.8-acre parcel on Golf Course Extension Road, Sector 58. Oberoi Realty had purchased the 14.8-acre land parcel on which it plans to build 'Three Sixty North' from Gurugram-based Ireo Group for Rs 597 crore in 2023, after the beleaguered Ireo Group, which faced multiple chargesheets from the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering probe, had ended an agreement with AIPL and sold the unfinished Grand Hyatt Residences project to Oberoi Realty. AIPL contends it had an earlier claim on the land and has approached the courts seeking cancellation of the development licence transferred to Oberoi. As per the plea, the license was initially obtained in favour of the IREO Group entities and thereafter transferred to Oberoi Realty, with Advance India Projects alleging that IREO Group entered into a memorandum of understanding with it when it received foreign direct investment for the purchase of the land.
The Division Bench hearing the matter was careful to frame its order as a protective, interim measure rather than a verdict on the underlying dispute. The Court observed that it cannot close its eyes to the fact that mega projects involve thousands of crores of rupees and rights of innocent allottees. The High Court held that the legality of the licence and its transfer should first be examined by the competent statutory authority, and without commenting on the dispute's merits, it ordered expeditious disposal of the complaint. The DTCP was directed to decide the matter promptly, with the court building in a strict timeline for resolution. A Division Bench of Justice Jasgurpreet Singh Puri and Justice Sanjiv Berry directed the DTCP to decide the complaint moved by Advance India Projects Limited either on July 20 or within two weeks after giving adequate opportunity of hearing to all the stakeholders.
Crucially for anyone who has already booked a home at Three Sixty North, the order does not touch existing transactions. Oberoi Realty issued clarification that the Punjab and Haryana High Court's order relating to its 'Three Sixty North' luxury residential project in Gurugram does not impact existing sales already concluded and that there is no stay on construction at the said project. In its exchange filing, the company was direct about the scope of the restriction: "We wish to further clarify that the said order does not impact any existing sales already concluded... We would also like to clarify that there is no stay on the construction of the said project." The company also indicated it intends to contest the matter, stating it will pursue the necessary legal course of action as may be advised by professional legal counsel.
The scale of what's at stake explains why the case has drawn such attention. Counsel for AIPL told the court that the project has an estimated value of around INR 8,000 crore to INR 10,000 crore and is planned to be developed in multiple phases, and it was further submitted that nearly 350 units had already been allotted and around INR 750 crore collected from homebuyers. Reports since the launch suggest momentum has only grown, with one market note pegging recent booking value at Rs 8,109 crore recorded within days of launch, against a total revenue potential of Rs 16,000 crore estimated across two phases.
Despite the legal cloud, the developer says buyer sentiment has held firm. In subsequent statements, Oberoi Realty said its Gurugram project has seen no customer cancellations despite the court order, with buyers choosing to remain on the waitlist. The company has also pointed to the demolition and redevelopment work already underway on the site: existing construction undertaken by the previous developer is being demolished to facilitate the redevelopment of the site under Oberoi Realty's new master plan. Market analysts appear largely unfazed for now — brokerage Nomura is reported to have kept its rating intact, with its view based on the company's past record of securing favorable outcomes from the Department of Town and Country Planning in Haryana regarding similar regulatory matters.
For homebuyers watching from the sidelines, the practical takeaway is straightforward: no new bookings can be processed at Three Sixty North until the DTCP rules on AIPL's licence complaint, a decision the court has asked to be made on a fast-tracked basis. The Court noted that although development projects should generally not be stalled, courts must protect the interests of homebuyers when multi-crore projects are contested, and accordingly ordered a halt on further allotments and the creation of third-party rights until the petitioner's complaint is determined. Anyone considering the project should track the DTCP's ruling closely, since it will determine whether the licence — and by extension, the pipeline of remaining inventory — proceeds as planned or faces further contest in court.
