MP Govt Appoints Justice VK Dwivedi Chairman of Real Estate Appellate Tribunal

Justice Vinod Kumar Dwivedi, a retired judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court at Jabalpur, has been appointed Chairman of the state's Real Estate Appellate Tribunal. The Urban Development and Housing Department issued the order this week.

The tribunal hears appeals against orders of the state's Real Estate Regulatory Authority. It has the final say within Madhya Pradesh on disputes between homebuyers, developers and the regulator — project delays, refunds, and RERA compliance failures — and its rulings bind both sides unless overturned by the High Court. Given the scale of money involved in real estate transactions, the post carries real financial weight.

Justice Dwivedi heard civil and constitutional matters as a judge of the Jabalpur High Court before retiring. His move to the tribunal follows a familiar pattern in the state — retired High Court judges are routinely brought in to head specialised regulatory appellate bodies, lending judicial rigour to what would otherwise be a purely administrative dispute-resolution forum.

He fills the Chairman's post at a tribunal that exists under Section 45 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 — a provision meant to give real estate disputes a faster route to resolution than the ordinary civil court system.

Bhopal and Indore continue to generate a steady stream of homebuyer complaints over delayed possession and RERA-timeline violations. Most of these cases reach the appellate tribunal only after the regulatory authority has already ruled once.

Justice Dwivedi's rulings will effectively be final within the state, barring a challenge in the High Court. That puts real pressure on how quickly he can work through the backlog of appeals already pending before the tribunal, involving claims that can run into significant sums for both homebuyers and developers.

He will serve a term of five years or until he turns 67, whichever comes first, as per the appointment order.