The petitioner, V. Anand Kumar, owns approximately four cents of private patta land in Udhagamandalam (Ooty) falling within a primary residential zone under the notified Master Plan, and filed a building permit application in August 2025 to construct a superstructure of 226.84 sq. mts. The 4th respondent (Udhagamandalam Municipality) neither approved nor rejected the application, citing that the property may fall within 150 metres of a reserve forest, invoking Rule 7(2) of the Tamil Nadu District Municipalities (Hill Station) Building Rules, 1993. The petitioner challenged this inaction as a violation of his fundamental rights under Articles 21 and 300A of the Constitution of India, arguing that Rule 7(2) prohibits only 'assignment' of land and not construction over private land. The Forest Department's inspection revealed the property is approximately 110-120 metres from two reserved forests, and re-verification of the exact distance was stated to be in progress. The Madras High Court was called upon to decide whether the respondents were obligated to process the building permit application and within what timeframe, with the matter reserved for judgment on 13.07.2026 and pronounced on 13.10.2026.