The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI), through its President CS Pawan G. Chandak, has requested the Land & Development Office, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, to amend Section 46(1)(c) of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 to expressly include Company Secretaries in Practice as eligible for appointment as Technical or Administrative Members of the Real Estate Appellate Tribunal. The representation states that the existing provision recognises expertise in fields including law, commerce, accountancy, management and administration, subject to specified experience or senior government service. ICSI submits that Company Secretaries in Practice possess specialised knowledge of corporate laws, commercial laws, governance, regulatory compliance and statutory reporting, and highlights that Section 409(3)(d) of the Companies Act, 2013 expressly qualifies Company Secretaries in Practice with at least fifteen years’ experience for appointment as Technical Members of the National Company Law Tribunal. The Institute has requested that Section 46(1)(c) be amended accordingly and has offered to provide any further information or clarification required.
Institute of Company Secretaries of India
CS Pawan G. Chandak
PRESIDENT
G&CL: REAT: JUL 26 | Dated: July 21, 2026
Shri Shyam Lal Poonia
Land & Development Officer (L&DO)
Land and Development Office
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
5th floor, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, Sankalp Bhawan
New Delhi – 110001
Respected Sir,
Subject: Request for Amendment to Section 46(1)(c) of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 to expressly include Company Secretaries in Practice as eligible for Appointment as Technical or Administrative Member, Real Estate Appellate Tribunal
Greetings from the Institute of Company Secretaries of India!
The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI), constituted under the Company Secretaries Act, 1980, is the statutory professional body entrusted with the regulation and development of the profession of Company Secretaries in India. The Institute has consistently supported the Government and regulatory authorities in strengthening the compliance ecosystem by ensuring greater transparency, accountability and adherence to statutory requirements.
We wish to draw your kind attention to Section 46(1)(c) of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (“the Act”), which prescribes the qualifications for appointment as a Technical or Administrative Member of the Real Estate Appellate Tribunal. The provision reads as under:
“(c) in the case of a Technical or Administrative Member, he is a person who is well-versed in the field of urban development, housing, real estate development, infrastructure, economics, planning, law, commerce, accountancy, industry, management, public affairs or administration and possesses experience of at least twenty years in the field or who has held the post in the Central Government, or a State Government equivalent to the post of Additional Secretary to the Government of India or an equivalent post in the Central Government or an equivalent post in the State Government.”
The provision, as it stands, recognises persons with expertise in fields such as economics, law, commerce, accountancy, industry, management, public affairs or administration, subject to twenty years of relevant experience, or those who have held specified senior government positions. We respectfully submit that Company Secretaries in Practice possess directly relevant expertise and should be expressly recognised as eligible professionals under this provision.
We therefore request that Section 46(1)(c) of the Act be suitably amended to expressly include Company Secretaries in Practice among the professionals eligible for appointment as Technical or Administrative Member.
Justification:
Company Secretaries in Practice possess specialised knowledge of corporate laws, commercial laws, governance, regulatory compliance and statutory reporting. Independent verification and certification of legal and regulatory compliance is one of the core functions of the profession. These responsibilities closely align with the objectives of the Real Estate Appellate Tribunal to ensure accountability in the real estate sector and to maintain the highest levels of transparency for all stakeholders.
Further, the competence of Company Secretaries in Practice to serve in adjudicatory and quasi-judicial bodies has already been recognised by Parliament. Under Section 409(3)(d) of the Companies Act, 2013, a person who is or has been in practice as a Company Secretary for at least fifteen years is expressly qualified for appointment as a Technical Member of the National Company Law Tribunal. This statutory recognition, at the level of a Tribunal exercising wide-ranging adjudicatory powers, affirms that the profession possesses the requisite expertise, standing and experience to discharge quasi-judicial functions.
Given this established statutory role, Company Secretaries in Practice are well placed to contribute meaningfully to adjudicatory and regulatory functions relating to real estate governance, compliance and dispute resolution.
Their inclusion would widen the pool of qualified professionals available for appointment, support timely and effective regulatory functioning of the Real Estate Appellate Tribunals across States, and further the Government’s objective of Ease of Doing Business, while strengthening compliance and governance standards in the real estate sector.
We respectfully request that this request be favourably considered and Section 46(1)(c) of the Act be amended accordingly. We would be glad to furnish any further information or clarification that may be required in this regard.
Thanking you
Yours faithfully
(CS Pawan G. Chandak)
President
The Institute of Company Secretaries of India
