Government offices cannot delay business nods indefinitely: Allahabad High Court

5 min readNew DelhiJul 31, 2026 01:30 PM IST The Allahabad High Court ruled that government offices cannot indefinitely delay approvals needed to start a lawful business. (Image generated using AI)The Allahabad High Court has held that government offices cannot indefinitely delay business approvals, ruling that a two-year delay in issuing a no objection certificate (NOC) for a petrol pump was arbitrary and amounted to “malice in law”. The court said unexplained administrative inaction that prevents a citizen from carrying on a lawful trade cannot withstand scrutiny under Articles 14, 19(1)(g) and 21 of the Constitution. Justices J J Munir and Indrajeet Shukla heard a writ petition filed by one Rakesh Kumar Gupta seeking a direction to the District Magistrate, Fatehpur, to issue an NOC for