New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday held that a property developer cannot delay the grant of possession of flats to the buyers beyond the period of contract and if there is delay the buyers are entitled for refund of their amount.
A three-judge Bench of Justices Dipak Misra, Amitav Roy and A.M. Kanwilkar ordered refund of the principal amount taking note of the “voice of anguish” of the respondent-allottees that they have lost their entire savings and were waiting for the flats for more than seven years.
The Bench directed Unitech Residential Resorts Ltd in the capital to refund the principal amount to the tune of Rs 17 crore to 39 allottees who were denied possession of their flats within the stipulated time.
In its ruling, the Bench said “it needs no special emphasis to state that the property developer has to respect the contractual commitment. It has to live up to the terms of the contract and gain trust so that the people who dream of houses can repose faith in him. Not for nothing, it has been said, “the foundation of any economy is faith and if faith is lost, everything is lost”. True it is, there is a saying, “Rome was not built in a day” but it is in the realm of metaphor.”
The Bench said “the appellant builder by delaying or procrastinating the completion of the flats cannot base its stand on excuses or any subterfuge to advance the stand that the constructions take time. The submission in a way rests upon the metaphor that “Rome was not built in a day” but serves no purpose. It is “flat” or “money”. And nothing else.”
The Bench pointed out that the 39 respondents collectively made a demand for refund of money because they have fought the litigation with ceaseless vigour and enormous hope.
Rejecting the submission of the Unitech that possession of flats will be granted from April 2017 onwards, the Bench pointed out that counsel for the respondents and some of the respondents who are personally present are not in a position to accept the said method of solution.
It said “the voice of anguish is echoed in the court room as they say their dreams have been shattered and they have been constrained to pave the path of impecuniosity. The respondents are not interested in taking the flats. They are fundamentally interested to get their money back with interest and compensation.”
On August 17, the Bench had directed Unitech to deposit Rs 15 crore in the SC Registry. Now, the Bench asked Unitech to deposit another Rs 2 crore and the total amount of Rs 17 crore will be distributed by the Registry to the 39 respondents.
Builders used to ‘not fulfilling’ promises: Supreme Court
Real-estate firms got a rap on their knuckles from the Supreme Court for making tall claims to purchasers which remained unfulfilled due to inordinate delay in completing the housing projects.
“Builders have developed an attitude to make commitments to the purchasers and not fulfill them by delaying the projects,” a bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra said.
The SC’s observation came after real estate firm Parsvnath Buildwell Pvt Ltd said it will give flats to 70 home buyers, who are before the court, by December 17. “They (home buyers) do not have patience and trust in you and need refund. Money should go back to them and they should not suffer,” the bench also comprising Justices Amitava Roy and A M Khanwilkar said.
The bench, also pulled up the realty firm for seeking time to deposit additional Rs 10 crore, asking “why do you get into all this business when you can't pay back the money? ”
Subramanian Prasad, appearing for the firm, said as directed by the court, the company has deposited Rs 12 crore with the Supreme Court registry.
