 "SC asks Parsvnath builders to deposit Rs 12 Crore in 4 weeks")
The Supreme Court on Thursday directed Parsvnath Buildwell to deposit Rs 12 crore within four weeks as an interest bearing short term deposit, for delay in giving possession of flats to home buyers in its Ghaziabad project.
A bench of Justices Dipak Misra and C Nagappan asked the counsel for 70 home buyers, who had approached the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC), to seek instructions on whether they would agree to the proposed deadline of December 2017 given by the developer and the quantified monthly rent.
"We are inclined to direct the appellant to deposit a sum of Rs 12 crore before the Registry of this Court within four weeks. Hence, the said amount shall be kept in an interest bearing short term deposit in the UCO Bank, Supreme Court Compound, New Delhi," the bench said.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal appearing for the developer said if the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) re-validates the relevant plan, the building can be completed by the end of December, 2017.
The bench refused to agree with the contention and said the present litigation has nothing to do with the re- validation of the plan submitted by the appellant to the GDA.
"That is in the different realm altogether," the bench said.
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Sibal further said if the developer gets the plan re-validated, it will be in a position to construct and can hand over the flats to the home buyer, and till then it will pay the equivalent rent to each of the depositors.
Advocate M L Lahoty appearing for petitioner told the apex court that the GDA has cancelled the approval given to the firm for this project.
The bench asked Lahoty to inform the court after seeking instructions from the home buyers whether they agreed to the deadline of December 2017 to get the flats handed over, rent and the pro-rata interest accrued on the deposit.
It posted the matter for further hearing on October 18.
On August 26, the developer had told the apex court that they were in serious financial difficulty as they have suffered a loss of around Rs 400 crore last year and said they would hand over possession of flats to buyers in its delayed project at Ghaziabad, within a year .
The firm was asked by the apex consumer commission in May this year to refund the principal ammount in four weeks with 12 per cent interest, Rs 3 lakh as compensation and Rs 25,000 as litigation cost to 70 buyers who had booked flats in Parsvnath Exotica project.
The 70 buyers who had approached the NCDRC have said they had booked flats in the project in 2007, which was to be completed by 2011, and the delay was of over five years. They said that in 2015, the GDA had cancelled the approval for the project, which was not their fault.
The apex court was also informed that 854 flats were to be constructed in the project and 818 buyers had booked the flats.
Parsvnath Developers had moved the apex court against the apex consumer commission's order asking it to refund the money to 70 buyers along with interest.