Anant Agrawal had booked an apartment in
Centrum Park project
in Gurugram that was being constructed by Selene Constructions, a subsidiary of
Indiabulls Real Estate
. At the time of booking on March 28, 2017, Agrawal was told possession would be given within a year. When the agreement was executed on May 17, 2017, it was stated possession would be given within three years, with a further grace period of six months.
Gurugram
Agrawal paid Rs 20,65,156, and another Rs19,03,886 through a loan from Indiabulls Housing Finance. Additionally Rs1,85,481 was paid toward VAT. Since possession was not given within a year, Agrawal filed a complaint before the Delhi State Commission in November 2019, seeking a refund along with interest and compensation. The State Commission held there was no delay and dismissed the complaint, considering it to be premature.
Agrawal appealed to the National Commission. He relied on an email sent by the builder on May 15, 2017 in which it was represented that possession was tentatively fixed for the first week of 2018 subject to receipt of approvals.
The National Commission observed since the agreement was executed later, it would be
binding
. The agreed date of possession would be November 17, 2020. In its order on September 8, the National Commission upheld the dismissal of the complaint as being premature.
During pendency of the litigation, the builder cancelled the agreement and forfeited the entire amount paid by Agrawal. Since this subsequent event was not part of the original complaint, the Commission refused to deal with the issue. Agrawal was told he could file a fresh complaint.
(The author is a consumer activist and has won the Govt. of India's National Youth Award for Consumer Protection. His email is jehangir.gai.columnist@outlook.in)
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