Bhuvana Marni
Published on: 15 October 2022 at 21:30 IST
According to Section 18 of the RERA Act, the Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) in Mumbai ordered Orbit Enterprises to give actor Saif Ali Khan ownership of two apartments at BKC, Mumbai, along with interest for four years, till 2021.
Mahesh Pathak, a RERA member, also instructed Khan to pay the final installment for the two apartments for Rs. 14,43,81,800 and Rs 10,90,20,800, respectively, as well as interest, starting in 2021 because the builder had notified him about the available flats at that time.
While the regulatory board noted that the developer had not provided any convincing justifications for the delay or, at the least, informed buyers of the delay in writing, it also found that Khan, the unit’s allottee, had a responsibility under Section 19(6) of RERA to pay the balance due for the unit in line with the sale agreement when the builder offered to transfer possession last year.
The member observed the builder’s complaint that the delay was due to MHADA’s refusal to grant permission when unreasonable demands were not met.
“As a promoter of the project, it was the obligation of the respondent promoter to obtain all the requisite permissions for carrying out the construction work and the complainant allottee had nothing to do with the same…”
“Moreover, if the project was getting delayed due to the reasons cited by the respondent, in that event, the respondent should have informed the same complainant…”
Khan was required to take possession of his flats when they were given by the promoter after receiving the occupancy certificate, the bench said, without compromising his RERA rights.
The Case:
In all, Khan paid Rs. 14,43,81,800 and Rs. 10,90,20,800 to reserve the units. To execute the Agreements for Sale, the Respondent tricked the Complainant into paying Rs. 13,00,00,000 and Rs. 10,00,00,000 in advance.
According to Khan, who was represented by DSK Legal, just 20% of the consideration had to be provided initially under the Act. The developer then acquired a false extension of the completion date, moving it from July 31, 2017, to July 31, 2019, without providing any information to the buyers on the RERA website.
They claimed that the Respondent did not sign any new agreements with the Complainant. They further argued that Khan refused to take possession last year because of the dispute regarding the amount of compensation he was entitled to.
The counsel for Orbit presented two arguments: first, that Orbit was not required to pay interest beyond the day it obtained the Occupation Certificate and that it was entitled to the last instalment plus interest. Furthermore, the delay was justified because MMRDA refused to accept it while the case was ongoing before the HC.
Directions:
1. Handover possession of the units within 15 days.
2. Orbit is directed to pay interest for the delayed possession to Kahn from 1-02-2018 (31-07-2017 plus 6 months’ grace period granted under MOFA) till 12-02-2021, for every month on the actual amount paid by the complainant towards the consideration of the said units at the rate of Marginal Cost Lending Rate (MCLR) of SBI plus 2% as prescribed under the provisions of Section 18 of the RERA and the Rules made thereunder.
3. Orbit can claim the benefit of a “moratorium period” as mentioned in MahaRERA Notifications
4. Saif Ali Khan is to pay interest for the delayed payment from the date of default till the actual date of payment at the rate prescribed under RERA i..e. Marginal Cost Lending Rate (MCLR) of SBI plus 2%.