SC asks Parsvnath builders to deposit Rs 12 Cr in four weeks

 Supreme Court today directed Parsvnath Buildwell Pvt Ltd to deposit Rs 12 crore within four weeks as interest bearing short term deposit for delaying 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 Ghaziabad Development Authority.

"That is in the different realm altogether," the bench said.
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 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.