SC asks developer to deposit Rs 12 cr for delay

The Supreme Court on Thursday directed Parsvnath Buildwell Pvt Ltd to deposit Rs 12 crore within four weeks as interest bearing short-term deposit for delay in handing over flats to buyers in its project at Ghaziabad in the National Capital Region.

A bench of Justices Dipak Misra and C Nagappan asked the counsel for about 70 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 a 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 handover the flats to the buyer, and till then it will pay the equivalent rent to each of the depositors.

Advocate M L Lahoty, appearing for the petitioners, 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 buyers whether they agreed to the December 2017 deadline, rent and the pro-rata interest accrued on the deposit. It posted the matter for further hearing on October 18.