MahaRERA dismisses complaint filed by Lavasa home buyer over possession delay

Ashwini Priolker

Moneycontrol News

Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) in an order passed on October 30 dismissed a complaint filed by a Lavasa homebuyer over a delay in possession. The complaint was dismissed citing that the complaint was already pending before the State Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum.

The complainant, Mudhit Madanlal Gupta had filed a complaint against Lavasa Corporation Limited for the delay in possession. The complainant stated that he had entered into an agreement with the Lavasa corporation on April 22, 2010 and had been promised the possession of the apartment on or before April 21, 2012. He also complained that the corporation has now revised the possession date to December 2020.

Lavasa Corporation's advocate argued during the hearing that Gupta had already filed a complaint on the same matter in the State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission, Maharashtra. The order was passed by the state commission on July 26, 2016, wherein both parties had been directed to maintain a status quo with respect to the apartment.

Taking note of the order passed by the State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission, MahaRERA observed, “While registering the complaint with the MahaRERA, the complainant has given a declaration that the matter regarding which this complaint has been made is not pending before any Court of Law or any other Authority or any other Tribunal. However, it is amply clear that the same matter is already pending before the State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission. In such circumstances, the complaint filed with MahaRERA is not tenable”.

According to lawyers, buyers should keep in mind that they cannot file two civil proceedings. “This order is correct as buyers cannot file two civil proceedings in two different forums. You can either go to consumer court or approach RERA, says Property Lawyer Uday Wavikar.  He further added that in this particular case the buyer could have filed a criminal case instead of filing a second civil proceeding.

“Another grey area in RERA that complainants have to be aware of is that you cannot file a complaint as an investor. RERA only implies to home buyers”, says Vinod Sampat, a Mumbai based advocate and property expert.