Builder Fined Rs 20 Lakh For Delay

Reference: TOI, pg1 Dt. 14/06/2010

In An Order That Will Cheer Property Buyers, The Maharashtra State Consumer Commission Recently Directed A Developer To Shell Out Rs.20 Lakh At The Rate Of Rs.2,000 A Day For Delay In Giving Possession Of A Shop Premises To A Purchaser.

The Significance Of The Order Passed By Three-Members Bench Comprising President S.B. Mhase, S.R. Khanzode And D Dhamatkar, - Is That It Is “Among The First Times” That A “Per Day” Damage, As Was Specified In The Sale Agreement, Has Been Charged, According To Legal Expert. The Lawyer Represented The Aggrieved Party, Dharsi Dedhia.

Often, Builders Have An Agreement Clause That Assure Buyers A Daily Damage For Delayed Possession, But Few Buyers, If Any, Invoke It. The Legal Expert Said The Judgment Comes As A Boost To Purchase Of Flats And Other Property Across The State.

The Commission Said, “To Issue Notice For Delivery Of Possession Without An Occupation Certificate Was An Illegal Act… We Find That There Is No Ground To Justify The Delay.”

Dedhia Possessed A Shop And Godown In Rajhans Building In Thane As A Tenant. The Original Landlord Sold The Premises To Padmavati Enterprises Who Decided To Redevelop The Agreed Property To Give A Shop Of 366 Sq Ft To Dedhia At A Subsidized Rate. The Agreement Was Made In June 2005, But The Possession Was Given In 2007 Without An Occupation Certificate. As A Result, Dedhia Claimed Damages For The Delay At Rs.2000 Per Day As Stipulated In The Agreement.

Dedhia’s Other Grievance Was That a Water ConnectionWasn’t Given to Him. He Took Up The Matter With The Thane District Consumer Forum, Which Ordered The Builder To Pay Him Rs.20,000 As Compensation For The “Mental Agony And Financial Loss.”