After 20-year wait for homes, SC freezes Parsvnath accounts, issues warrants
The Supreme Court on Monday froze the bank accounts of Parsvnath Developers, its group company and their directors, while issuing bailable warrants against senior company
The Supreme Court on Monday froze the bank accounts of Parsvnath Developers, its group company and their directors, while issuing bailable warrants against senior company officials and pulling up the Haryana government for failing to take appropriate action despite regulatory orders in favour of homebuyers. Hearing petitions filed by homebuyers in the long-delayed Parsvnath Exotica project in Gurugram, a bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said the case highlighted the plight of buyers who had paid the entire sale consideration nearly two decades ago but were still waiting for their promised homes. Read Full Story "These writ petitions highlight the plight of homebuyers who, despite paying entire sale consideration more than two decades ago, continue to be deprived of the homes promised to them," the bench observed. The court noted that the petitioners, now senior citizens, had invested their life savings in the Parsvnath Exotica project in Gurugram.
They were provisionally allotted flats in 2006 and entered into flat buyer agreements in early 2007. Each flat was priced at over Rs 1 crore, with possession promised within 36 months. According to the petitioners, possession became due in 2013. The homebuyers paid the entire sale consideration but found during repeated site visits that construction was nowhere near completion. They subsequently approached the Haryana Real Estate Regulatory Authority (HRERA) in 2021. The Supreme Court noted that HRERA passed orders in favour of the homebuyers and directed the builder to compensate them. The court was informed that the developer did not challenge those orders, allowing them to attain finality. However, despite the orders remaining in force, the homebuyers continued to struggle for relief. "When nothing could be recovered, bailable warrants were issued. We are perturbed to note that even the bailiff was not allowed to enter the builder company.
The petitioners are still running from pillar to post. It is in these circumstances that petitioners have approached this court," the bench observed. The court also noted that the orders passed against the developer remain intact and that the builder continues to be under an obligation to hand over the flats to the homebuyers. Expressing concern over the manner in which the matter had progressed, the bench observed that RERA proceedings and orders appeared to be remaining only on paper. It also pulled up the Haryana administration, saying state authorities, including collectorate officers, had failed to discharge their responsibilities. In its order, the court directed the freezing of bank accounts belonging to Parsvnath Developers Ltd, Parsvnath Hessa Developers Pvt Ltd and their managing directors. It also issued bailable warrants against the directors and senior office-bearers of the company and directed them to appear before the court on July 17.
The BriefWire