HC rejects stay order plea on refund by Mumbai developer

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has refused to grant a stay sought by Radius and Deserve Builders LLP Developers on a refund order by Maharashtra Real Estate Appellate Tribunal (MEAT) after the developer failed to comply with its April order to deposit a refund amount to a homebuyer in full.

Justice Prithviraj Chavan took serious cognizance of the noncompliance of the court’s April 19, 2022 order by the company, in which it had asked the developer to deposit the entire refund amount within eight weeks. Counsel for the developer submitted that his client could not comply with the order as its chief promoter had been arrested. “Counsel takes an excuse that the chief promoter of the appellant’s company is behind bars, which would not be and cannot be a reason for noncompliance of the order passed by this Court. Since the order passed by this Court on April 19, 2022 is self-operative, there shall be no stay to the effect and operation of the impugned judgment,” said the court in its July 05 order.

On April 19, Justice Bharati Dangre had directed that the stay on the refund order could be granted if Radius Developers deposits the entire refund amount. Home buyer Sunita Gunjal had booked a flat in the developer’s Anantya project in Chembur and paid more than 20% of the Rs46.17 lakh total consideration in April 2016. However, when the developer unilaterally changed the possession date from December 2020 to December 2024, she had approached the housing regulator Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority. In August 2018, MahaRERA granted a refund of only the principal amount to Gunjal. She appealed against it before MEAT which ordered a refund of the amount with interest.