Flat buyers get relief as consumer forum tells Alien Developers to pay back
Hyderabad: The Telangana State Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum on Wednesday granted relief to 15 flat buyers in separate cases against Alien Developers Limited by ruling against builders Challa Hari and C. Venkata Prasanna who claimed shelter under the “force majeure” clause.
While asking Alien Developers to return the amounts paid by the buyers, varying from Rs 16 lakh to Rs 28 lakh, with interest, the forum also awarded Rs 1 lakh compensation to each. The forum opined that delay in obtaining permissions and NOCs from the GHMC and HMDA did not fall under force majeure.
The complainants include Ms Renu Gupta, Mr Praveen Kumar Trivedi, Mr Vijay Rajurkar, Mr Purushottam Rajurkar, Mr Piyesh Mandowara, Ms Nidhi Mandowara, Mr K. Janardhana Rao, Mr Sushant Dubey, Mr Tej Prasanth Singh, Mr Prashant Dinakar Tigh-are, Mr Amit Gupta, Mr Mukesh Punhani, Ms Natasha Chanana, Mr Vevek Lochub, Ms Nitika Lochub, Mr Sanjay Kumar Sen, Ms Susmita Sen, Mr Kamalesh Kan-delwal, Mr Tej Pratap Singh, Mr Sudhir Reddy, Mr Manoj Garg and Mr Abhijit Banshelkikar.
The forum said that the force majeure clause in the agreement of sale did not include within its ambit a delay caused in obtaining permissions, NOCs etc. “The opposite parties failed to explain how they could take shelter under ‘force majeure’. We may state that the delay caused in obtaining permission or NOC etc. cannot be considered as ‘force majeure’. The opposite parties ought to have informed the complainants about a delay likely to be caused in obtaining permission, which they failed. For that matter, the opposite parties cannot receive any sale consideration from any person in respect of any flat unless they have obtained permission from HUDA or HMDA.”
The opposite parties had promised to complete construction of the flats and hand over possession to the complainant(s) within the stipulated time with a grace period of six/nine months as agreed. On failure to perform their part of contract, the opposite parties had proposed to pay rents but failed to pay the same.
