After the much required intervention of Hon'ble Allahabad High Court, District Authorities in Gautam Budh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh now seem to be making active efforts for ensuring time-bound recoveries from the developer/promoter companies in pursuance of the recovery certificates issued by Uttar Pradesh Real Estate Regulatory Authority. This is a welcome move for the aggrieved homebuyers who have been waiting patiently to receive their refund amount from the developer/promoter companies in case of stuck/delayed projects.
The matter pertains to the execution of a Recovery Certificates issued by the Real Estate Regulatory Authority, Gautam Budh Nagar (UP RERA) in favour of the aggreievd homebuyers. The said execution had to be carried out by the District Magistrate, Gautam Nagar, who was responsible to recover the amount due to the allottee from the developer/promoter as arrears of land revenue. However, even though several years had passed since the issuance of the Recovery Certificate, no recovery was made by the District Magistrate, who was sitting tight over the recovery process and had failed to carry out the same efficiently, in clear violation of the mandates laid down under the RERA Act, 2016. Thus, District Magistrate was bound by law to recover the amount as arrears of land revenue and he was acting unlawfully by not executing the Recovery Certificate issued by the UP RERA.
Due to the said deliberate inaction adopted by the District Magistrate, the aggrieved allottees filed separate Writ Petitions before Hon’ble Allahabad High Court, wherein the direction was issued to District Magistrate, Gautam Budh Nagar to execute the Recovery Certificate dated to its logical end, as expeditiously as possible, preferably, within a period of two months from the date of receipt of the copy of the said order.
However, even after the passage of several months from the date of the said order passed by the Hon’ble Allahabad High Court in the said Writ Petition, no action, whatsoever, was taken by the District Magistrate, Gautam Budh Nagar in order to execute the Recovery Certificate issued by UP RERA. Thus, the District Magistrate deliberately flouted and disobeyed the aforesaid order passed by the Hon'ble Allahabad High Court.
Ultimately, left with no choice, the aggrieved homebuyers filed a Contempt Petition (individually) before Allahabad High Court, requesting the Court to summon the District Magistrate, Gautam Budh Nagar in person and further to initiate contempt proceedings against him under the Contempt of Courts Act for his willful disobedience to the order passed by this Hon’ble Court in Writ Petition.
Hon'ble Allahabad High Court after hearing the said Contempt Petition found that a prima facie case of contempt is made out and issued notice to the District Magistrate, Gautam Budh Nagar, and directed him to explain as to why the contempt proceedings may not be initiated against him for the alleged violation of the judgment and order of Writ Court.
Read Orders: Contempt Notice issued to DM for failing to execute the Recovery Certificate issued by RERA.
After the issuance of the aforesaid notice by the Hon'ble Allahabad High Court, District Magistrate filed a Compliance Affidavit whereby he informed the Hon'ble Court that the recovery process has finally been completed in the case of the Petitioners/Applicants (homebuyers) in compliance of the orders passed in the earlier Writ Petitions. Further, by the way of the aforesaid compliance affidavit, he also brought on record a bank draft consisting of the amount recovered as a result of recovery made in pursuance of the Recovery Certificate issued by RERA and the order passed by the Hon'ble Allahabad High Court.
Thus, after a long-drawn battle, first, with the erring builder and later with ignorant authorities, the homebuyers could finally receive their refund amount along with complete interest till the date of recovery.
(The Writ Petition, as well as Contempt Petition on behalf of the Allottee, were filed and argued by S&D Legal Associates in association with its Partners and Associates based in Prayagraj)
Read Orders/Compliance Affidavits/Post Compliance RERA Notices:
Indeed heartening to note work being done to alleviate common man's problems wrt recovery from builders thru RERA orders and it's RC.
I HAVE AN ISSUE WITH NON-COMPLIANCE OF RC BY HRERA GURUGRAM. IF I HAVE TO APPROACH HC for issuance of contempt it has to be PUNJAB & HARYANA HIGH COURT.
CAN U HELP!!!!!