As per law, apart from filing Consumer Complaint in District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum at Chandigarh, Panchkula, Mohali or State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission Haryana at Panchkula or Punjab at Chandigarh, you may also file FIR under Sections 420 and 406 of the IPC for delay in possession.

In addition to this, you may also file complaint before RERA Punjab or RERA Panchkula Authority, if the possession has not been delivered on time.

Another case has been registered, fifth in a row, against real estate builder M/S Samar Estate Pvt Ltd for failing to handover the possession of flats in Ess Vee Apartments, a project launched by Vinod Bagai.

FIR against Ess Vee Builders
FIR against Ess Vee Builders

FACTS OF THE CASE

  • The complainant, Vinod Sharma said that he and his wife Indrani Sharma had booked one flat measuring 1,600 sq ft at Rs 36.32 lakh in June 2006 in Ess Vee Apartments.
  •  They had deposited Rs 32,63,033, including service tax and delayed payment interest, with the promoters as per the demand raised by them.
  • The builder buyer agreement was executed on March 11, 2007. At the time of booking, Bagai assured them that they would get the possession within 1 year from the date of commencement of construction. However, he kept postponing possession by giving new excuses every time. 
  • For the past five years, construction has been stopped by the promoters on the pretext that they were facing financial crises.
  • An FIR has been registered at Sector 20 Police Station against the directors of M/S Samar Estate Pvt Ltd under Sections 406, 420 of the IPC.
  • The complainant alleged that Bagai in connivance with other promoters had cheated them by misappropriating and diverting the funds collected from them.

Usually, Consumer Courts (6 months) and RERA (2 months) as cited in the Act take more time for disposal of complaints, till then the builders have already divested the funds in some other project and in this case, for their personal use.

Consumers in case the funds of the project are misappropriated can lodge FIR under Section  406 (Criminal Breach of Trust) and Section 420 (Cheating).

Though the complainant in this case got RERA’s order in his favour but that too was not honored.

Further in execution, when builder was told to upload details of the transactions done so far, it came to the knowledge of the Court that the builder has given loans to companies from the funds given by the homebuyers which clearly amounts to cheating. Thus, an FIR was registered against them.

Criminal case against builders aren’t a thing of past in Tricity (Chandigarh, Panchkula, Mohali). When builders resort to such practises, they must be booked indiscriminately. You must take expert legal advice from Consumer/ Criminal Expert/ Top/ Best Lawyer/ Advocate related to your case.

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