In Suryakant Yashwant Jadhav & Anr. v. Bellissimo Hi-Rise Builders Pvt. Ltd. & Ors., the MahaRera Appellate Tribunal has held that
- where the promoters had agreed to give possession with occupancy certificate on a specified date, the promoters were obligated under Section 19(10) of RERA to offer physical possession with occupancy certificate to allottees and the allottees were obligated to take such physical possession with occupancy certificate within two months of such delivery.
- The Court said that failure to handover physical possession of the flat with occupancy certificate, would attract Section 18 of RERA With respect to the clause of “grace period” of one year (which was provided irrespective of the force majeure events or situations beyond control of the parties) contained in the Agreement for Sale (AFS),
- The Tribunal held that Section 18 of RERA is absolute on the point of "specified date" mentioned in the agreement for giving possession and cannot be extended on the basis of such grace period.
- The Tribunal held that upholding the ‘grace period’ clause of the AFS would be against the spirit of Section 18 of RERA and consequently against the object of safeguarding interest of customers.
The Order can be accessed at https://maharera.mahaonline.gov.in/Upload/PDF/AT006-21407.pdf
