For home-buyers duped by real estate developers, the wait for justice just does not seem to come to an end. Even as the Gujarat High Court asked Gujarat government to appoint a full-time judge at the Gujarat Real Estate Appellate Tribunal, the cases continue to be heard by the judge of Food Safety and Standard Appellate Tribunal in Gandhinagar.
While the tenure of incumbent presiding officer and president (Food Safety Tribunal) R N Dave got over on August 5, he was given an extension of one year by the State government. Meanwhile, litigants still wait for an independent judicial member to head RERA Appellate tribunal, three years after it was set up.
“R N Dave heads Food Safety Appellate Tribunal, but has been asked to hear RERA Tribunal cases as well till a regular judge. Without a full-time judge, cases in the RERA tribunal will keep piling up. It will take time to solve disputes and dispense justice,” said a top official of RERA appellate tribunal, refusing to be named.
A couple of weeks ago, Gujarat High Court had disposed of a PIL seeking appointment of full-time chairperson and members to the RERA tribunal after the government furnished a written assurance that it will do the needful.
Process on verge of completion “The process of establishing the Gujarat Real Estate Appellate Tribunal is at the verge of the completion. As per Section 45 of the RERA Act, the Appellate Tribunal shall comprise a chairperson and not less than two full-time members, of which one shall be a judicial member and other shall be a technical or administrative member, to be appointed by the appropriate government,” the government assured the court.
The reply further stated, “The Selection Committee has completed the selection procedure and recommended two names for the post of Judicial Member and two names for the post of Technical or Administrative Member, whereas, for the post of Chairperson of Gujarat Real Estate Appellate Tribunal, the Government is in the process of consultation with the Chief Justice of High Court.”
The government was responding to a Public Interest Litigation filed by Nipun Singhvi, seeking appointment of regular judicial officials, members, and other staff.
The government also said it will allocate a separate building for the tribunal. The HC asked the state government to complete the process at the earliest while disposing off the PIL.
Interestingly, MoS for Urban Development Yogesh Patel was not aware of the names forwarded to HC.
“The decision has not been taken yet as discussion with high court is going on. The issue will be handled at the chief minister’s level,” he said.
“RERA Tribunal needs to be headed by a judge immediately, or else, the trust of home-buyers will wither away. We are hoping that a presiding officer will be appointed to the RERA Tribunal soon,” said HC advocate Vishal J Dave.
