In yet another setback to the Marvel Landmark — a major realtor that has been accused of cheating, forgery and criminal breach of trust for duping several people — Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRera) has ordered it to compensate a homebuyer who had booked an apartment in Marvel Isola Project, Mohamadwadi.
The homebuyer, who is also a complainant in this case, claimed that work has been pending for more than five years with no real progress being made, even as he had paid 80 per cent of the total amount. The builders are now liable to pay Rs 1.35 crore with an interest of 10.20 per cent per anum. They will also have to bear the additional charges spent in filing case.
Filed by Siddhartha Palesha, this case is an addition to the brewing trouble for Marvel Landmark, whose customers have either filed criminal suits or moved MahaRera, after they did not receive the possession of flats. Palesha had booked a flat in the Mohamadwadi project, being developed by Marvel and M/S Gangan Promoters and Developers, back in 2013. The flat would cost him Rs 1.51 crore. He had paid Rs 1.35 crore, including the consideration amount, stamp duty, registration fees and other charges. The developers had agreed to hand over the possession of the booked flat on or before March 31, 2016.
Upon their failure, Palesha filed a complaint against M/S Gagan Promotors and Developers through its partner Rahul Garg and Marvel Landmarks Private Limited through its director Vishwajeet Jhavar. The latter was arrested by Hadapsar police in connection with a case of cheating and forgery on January 13, 2019. He was later released on bail, by the cantonment court.
Advocate Nilesh Borate, who represented the complainant, told Mirror, “My client had taken a loan to pay for the flat. He has been paying heavy interest to the bank till date. Moreover, the delayed possession compelled him to stay in a rented house. He also suffered considerable loss towards appreciation of value in the property. We had requested the regulatory body to award compensation by considering all these facts.”
Adjudicating officer SB Bhale of MahaRera took these factors into account. In his order, he observes that the complainant had to spend the amount on other charges since the possession of the flat is delayed. “If the complainant had received the flat on time, there was no question of claiming the amount spent towards other charges. Hence, the complainant is entitled to claim the refund of the entire amount from the respondent with interest and compensation under the provisions of the MahaRera,” the order states.
Marvel’s director, Jhavar, however, cited many reasons for the delay. “The work slowed down because of the misunderstanding with partners. We have arrived at a resolution. The work is now being accelerated at the site and it will be completed within six-eight months. Especially with reference to Rera cases, our best efforts are towards sorting the issue amicably with clients and not pursuing it in Rera appellate tribunal,” he said.
