Joint Liability under RERA, In the case of Joint Development Agreement.

Directly Not Receiving Payment, However a joint promoter under RERA, was held liable by the High Court for refunding the amount with interest.

In the case of

1. M/s. Wadhwa Group Housing Pvt. Ltd.

VS

1. Mr. Vijay Choksi
2. SSS Escatics Pvt. Ltd.

Grounds of the Case -

The Case involves a dispute over a real estate project named "The Nest" located in Mumbai. SSS Escatics Pvt. Ltd. entered into a Joint Development Agreement with the Wadhwa Group Housing Pvt. Ltd. to jointly develop the project.

Mr. Vijay Choksi booked a 3BHK flat in the project and paid a substantial amount as part consideration to SSS Escatics Pvt. Ltd. The project was registered under RERA, with the completion date initially set for March 2019, later revised to March 2020.

(Mr. Vijay Choksi paid significant amount to SSS Escatics Pvt. Ltd., later on due to delay in the project, Customer ask refund with interest from promoter, Wadhwa Group Housing Pvt. Ltd. argued that it is not liable to refund because amount is received only by SSS Escatics Pvt. Ltd. so only SSS Escatics Pvt. Ltd. is liable to refund. But High Court said that Promoter will jointly liable for refund to the customer.) (For this project Wadhwa Group Housing Pvt. Ltd. and SSS Escatics Pvt. Ltd. both are promoter as they enter into Joint Development Agreement)

MahaRERA's Decision -

Mr. Vijay Choksi approached MahaRERA seeking a refund of the amount paid, due to delays and descrepancies in the project. MahaRERA initially rejected the refund claim and directed execution of a sale agreement, which was subsequently appealed.

Appellate Tribunal's Decesion -

The Appellate Tribunal allowed Mr. Vijay Choksi's appeal, directing both Wadhwa Group Housing Pvt. Ltd. & SSS Escatics Pvt. Ltd. to refund the entire amount paid by Mr. Vijay Choksi with Interest. Wadhwa Group Housing Pvt. Ltd. challanged this decision in High Court, arguing that since it had not received any amount from Mr. Vijay Choksi, it cannot be held liable to refund any amount.

Bombey High Court's Order -

The Court found Wadhwa Group Housing Pvt. Ltd. liable to refund the amount received for the sale of the flat to Mr. Vijay Choksi. The Court ordered that a Promoter, even if not directly receiving consideration, is liable to refund with interest under section 18 of RERA.