NCDRC Gives One Last Chance To Amrapali Grp To Defend Itself In Complaint Case By Over 700 Buyers

With over thousands of home buyers crying foul over its dud projects, the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission on Wednesday gave one last opportunity to Amrapali Group to appear before it on March 9 for hearing in the complaint case filed by over 700 homebuyers who had invested their hard-earned money in Amrapali Centurian Park Project in Greater Noida West.

The commission also gave another opportunity to any of the aggrieved home buyers who want to be a party to the petition to do so before March 9.

The NCDRC said it would proceed ex parte in the matter if the real estate developer fails to turn up this time around, with or without a counsel.

It is to be noted that over 6,000 home buyers have been affected by severe delay in grant of possession of flats in Centurian Park Project despite the developer having collected 95 percent of the amount.

These flats were to be delivered in 2013.

With no hope in sight, nearly 700 homebuyers moved the NCDRC seeking refund of their money with 18 percent interest. The case came to be filed as Surajit Sinha and Ors vs Amrapali Centurian Park.

Representing the homebuyers, advocates Aditya Parolia and Piyush Singh shared that the builder has been delaying the proceedings before the commission.

The commission had, in 2017, issued the notice to the builder to appear and submit his defense and also issued notice for treating the matter as a class action litigation under Section 12 (1)(C).

“The builder wanted to keep on delaying the matter by not filings its reply and not making any permanent advocate appear in the matter. Nonetheless, the court took strict cognizance of the same and on 3rd October 2017 gave orders for Public notice to all the effected homebuyers to join the petition and gave the last opportunity to the builder to file its reply and kept the matter for Directions on March 7, 2018.”

“It is important to note here that Amrapali Centurian Park is owned and operated by one of those Amrapali Group Companies which has not yet gone under Insolvency Proceedings. Further, one Shahi Developers has also entered in a JV with Amrapali to complete the project, last year in May 2017,” Parolia added.

When the matter came up before the commission today, Parolia said Anil Sharma of Amrapali Group and its counsel were present in NCDRC but chose not to appear in the matter.

“When the commission proceeded with the matter, a lawyer appeared and submitted that he has just received instructions from Amrapali Group that the counsel engaged by them is not well and he might not be able to appear today,” Parolia said, adding that the commission reprimanded Amrapali Group but gave one last opportunity in the interest of justice.

It is to be noted that in February, the Supreme Court had asked Amrapali Group to complete its near completion project. This order had given some hope to the buyers who are already feeling defrauded by the group and treated unequally in the light of initiation of insolvency proceedings against Amrapali Silicon City on a plea by Bank of Baroda.