[Chintel Collapse] "How Can A Structure Built So Recently Collapse Like This?": Supreme Court Issues Notice In Residents' Plea

The petitioners moved the Supreme Court after six structures had collapsed on February 2, this year on account of structural deficiencies.

Before a Bench of Justices KM Joseph and Hrishikesh Roy, Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioners, apprised of the factual matrix.

"It's a beautiful project. It is an unfortunate incident", the Advocate for respondent submitted, when his turn came up.

"It's beautiful only on paper now, reality is completely different!", Justice Joseph shot back.

Bhushan further told the Bench that that the buildings are unsafe for habitation.

"Then let them vacate, I will compensate", the Advocate for the Chintel group said.

"Mr. Bhushan, if you want, you can sit and have a discussion with him. Not everything needs an order of this court", Justice Joseph said, while posting the matter on January 6, 2023.

It is the petitioners' case that despite repeated requests and representations, the respondents failed to carry out the necessary repairs of the apartments. And that the same suffered from serious structural issues and are extremely unsafe for residential purposes.

"The petitioners are thus living in constant fear of their own safety, as their respective apartments continue to show visible structural deformities such as cracks in ceilings and balcony, cracks in the tiles, deflection in balconies etc."

Owing to these reasons, the petitioners are seeking directions from the Supreme Court to ask the respondents to carry out the necessary repairs and construction work and to arrange for a temporary equivalent alternate accommodation.

In the alternative, the plea also asks for the respondents to be directed to buy back the apartments from the petitioners at replacement cost and also compensate the petitioners for the disruption and for other incidental costs occurred by them.

It is further submitted that the respondents have from the very beginning been playing fraud on the petitioners as well as other residents of the society. It is submitted that the state authorities as well as respondent one has taken cognizance of the structural issues pertaining to the various towers of the society only after the occurrence of the unfortunate incident, this year.

"It is pertinent to note that the serious structural issues have been repeatedly been brought to the notice of the respondent one over the course of the last six years."

The plea also submits that had they one done the required work over the years in terms of addressing the structural problems of the towers, then this unfortunate incident would not have occurred.

It is apprehension of the petitioners that even now the respondent, one will not take sincere steps to address the concerns of the petitioners as well as other residents, This apprehension only gets strengthened by the slow response of respondent number one, and the lackadaisical approach of the state authority, the plea asserts.

Case Title: Manoj Singh And Ors. Versus Chintel India Pvt. Ltd. And Ors | W.P.(C) No. 273/2022 X

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