High Court allowed real estate firm Supertech to challenge a consumer court order against its MD
The Delhi High Court has allowed real estate company Supertech to challenge a consumer court order issuing an arrest warrant against its Managing Director Mohit Arora on a case by a homebuyer.
The high court was informed that the arrest warrant was issued on September 20 by the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) which earlier on September 13 had rejected Supertech's plea for fixing twelve months' instalments in respect of payment of the decretal amount to the homebuyer.
Justice Amit Bansal granted permission to the company to withdraw its pending petition challenging a September 13 order of the NCDRC.
Counsel for the company told the court that the NCDRC, on September 20, issued an arrest warrant against the Managing Director and thus urged that the pending plea be permitted to be withdrawn in order to now assail the order on the issuance of the arrest warrant by way of a fresh petition.
"In view of the subsequent developments, the counsel for the petitioner seeks to withdraw the present petition to file another petition impugning the order passed by the NCDRC (on the issuance of arrest warrant). Dismissed as withdrawn," the judge said in its order dated September 20.
The case before the NCDRC pertained to a complaint by a homebuyer, represented by lawyer Vrinda Kapoor Dev, who was aggrieved by the delay in offering possession of a villa in one of the company's project in Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Area, which was allotted for a consideration of over Rs 1.02 crore.
In April 2019, the NCDRC had ordered the company to either offer possession of the villa within six months, along with compensation and costs or refund the entire amount received by it along with compensation.
On July 20, the Managing Director had assured the NCDRC that the order would be complied with within 60 days.
However, on September 20, NCDRC noted that in spite of the commitment, the order was yet to be implemented and opined that the company was "evading the implementation of the decree".
It thus issued an arrest warrant against the Managing Director for three years imprisonment subject to the implementation of the order within a week.
"In view of non-compliance of the direction and dishonouring his own commitment, we sentence the Managing Director of the Judgement Debtor Company, as per powers under Section 27 of the Consumer Protection Act 1986, for three years imprisonment and issue Warrants of Arrest against the Managing Director of the Judgment Debtor Company. The Warrants shall not be executed, if the Judgment Debtor deposits the decretal amount before this Commission within one week," it stated.
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