Appeal No. 52 of 2020
The Tamil Nadu Real Estate Appellate Tribunal, covering Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, delivered Appeal No. 52 of 2020 on 6 January 2021 concerning whether the Chartwell project had to be registered under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016. The appeal challenged a Regulatory Authority direction to register the project, while the supplied text records that the buyers received their sale deed and possession but does not include the Tribunal's final decision on project registration.
What the appeal concerns
Appeal No. 52 of 2020, delivered by the Tamil Nadu Real Estate Appellate Tribunal on 6 January 2021, arose from a complaint by Mrs. Bhoomijha Murali and Mr. K. V. Murali against Evita Constructions Private Limited and Lucifier Constructions Private Limited. The dispute concerned a flat in Tower 1 of the Chartwell development at Senthamangalam Village, Chengalpet Taluk, presently in Chengalpet District.
The buyers had contracted with earlier companies in 2011 for an undivided share of land and construction of a 1,992 square foot residential flat. Possession was agreed for January 2013. After loan recovery proceedings and an auction, Lucifier Constructions Private Limited acquired the project and appointed Evita Constructions Private Limited as developer.
Regulatory Authority directions
The Regulatory Authority's order in C.No.479 of 2019, dated 3 September 2020, directed the developers to:
- Register the project on or before 30 October 2020.
- Execute the registered sale deed on or before 30 September 2020.
During the appeal, the developers expressed willingness to execute the buyers' undivided share and hand over the completed flat. The buyers later filed a memo stating that the sale deed direction had been complied with and possession had been handed over.
Disputed registration requirement
Evita Constructions Private Limited and Lucifier Constructions Private Limited continued to challenge the direction requiring project registration. Their main arguments were:
- The project was structurally complete and therefore exempt from registration.
- Completion certificates had been obtained for Chartwell I and II from the Special Officer, Appur Panchayat, Kattangulathur Panchayat Union, on 20 July 2018.
- Officials of the Directorate of Town and Country Planning had inspected the development.
- The buyers had no direct contract with the appellants and had paid the earlier developers.
- The project had been taken over before the relevant transfer provision of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 came into force.
The developers also distinguished earlier tribunal cases because those cases involved admissions that construction remained incomplete. They argued that no comparable admission existed here and that competent authorities had certified structural completion.
Practical significance
Appeal No. 52 of 2020 is relevant to buyers and developers dealing with projects transferred after lender recovery proceedings, particularly where structural completion and registration obligations are disputed. The supplied text ends before the Tamil Nadu Real Estate Appellate Tribunal states its final ruling on whether the Chartwell project must be registered.
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Common questions
Did the buyers receive the sale deed and possession of the flat?
Yes. During the appeal, the buyers filed a memo stating that the direction concerning execution of the sale deed had been complied with and possession had been handed over.
Did the Tribunal decide that the Chartwell project was exempt from registration?
The supplied text does not include the Tribunal's final decision on registration. It records the developers' argument that the project was structurally complete and exempt.
Why did the developers challenge the registration direction?
They argued that the project was structurally complete, had completion certificates, and had been treated as exempt after inspection. They also said that the buyers had not asked for project registration in their complaint.
Does Appeal No. 52 of 2020 apply to every completed project in Tamil Nadu?
The supplied text concerns a specific project and specific parties. It discusses earlier cases but does not include a final general ruling applicable to every completed project.
