Appeal No. 08 of 2022, K. Venkataramanan and another v SPR & RG Constructions Private Limited and others

What the case concerns

Appeal No. 08 of 2022 before the Tamil Nadu Real Estate Appellate Tribunal concerns complaints by home buyers against SPR & RG Constructions Private Limited and its directors. The complaints sought project registration, a clubhouse, inspection and structural safety records, agreed amenities, car parking, compensation, original documents, transfer of the corpus fund and protection against alterations.

The promoter disputed maintainability through proceedings before the Tamil Nadu Real Estate Regulatory Authority, the Tamil Nadu Real Estate Appellate Tribunal, the High Court and the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court stayed further proceedings on 23 August 2021. The promoter later registered the project on 28 January 2022 and withdrew the special leave petition on 16 March 2022.

What changed

The Tamil Nadu Real Estate Regulatory Authority had issued an interim direction on 4 February 2021 because the ongoing project had not been registered under Section 3 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act 2016. That direction:

• restrained the promoter from marketing, booking or selling unsold flats until further orders;
• directed the relevant Sub Registrar not to register agreements or sale deeds for unsold apartments.

After the promoter registered the project, the Regulatory Authority withdrew the direction to the Sub Registrar on 31 January 2022. The home buyers appealed, arguing that the withdrawal occurred without notice, while the Supreme Court stay and their complaints were pending.

Tribunal’s findings

The Tamil Nadu Real Estate Appellate Tribunal found that:

• the sole reason for the registration restriction was the promoter’s failure to register the project;
• registration of the project fulfilled the purpose of that restriction;
• withdrawal of the Sub Registrar direction merely recorded compliance and was not a decision on the merits of the home buyers’ complaints;
• the withdrawal did not finally determine the rights and obligations of the parties and was therefore not an appealable order;
• the Regulatory Authority had not yet decided the substantive relief sought in Complaints No. 21 and 39 to 41 of 2020.

Who may be affected

The decision directly concerns the named home buyers, promoter and unsold apartments in the project. Buyers should note that removal of the registration restriction did not resolve the pending claims about amenities, documents, structural safety, compensation, car parking or the corpus fund.