Mumbai: Aggrieved flat buyers agonised by Maha delay at MahaRERA

Many flat buyers who had approached MahaRERA in the hope of getting speedy justice have been waiting in vain for as long as two-three years. Representation Pic

The failure of MahaRERA in scheduling the second hearing date for as long as two to three years after receiving complaints has left aggrieved flat buyers in the lurch. The delay in hearing according to them appears unfair as subsequent complaints filed in 2023-2024 were given priority hearings and orders passed. Litigants, advocates and professionals practising in MahaRERA have expressed dismay at the failure of MahaRERA in giving timely justice, as the flat buyers continue to suffer as they have to pay bank loan EMIs and that too for a flat they don't own yet. The delay goes against the very spirit of RERA which was to provide speedy relief (within sixty days) through summary proceedings. However, failure in timely redressal of disputes and prioritising select complaints makes grounds for questioning the fairness of the quasi judicial body.

Seniority of complaints

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Advocate Anil D'Souza

"There are two official circulars of MahaRERA, 30/2021 and 34/2021 which clearly outline the listing of matters as per seniority for the complaints filed. We have many cases pending since April 2021 and 2022 for the hearings and at last count at least 30 cases since 2023," said advocate Anil D'Souza, who is also the secretary MahaRERA Bar Association. D'Souza said that MahaRERA gives the first hearing date within one month from filing the complaint against payment of R5,000 as fees. The MahaRERA Chairman during the first hearing asks the complainant to opt for conciliation. If the complainant accepts conciliation in the first hearing, the second hearing may come within a month, thereafter three to four hearings are still expected. The overall conciliation procedure takes more than six months. "The problem is for those complainants who do not opt for conciliation in the first meeting and decide to fight the case in MahaRERA, and today it is they who are mostly suffering, as they do not get any further dates for hearing due to pendency of cases," said D'Souza.

Cases filed later get priority

Advocate D'Souza said, "Interestingly at the same time, many cases filed in 2023 and even in 2024 have been heard and orders passed, but somehow there is a huge backlog of 2021 and 2022, which is still pending a second hearing. Litigants are exasperated by this. An auditing of all pending cases will clearly give the actual list of the pendency and also matters that are reserved for orders."

Within sixty days

Advocate Godfrey Pimenta

"Even though the law mandates disposal of complaints within 60 days from the date of filing the complaint, the hearings get delayed because of paucity of members in MahaRERA Authority, and this derails the delivery of justice," said Advocate Godfrey Pimenta.

‘Very disappointing'

Abhay Upadhyay, president of the Forum For People's Collective Efforts and a member of the Central Advisory Council for RERA

Abhay Upadhyay, president of the Forum For People's Collective Efforts and a member of the Central Advisory Council for RERA said, "This delay in hearing is a disappointing matter. It is also difficult to comprehend the rationale, in absence of any reason provided by MahaRERA, for ignoring earlier complaints filed before it. It is high time that the local Bar Association and also the High Court of Bombay, take suo motu notice of this, and fix the accountability. It must be ensured that complainants get earlier hearing dates and they get timely justice as justice delayed is justice denied.

Expert view

Solicitor Stuti Galiya

"The fact that the matter is not slated for a second hearing for the past two to three years, suggests a complete failure of the whole system. This obviously leads to erosion of public trust in the justice delivery system. Timeline for disposal would depend on various factors, such as, complexities involved, number of parties, etc. However, as far as listing is concerned, the least that one would expect is for the MahaRERA to follow the first-come-first-served principle. This would be necessary to ensure that justice is served equally to everyone, without any bias and preferential treatment, said solicitor Stuti Galiya. "This approach needs to be changed, if RERA wants to keep up to the initial expectations, maintain a strong image and regain its reputation. Certainly, RERA will need to put in place serious measures and work on multiple areas, such as, increasing staff strength, change methods of listing and disposal, ensure adherence to strict timelines, to reduce the pending backlog," Galiya concluded.

The other side

MahaRERA spokesperson refused to make any comment.

Complainants speak

Prakash Korgaonkar, 48, a state government employee had booked a one-BHK-flat (450 sq ft) flat in an upcoming project in Kanjurmarg in the year 2014. The total cost of the flat was around Rs 1.02 crore and he had paid Rs 6.50 lakh (Rs 5.50 lakh as token and Rs 1 lakh as earnest money), the possession was anticipated by 2017 but for had got delayed. "I had no option but to withdraw from the project and I had to approach MahaRERA as the developer had refused a refund. And to my surprise, even after filing my complaint in 2022, I am yet to get a date of hearing before MahaRERA. I had visited the office in Bandra East and other than being told that the date of hearing will be informed, till date I haven't heard from them and I continue to stay in my small one-room house in Bhandup. At times I wonder, if I had paid the full amount to the developer, today I would have been on the streets," said Korgaonkar.

N P Singh, 67, a retired staff from a public sector undertaking is forced to stay at his parent's house in Gurugram, Haryana. He said "I had booked a 1050 sq ft house in 2009 on the seventh floor of a 15-storey building that was to come up in Goregaon East close to the Western Express Highway. I used the proceeds of selling my other property and paid the entire flat cost of R1.06 crore to the developer, who had even promised to pay me interest, as I was making an upfront down payment. However, the project got delayed and many flat buyers moved out as the developer was not able to get Occupation Certificate till date."

"My complaint is pending with MahaRERA and I am awaiting a hearing date, after I expressed my willingness to continue the complaint, rather than opting for conciliation with the developer. I have sought interest and compensation on delayed possession, even after paying the entire flat cost at one go. Unfortunately, neither I have got a hearing date nor I have been informed about the reason for not getting the date of hearing."

MahaRERA pendency statistics

Total cases since 2017 - 25,934
Total cases heard - 18,047
Pending cases - 7,887