Builder gets 3 months in jail for contempt of court
A builder in Mumbai has been sentenced to three months in prison for contempt of court after failing to hand over two flats to buyers as promised.
MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Friday sentenced a city builder to three months imprisonment for contempt of court by failing to abide by assurances given to the court in 2014, to hand over two ready flats to their respective purchasers.
A single judge bench of justice Manish Pitale directed the builder, Pravin Vikkram Satra of Darshan Developers, to deposit an amount of ₹4 crore within six weeks if he wished to get the contempt purged. Satra deposited an amount of ₹1 crore with the court to show his bonafide and tendered an apology, the remaining ₹3 crore has to be paid.
The bench held the builder guilty of contempt, “as he has repeatedly violated solemn undertakings given to this Court and specific directions issued by the Court.”
According to the petition filed by Achyut Shridhar Godbole and Shobhna Godbole, they had booked two adjoining flats in 2014, in one of Satra’s projects near Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA).
They had agreed to purchase the two flats measuring 765 and 720 sq ft respectively on the sixth floor of the proposed building for a total consideration of ₹67 lakh and had paid ₹59 lakh to the builder.
In May 2008, when they enquired about the progress of the project, they were told that the builder was yet to receive height clearance from the Civil Aviation Department and that it may require six more months. In June 2011, the builder sent them a letter claiming that the NOC from the Civil Aviation department had been obtained and possession of the two flats would be handed over to them in a year.
However, when nothing happened for the next three years, in May 2014 Godbole’s issued a notice to the builder and eventually in August 2014 moved the high court, invoking an arbitration clause in their agreement with the builder.
In October 2014, the builder gave an undertaking before the court that he would complete the
balance work and hand over the possession of the flats to the buyers in 9 months.
The builder eventually completed the construction of the sixth-floor flats, but the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) refused to issue an occupancy certificate (OC) for the flats for want of height clearance from the Civil Aviation Department.
“The Respondent (Satra) repeatedly violated undertakings given to this court, as also specific directions issued by this court, showing scant regard for the majesty of this court and the Rule of law,” said justice Pitale while holding him guilty of contempt.