ED raids offices, seize documents of Agrani Homes Pvt Ltd for cheating homebuyers

The authority had in November last year decided to proceed under the provisions of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 in order to complete the remaining work of the stuck-up project by the association of allottees as registration of the project granted by the authority had already lapsed on December 31, 2019

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday raided two locations of a prominent Patna builder against which the Real Estate Appellate Tribunal (REAT), Bihar, passed an order last week “for trapping prospective home buyers and diverting money collected from allottees of a particular project for acquiring other landed property or fresh project.”

(Representative Photos)

Raids by the central agency were carried out at the Kankarbagh and Danapur locations of Agrani Homes Pvt Ltd, said a senior official. “The officials of the ED are scanning the documents seized. The process is on,” he added.

REAT had earlier dismissed the appeal of Agrani Homes Pvt Ltd against the order of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA), Bihar, Patna.

The authority had in November last year decided to proceed under the provisions of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 in order to complete the remaining work of the stuck-up project by the association of allottees as registration of the project granted by the authority had already lapsed on December 31, 2019.

Further, directions were given to both respondent/complainant, as well as, the association of allottees to get the evaluation of the project done by a chartered valuer who will determine the estimated resale value of unsold partially constructed flats and refer the matter for consultation with the government so that long pending project is completed in the interest of allottees.

“The nature of dispute solely created by the unscrupulous promoter is exemplary in nature and perhaps to avoid such a situation, Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 was brought into existence by the Parliament. The promoter has gained notoriety in trapping prospective home buyers and money collected from allottees of a particular project and diverting it for acquiring other landed property or fresh project to trap others,” the bench of tribunal chairman justice (retd) Arun Kumar and Sunil Kumar Singh observed in the order.

The complaint was filed seeking possession of the flats by the buyers who had paid in advance to Agrani Homes Pvt Ltd. The project was to be completed with possession to be given to the allottees as per the agreement in December 2015, however, even after eight years since its commencement, the project still remains unfinished. The promoter never made any complaint to the authority regarding non-payment by allottees.

The tribunal rejected the promoters’ plea that RERA passed the order without considering the application for an extension of the period of registration on the plea that it was done after the expiry of the registration period, while the rule states it should be done three months prior to the registration expiry date along with requisite fee and documents supporting the cause of delay.

“In fact, the promoter is a defaulter in discharging the legal obligation to complete the project and the authority’s order is to protect the interest of the flat allottees,” the order from the tribunal said.

The tribunal cited section 8 of the Act, which empowers the authority, on expiration or revocation of registration, to take effective steps in consultation with the state government to get the project completed by “a selected agency, or a competent authority, or by the association of allottees” and the first right of refusal for carrying out remaining development work lies with the association of allottees.

The tribunal also criticised RERA for “its lackadaisical attitude in granting registration in a mechanical manner without ascertaining whether the project was eligible for registration or not, as at the time of making application for registration of the project on April 30, 2018, the validity of map plan granted by the competent authority had lapsed in the year 2015”.

The order is significant as several buyers in Patna have been suffering due to delays and the whimsical attitude of builders and promoters. “I am unable to move into my flat at Parasnath Complex, despite registration over a year ago as my builder, Maa Tara Constructions and Developers, has not completed the project as promised at the time of the agreement,” said Kameshwar Jha, vice chairman of the State Higher Education Council (SHEC).