Builder told to pay 8 times the price of flat for delay in possession

The order was passed in tune with the present market rates,which have appreciated at least eight fold in a decade. Kulkarni had invested in a 1050-sq ft flat in one of the upcoming constructions in Kothrud in 2011. With possession promised the same year,he had cleared the initial payments,keeping a meagre Rs 70,000 pending to be paid on possession of the flat.

Kulkarni said in his complaint that he had made the payments as the builder had promised to hand over the flat well on time,only to realise later that it was a false claim. He said Wagh had gone ahead to sell the flat to a third party without abiding to an agreement they entered into. Wagh’s sole alibi was that Kulkarn had failed to pay a part of the deal before possession. The fine print of the pact carried a clause that a person failing to pay the price would be deemed a defaulter,which would allow the promoter to terminate the pact.

The complaint was first filed before the district consumer forum,which did not buy Wagh’s defence and ordered him to hand over the flat and pay an additional compensation for the mental agony Kulkarni suffered. Wagh later moved the state consumer forum,which upheld the earlier order.