GURUGRAM: After eight years of delays in a Sohna residential project, the real estate regulator has instructed the developer to transfer possession of the unit to buyers and pay interest for the delay until the handover occurs. The Haryana Real Estate Regulatory Authority (HRera) also prohibited Godrej Highview from imposing any unapproved charges and provided any necessary relief.
The buyers — Ravi Kant Thakral, Minakshi Thakral, and Anuj Thakral — contended that their apartment in Sector 33 was supposed to be delivered by June 30, 2023. They purchased the flat in Tower T4 of the Godrej Nature Plus project in 2018, paying nearly ₹89.3 lakh of the total ₹1.2 crore, yet possession was not granted after the deadline.
HRera has now mandated Godrej Highview to deliver the residential unit in a livable condition upon securing the occupation certificate (OC). It pointed out that recurring issues such as construction bans due to environmental concerns and labor shortages do not excuse indefinite delays in meeting contractual commitments. The order was issued on July 9.
According to an HRera notification from the Covid-19 period, developers were provided a six-month extension, setting a new deadline of December 30, 2023. However, the buyers claimed that despite this extension, construction remained incomplete and the tower still lacked an OC, leading them to file a complaint with the regulator.
Godrej Highview disputed the claim, attributing delays to force majeure events, including the Covid-19 pandemic, labor shortages, pollution-control construction restrictions, and supply chain disruptions. The developer maintained that these factors were beyond their control and sought to exclude such periods when calculating delays.
“Force majeure,” a French term meaning “superior force,” is a contractual clause that frees parties from legal obligations when extraordinary unforeseen events—like natural disasters or government restrictions— hinder their ability to meet contractual terms or make performance impossible or impractical.
After reviewing the situation, HRera denied the request for additional extension. The authority determined that the six-month extension granted due to Covid-19 had already taken into account the force majeure events, concluding that further relief on these grounds was not justified.
The authority also addressed concerns about the parties involved in the complaint. It agreed that the landowner, associated entities, and certain officials were not signatories to the buyer agreement, leaving Godrej Highview as solely accountable for delivering the apartment.
HRera’s final ruling mandated that the developer provide possession immediately after obtaining the OC, ensure the apartment is delivered in a habitable condition, and compensate for delay in possession interest under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, from the due date until the actual handover date.
