The Allahabad High Court has dismissed a developer's appeal against a RERA Appellate Tribunal order directing it to pay a homebuyer interest for years of delayed possession, rejecting the argument that the buyer's eventual acceptance of possession and the passage of time since extinguished the right to claim that interest.
The homebuyer had booked a flat with Antriksh Developers and Promoters Pvt. Ltd. in 2010, with possession promised by November 2012. The developer did not offer possession until May 2017, and even then without an occupancy certificate. On the buyer's complaint, the RERA Appellate Tribunal directed the developer to pay interest on the amount deposited for the entire delay period from December 2012 to May 2017, calculated at 1% above the prevailing MCLR. The developer challenged that direction before the Allahabad High Court, arguing that the buyer's subsequent acceptance of possession, and the years that had elapsed since, meant the interest claim could no longer be pursued.
Justice Prashant Kumar rejected that argument and dismissed the developer's appeal. The Court held that a homebuyer accepting delayed possession, often under practical pressure to take occupation of a home already paid for, does not thereby waive the separate statutory right to claim interest for the period of delay, and that RERA prescribes no specific limitation period cutting off such an interest claim once possession has been taken. The Tribunal's interest award for the full December 2012 to May 2017 period was accordingly upheld.