MAPUSA
A Panaji court has directed the bailiff to break open the doors of the units at Prabhu Chambers, a building in Mapusa, and handover the possession of the units to the owners.The district and sessions court has also permitted the unit holders to take necessary steps to obtain occupancy certificates as the builder has failed to obtain them as directed by the State Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA).
“Since (the builder) Venkatesh Prabhu Moni has failed to provide free access to the unit holders, the bailiff is directed to remove, open any lock or bolt or even break open the doors of the units allotted to each unit holder,” the court said.
According to the court, the process of handover of units should be carried out on June 27.
The Mapusa Police Inspector has been directed to provide police protection to the bailiff while conducting the entire handover process.
Principal District Judge Sherin Paul issued the order based on the petition sent to the court by the member of RERA for execution of its order of March 17, 2022.
The district and sessions court in its order on June 5 had given time to the builder to handover the possession of the units to the owners and fixed the matter for hearing on June 12.
But the builder on June 12 filed an application seeking clarification of its June 5 order. The builder also submitted that the building’s temporary accommodation was seized by the mamlatdar along with the keys and sought the court’s direction to the mamlatdar to get access to the accommodation so that the keys could be handed over to the allotees.
“If the keys were lying in the temporary accommodation, then the builder could have sought permission from the High Court to remove the same, which he did not do. This shows that the builder is only trying to delay the handing over the possession to the unit holder,” the judge observed.
In December 2022, the State Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) court had ordered builder Prabhu Moni to pay Rs 4 crore compensation to the flat/unit owners for defective construction and failure to handover the units to the owners on time.
