The Haryana Real Estate Regulatory Authority (HRERA), Panchkula, has awarded three months’ civil imprisonment to Jagath Chandra, working director of Ansal Properties and Infrastructure Ltd, for repeatedly defying the Authority’s orders in an execution petition pending since 2022.
Major Phalit Sharma (retd), Adjudicating Officer, HRERA, issued the order on August 17, directing that a warrant of arrest be issued against Chandra after the decree holder deposits the subsistence allowance as per procedure.
According to the order, Chandra neither appeared in person to submit her reply to a show-cause notice despite being given a third opportunity, nor appeared through video-conferencing. The Authority had considered her age and medical issues while granting the opportunity.
The order also noted that the Rs 5,000 cost imposed at the previous hearing had not been paid to the decree holder, despite a specific direction that payment of the cost would be a condition precedent for her to proceed with further proceedings in the execution case.
The Authority observed that while another opportunity might ordinarily have been granted in a fresh execution petition, it would not be justified in the present case as the matter had been pending since 2022 and neither the corporate entity nor its directors had been adhering to the orders passed by the Forum.
The Authority said there was a “common tendency” among judgment-debtor companies and their directors to adopt delay tactics and seek adjournments to postpone anticipated adverse action. It noted that directors sometimes avoided show-cause notices and sought exemptions through counsel instead of appearing before the Forum.
The Authority said such conduct compelled it to deal with litigants adopting delaying tactics with a “stern” approach.
It also said that while executing its orders, it had to balance the rights of the allottee and promoter, acting as decree holder and judgment debtor respectively. However, it said a sympathetic approach was warranted towards those abiding by the law rather than those attempting to mislead the Forum or harass the other party.
The Forum concluded that Chandra did not deserve sympathy in the matter.
It directed that she undergo three months’ civil imprisonment from the date of her arrest, unless the judgment-debtor company and its working directors satisfy the order under execution before completion of the sentence.
