The Delhi High Court has asked National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC) to pay compensation of Rs 5 lakh to a home buyer for causing “extreme mental agony” after it failed to deliver possession of his flat at ‘NBCC Green View Apartments’ in Gurugram.
The high court also ordered NBCC to refund over Rs 76 lakh along with interest to the homebuyer for the flat bought it 2012.
The high court observed that purchasing a house is one of the most significant investments an individual or a family makes in their lifetime, and it often involves years of savings, meticulous planning and emotional investment.
It said compensating wronged homebuyers is not just a matter of rectifying past injustices but also about deterring future misconduct.
The petitioner, a retired government employee, said he purchased the flat in ‘NBCC Green View Apartments’, a project launched in 2012 for Gurugram, but in spite of paying the entire sale price of over Rs 76 lakh in 2017, the unit was never handed over to him.
The court observed that the petitioner has been deprived of his money for the last 10 years and “structurally defective houses” have been constructed, leaving him in a complete lurch, and NBCC should be “dealt with severely” for reluctance to pay interest on the amount and ensuring the petitioner’s rehabilitation.
“This is a classic case of extreme hardships suffered by a home buyer who has been made to run from pillar to post after having spent his entire life savings... Respondent (NBCC) has been exceedingly unfair in treating the home buyers in this manner,” the court observed.
“The emotional toll of living in limbo, uncertain about the future of their investment and the stability of their living arrangements cannot be understated. Compensating wronged homebuyers is not just a matter of rectifying past injustices but also about deterring future misconduct,” the court observed in it May 8 order.
