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Jawala Real Estate Pvt. Ltd. v. Haresh

Civil Appeal · 2025 INSC 669Decided 13 May 2025
Miscellaneous Application No. 2426 of 2018 in Civil Appeal No. 3294 of 2018
Justice Vikram Nath · Justice Prasanna B. Varale

Background

In 2013, Jawala Real Estate (a Lodha group developer) allotted a Mumbai flat to Haresh, who paid an advance of about Rs. 92.5 lakh, but the developer cancelled the allotment when the balance was not paid. The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) set aside the cancellation and ordered the flat's sale agreement to be executed, but the developer, in violation of an interim order, secretly sold the original flat to someone else. After years of litigation, the Supreme Court in 2018 directed that an equivalent alternate flat be given to Haresh in its place, but the parties then spent years disputing exactly how much money Haresh still owed the developer, including interest, taxes, and various maintenance-related charges.

Decision Breakdown

In this final miscellaneous application, the Court examined the developer's claim for nearly Rs. 4.96 crore (mostly interest and other charges) against Haresh's admission of only a much smaller amount, and it fashioned an equitable one-time settlement rather than mechanically applying either side's calculation. It weighed the developer's serious misconduct (never producing requested documents, and unlawfully alienating the flat in defiance of a court stay) against the fact that Haresh had held onto the balance sale consideration for years without possession. Balancing these equities, the Court directed Haresh to pay a consolidated Rs. 1.40 crore-odd (covering admitted dues, agreed infrastructure/club charges, taxes, and a lump sum in lieu of the disputed interest claims) within eight weeks, with the sale deed to be executed within two months thereafter.

Lesson Learnt

Courts exercising their equitable jurisdiction to "do complete justice" will not let a party benefit from its own misconduct: a builder who defies a court's stay order and withholds information from a buyer cannot expect the courts to enforce its full financial claim against that buyer.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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