The Supreme Court ruled that the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 does not preclude the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) or the Consumer Forum from entertaining any complaint under Consumer Protection (CP) Act.
The Court held that real estate allottees can approach Consumer Commission apart from authorities under the RERA and there is no provision under RERA which bars initiation of a consumer complaint under Consumer Protection Act. It was held that Section 79 of the RERA Act would not in any way bar the Commission or Forum under the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act to entertain any complaint on behalf of an allottee.
In M/s Imperia Structures Ltd. vs Anil Patni and another, the Court said: “The parliamentary intent is clear that a choice or discretion has been given to the allottee whether he wants to initiate proceedings under the Consumer Protection Act or under RERA”. Section 79 of the RERA Act bars the jurisdiction of a civil court to entertain any suit or proceeding concerning a matter that RERA can decide. However Consumer Commission is not a civil court under the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC).
Since the RERA law came into force, real estate companies have been saying that consumer courts do not have the right to hear home buyers’ complaints against them. The apex court disposed of the issue, stating that although this special law of 2016 has many provisions for the benefit of homebuyers, consumer courts still have the authority to entertain grievances of homebuyers if they fall under the definition of consumer under the law.