The Brave Pedestrian

Mumbai, 5th Feb, 2018: Lately, a hotly debated topic is: Does Xander have a legally enforceable lien on the project/land of Serenity? Some Serenity flat-buyers are arguing that Bhagtani should have sought the consent of two-thirds of the flat-buyers of Serenity. They claim that RERA and MOFA required Bhagtani to seek the consent of the allottees, and since that never happened, Xander has no claim. To this, they add that they booked their flats first, and Serenity was mortgaged to Xander at a later date, in mid-2015. And from this, they conclude that they have a right and Xander has no right over the project land. Before we get analyze the merits of this argument, let us take a step back and understand some crucial facts about the judiciary: Civil courts are NOT forums for settling whether you have a certain right or not. You can't get very far if you go to a court and say, "This is my right, that is not his right!" Civil courts, including quasi-judicial bodies suc...

Mumbai, 30 th August, 2016: To recover its Rs 100 crore project loan to RNA Exotica before it becomes a bad debt like BOI's loan and SBI's loan , Axis Bank is pressing the panic-button and threatening flat-buyers to immediately pre-pay large amounts (like Rs 25-50 lakh), forgetting about slab-completion schedules. Axis Bank has recently written strangely worded letters to RNA's Skyline Construction Co in respect of each and every flat ( see specimen ), saying that unless the entire remaining amount of the flat's consideration is remitted to its designated account, RNA Corp will not be allowed to sell the said flat to the name of the buyer. These letters, which are supposedly "No Objection Certificates" for the sale of flats to the purchasers, are being lovingly forwarded by RNA Corp to the individual flat-buyers with a tiny email ( see example ). Axis Bank's relayed letter is like holding a gun to the heads of helpless flat-buyers and saying: "Pa...

19 th June, 2016, Mumbai: Welcome to RNA Exotica, a premium building project by Skyline Construction Co, where deadlines keep slipping and the number of flats to be constructed keeps shrinking year after year. The number of flats to be constructed has dropped by at least 80 since March 2011, and project completion date has slipped by six years. (Yes, you read that right -- six whole years!) Further shrinkage and slippage is definitely forecast. Also, visible manipulation of official facts and figures should make investors wonder what is going on behind the scenes.  I m age: http://bit.ly/1W6IFnf The gory details: In Axis Bank's first mortgage deed registered in March 2011, RNA Exotica's project completion date was mentioned as September 2012 . Given the amount of work that had to be completed within 18 months by Skyline Construction Co, the deadline was obviously a bare-faced lie. Axis Bank's first loan to RNA's Skyline Construction Co for...