Asif Khan's police complaint is causing PANIC IN RUNWAL GROUP? Can they legally forfeit Rs 70 lakh?

Описание: Asif Khan has filed a police complaint against Runwal Group for taking away Rs 70 lakh from him without giving him anything in return. The main points are:

"... complaint seeking FIR against a company called “Horizon Projects Pvt Limited” (having its registered address at Runwal & Omkar Esquire, 5th floor, off Eastern Express Highway, Opp Sion Chunabhatti signal, Sion, Mumbai 400044), and all the persons responsible for running the company. The persons directly accused in the matter are the company owner Mr Sandeep Runwal, Mr Subodh Runwal & Mr Subhash Runwal - Director of Runwal Group, and the directors of Horizon Projects Pvt Limited, namely Mr Sanjay Ugam Raj Daga, Ms Pallavi Matkari and Mr Mahesh Ramdas Iyer.

Sir, in a nutshell, the criminal offenses are:

1. CHEATING & FRAUD: Between 2014 and 2018, the accused unlawfully induced me to transfer a total amount of Rs.70,20,820/- (Rupees seventy lakhs, twenty thousand, eight hundred and twenty) as advance or deposit towards two flats that were offered for sale to me at Runwal My City (Flats no 2405 & 2406 in Tower No-A3), which is a township project located at Kalyan Shilphata Road, Dombivli. The total cost of the two flats is Rs 83,81,030/- (Please Refer Exhibit C) . I booked these flats based on the advertisements, brochures, representations and promises made by the accused, and I made a total payment of Rs 70.20 lakhs. In July 2018, I refused to pay any further amount until and unless I was allowed to visit the site and see the progress of the under-construction flats. But still they did not allow me to inspect the project site, and so I stopped paying. Finally, on 22nd January, 2021, they wrote a letter to me stating that the entire amount that I had paid them had been forfeited as per the terms of the application form, and therefore I had no further claim on the flat. I PAID RUNWAL RS. 70.20 LAKHS, AND THEY DID NOT GIVE ME A FLAT, OR A SINGLE ITEM OF GOODS OR SERVICES, AND THEY DID NOT REFUND A SINGLE RUPEE TO ME. THEY TOOK AWAY ALL MY MONEY WITHOUT EVEN ENTERING INTO ANY AGREEMENT WITH ME.

The behavior of the accused described above falls squarely into the definition of Cheating u/s 415 of IPC. I quote: “415. Cheating.—Whoever, by deceiving any person, fraudulently or dishonestly induces the person so deceived to deliver any proper­ty to any person, or to consent that any person shall retain any property, or intentionally induces the person so deceived to do or omit to do anything which he would not do or omit if he were not so deceived, and which act or omission causes or is likely to cause damage or harm to that person in body, mind, reputation or property, is said to cheat”.

2. EXTORTION. The accused’s unlawful efforts to make me pay them the balance amount of Rs 1084470/- lakhs against Flat No – 2405 2BHK and Rs. 275741/- lakhs against Flat No-2406 1BHK of Tower No- A3, with 18% interest UNDER THE THREAT OF FORFEITING THE AMOUNT OF Rs.70,20,820/-lakhs that I previously paid them, without having the necessary legal authority to do so, amounts to extortion (IPC Section 383).

3. MISAPPROPRIATION. The accused have taken my entire amount of Rs 70.20 lakhs and made it disappear into their company accounts. That amount belonging to me is now no longer available to me for purchase of a flat. This action of the accused amounts to the offence of misappropriation (IPC section 403).

4. VIOLATION OF MOFA section 4(1): The above amount was demanded by the accused (and paid by me) without executing Registered Agreement i.e. in blatant violation of Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act (MOFA) 1963, section 4(1). Section 4(1) makes it a punishable offence for the promoter to accept more than 20 percent of the cost of the flat until and unless registered agreement has been executed.

5. VIOLATION OF MOFA SECTION 5: MOFA section 5 states that the amounts paid by me are deposits or advances towards flat purchase, and they have to be held in trust on my behalf in a separate bank account. This amount however has been diverted by the accused into some other account, so that it is no longer available for refunding me.

Contravention of Sections 4 and 5 of MOFA carry the punishment of three to five years; hence, these are cognizable offences.

1. Point 4 of the “Terms and conditions” states that “In any event, the promoter can dispose of the flat in any manner whatsoever without any reference to me/us at any time prior to a registered agreement for sale being entered into”. Further, point 5 states that, “on the basis of this application, there is no deemed allotment unless allotment is confirmed by the promoter in writing through its duly authorized signatory.”

ISSUED IN PUBLIC INTEREST BY
Krishnaraj Rao
9821588114 and 8169471229
[email protected]
Twitter @BravePedestrian
Mumbai