NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court today told real estate firm Parsvnath Developers that its officials would be held liable for contempt if cheques handed over by it to Union Minister Rajyavardan Singh Rathore are dishonoured.
The apex court was told that Rathore has refused to take possession of the flat he had booked in Parsvnath Developers's Exotica project in Gurugram as it was uninhabitable and the builder had handed him post-dated cheques to return the money.
It was told that Rathore and the builder had arrived at a settlement as per which the developer has handed him over five post-dated cheques in addition to some amount already paid to him.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud warned the developer that if the cheques were not honoured within the given time frame, its officials would be held liable for contempt.
"We direct that the cheques given to appellant (Rathore) shall be honoured within the time-frame failing which all those responsible for the company will be held liable for contempt," the bench said.
However, the developer assured the bench that the cheques would be honoured on time.
The court disposed of Rathore's plea with a liberty that he could revive the matter by filing an application if the cheques were not honoured.
During the hearing when the bench was told that Rathore has returned the flat and the builder has handed him postdated cheques to return the money, the court said "we will not keep this matter pending".
Rathore had earlier termed the flat given to him by the developer as uninhabitable, pointing out several deficiencies.
Thereafter, a two-member panel of lawyers was appointed by the court to look into Rathore's allegations that the flat given to him by the developer was uninhabitable.
The apex court had on December 14 last year asked Rathore to sit with the representatives of the builder and settle the dispute amicably. It had also asked the realty firm to remove deficiencies in the flat as pointed out by Rathore and the court-appointed panel, which had visited the site, and hand it over to the minister.
Rathore had booked the flat in 2006 by paying around Rs 70 lakh for it. The firm had promised to deliver the flat in 2008-09. The apex court had on October 21 last year directed Parsvnath Developers to hand over possession of the flat to Rathore in two days, saying he should not pay any additional amount to the builder.