Moving SC Against Faulty Developers Won't Burn A Hole In Home Buyers' Pocket Anymore

Here comes as a major relief to the middle-class home buyers. They can now move the Supreme Court against a faulty developer at an affordable price. The Supreme Court has come up with the new scheme to fund the cost of litigations filed by grieved home buyers. This scheme will benefit the lower and middle-income group who earn less than Rs 60,000 per month or Rs 7.5 lakh per annum. 

About the scheme

From now on, home buyers that fall under the criteria set will only have to pay a service charge of Rs 500 to Supreme Court Middle Income Group Legal Aid Society and Rs 750 as a deposit in the contingent fund while submitting the case. This amount will be used to meet the expenditure of legalities and documentation.

Though the cases will be filed through advocates, the complainant can suggest the names of the lawyers from the panel for the case. However, the society will take the final decision on assigning of the case to a particular lawyer. Once shortlisted, the advocate will study the case and if found not fit for Supreme Court hearing, the amount deposited in the contingent fund will be reversed to the applicant through cheque.

During this entire process, if the advocate is found guilty of negligent behaviour or improper code of conduct, he will be required to return the fee received from the applicant under the scheme. While the society will not be responsible for the advocate's conduct, but, can be removed from the panel formed under the scheme.

This scheme is expected to bring down the total cost paid by a home buyer by 75-80 per cent. It is believed that this scheme can go a long way in times when middle-income group buyers are the worst-affected.

Impact on home buyers 

According to the media reports, today majority of the cases pending with consumer forum are related to real estate fraud, delays and developer's fault. With this initiative, it would be easier for any home buyer to step up and file a litigation against the wrongdoers. This will also make developers community cautious of their actions as duping the buyers won't be easy anymore.