The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that paying maintenance to elderly parents does not prevent them from seeking eviction of their children from occupied property. In a case filed by 90-year-old Gurdev Kaur, the court ordered her son, a government employee, to vacate her house. Despite paying maintenance, he refused to relinquish possession. The court emphasized that accepting maintenance does not prevent eviction. The ruling underscores the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act's aim to protect elderly rights. It prevents the misuse of maintenance payments and ensures vulnerable senior citizens' welfare, setting a precedent for similar cases.Read more

After months of bureaucratic back-and-forth between the BMC and Aarey Milk Colony over clearing debris dumped along Mithi River's banks in Aarey, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has intervened. The NGT has ordered for the formation of a committee, led by Maharashtra's chief secretary, to determine responsibility, relocation of debris, and funding. With BMC, MPCB, Aarey Milk Colony, and environmental experts onboard, the committee has a month to devise an action plan as monsoon approaches. The directive stems from Vanashakti's petition, highlighting environmental hazards. Urgent action is imperative before monsoon exacerbates the damage, underscoring the committee's crucial role in prioritizing ecological preservation.Read more

The Delhi bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) rejected an additional INR 328 crore tax demand against DLF Urban Pvt Ltd. DLF Urban had acquired land development rights from its parent company. The transaction was valued at INR 925 crore by real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield. However, the tax authorities felt the valuation was too high compared to the circle rates and imposed the additional tax. The ITAT overruled this and accepted Cushman & Wakefield's independent market valuation as a fair assessment of the transaction between related parties.Read more

MahaRERA has directed L&T Realty to refund the deposit amount paid by an NRI homebuyer from Abu Dhabi. The buyer had booked a flat in L&T's Emerald Isle - T10 project located at Kurla in Mumbai by paying INR 25 lakhs as 10.5% of the total cost of INR 2.29 crore. However, the transaction could not be completed after the bank subvention scheme was discontinued, leaving the buyer unable to pay further amounts. L&T cancelled the booking and offered to refund INR 17 lakhs after deducting over INR 8 lakhs. But MahaRERA ruled that L&T can only deduct 2% of the flats value from the deposit amount, maintaining consistency with its earlier order involving Godrej Properties.Read more

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) bench in Mumbai resolved the corporate insolvency proceedings against Mumbai Metro One Private Limited, which operates Mumbai's busiest metro line. This resolution followed a one-time debt settlement between the company and its lenders led by State Bank of India and IDBI Bank. The resolution could enable the Maharashtra government to acquire Reliance Infrastructure's majority stake in MMOPL. The Maharashtra cabinet had recently cleared a sum of INR 4000 crore for purchasing this majority stake.Read more

The Supreme Court will examine the validity of the Income Tax department's assessment of INR 33,000 crore in disputed taxes on Jaypee Infratech Ltd. (JIL). JIL has been going through insolvency proceedings since 2017 over its stalled housing projects that have left over 22,000 homebuyers without homes. In 2023, the National Company Law Tribunal approved a resolution plan by Suraksha Group to acquire JIL assets and complete projects. However, the Tax department notified the tax claim in August 2023, jeopardizing the resolution process. The Court will review the assessment order to help resolve issues stalling project completion for homebuyers even after years of litigation.Read more

Delhi-RERA Chairman Anand Kumar urges real estate developers to report delinquent customers to regulatory authorities, cautioning against the risk of investors defaulting on payments. Kumar highlighted the detrimental impact on project cash flow and warned of potential project stalls. He advocates for proactive measures, advising developers to approach RERA at the first sign of payment issues to prevent disputes. Emphasizing the significance of RERA provisions, Kumar underscored the authority's role in resolving conflicts and facilitating project progression. Issues such as the shortage of skilled workers and the necessity for expansion into non-metro areas were also discussed, echoing industry experts' insights on the sector's growth trajectory.Read more

The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is looking to introduce amendments to the KMC Act to impose stricter penalties on unlawful property developers, including making certain offenses non-bailable and punishable by up to 10 years in jail and fines up to INR 50,000. The KMC Mayor recently met with municipal officials to discuss the amendments. Once approved by the KMC House, the amendments would be sent to the state government for final approval. The proposed changes aim to deter unscrupulous promoters by clarifying the ambit of legal construction activities and introducing longer jail terms.Read more

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has rejected the insolvency plea filed by four homebuyers of Parsvnath Landmark Developers' project in Delhi called La Tropicana Khyber Pass. The plea was rejected on technical grounds as the number of petitioners was less than the threshold of 100 or 10% of total allottees, as required under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. While the total allottees in the project were 488, only four had filed the plea. The homebuyers had obtained an order from RERA directing the developer to refund the amount but it was not complied with. However, NCLAT did not consider them a separate class of financial creditors and upheld their status as allottees.Read more

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has set a deadline of May 25th for property tax payments totaling INR 3,195 crore from the last fiscal year. Failure to meet this deadline may result in penalties, typically a percentage of the outstanding amount. To assist over 5 million property owners, BMC has launched an awareness campaign and extended office hours. Separately, businesses failing to display Marathi or Devanagari signage will face double property tax charges from May 1st. Timely tax payments are crucial for BMC to provide essential services to Mumbai's 20 million residents, ensuring a better city for all.Read more