RERA Authority Can Award Statutory Interest Even If Allottee Withdrawing From Project Claims Lower Rate: Kerala High Court
Case: NBCC India Ltd. & Anr. v. Joshy Varghese and connected matter
Coram: Justice A. Badharudeen
Case No.: MSA NO. 13 OF 2023 and MSA NO. 14 OF 2023
Court Observation: “…the legal position is no more res-integra and payment of interest by the promoter to the allottee or by the allottee to the promoter, as the case may be, shall be the State Bank of India’s Benchmark Prime Lending Rate plus two percent interest and shall be computed as simple interest as provided under Rule 18 of the Kerala Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Rules, 2018. However, payment of interest by the allottee to the promoter as provided under Section 19(7) of the Kerala Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, can be one in deviation from the Rule 18 and the interest can be reduced when mutually agreed to between the promoter and the allottee and not in any other manner”.
“When evaluating the intent behind the legislation, it has to be held that, when a party if fails to claim the statutory interest entitled, the same shall not be a ground to hold that the party who claimed lesser interest than the statutory interest is not entitled to get the statutory interest. In view of the matter, it is held that the statutory interest is liable to be granted by the Authority and claim for a lesser amount as interest shall not bar the allottee from getting the statutory interest”.
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