In a judgment passed on October 16, the Punjab and Haryana High Court clarified crucial aspect concerning the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA).

The judgment was pronounced by a Bench of Justice Dr. S Muralidhar and Justice Avneesh Jhingan. The judgment answered the following question;

Whether remedies under the RERA may be pursued along with those under the Consumer Protection Act?

Taking the aid of Section 88 of the RERA, the Bench stated that remedies under RERA and the Consumer Protection Act could be pursued simultaneously.

Section 88 of the RERA clarifies that its provisions would be in addition to, and not in derogation of, the provisions of other laws in force.

However, the Court sounded a note of caution on this question, particularly on the aspect of remedies being pursued before the AO. If the allottee withdrew his complaint before the Consumer Forum and presented before the AO, he would only be entitled to compensation/interest, as opposed to obtaining a refund/other reliefs.

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