HC Rejects Navi Mumbai Builder’s Bail Plea, Says Cheating is Serious Offence
Mumbai: Cheating people by promising them flats is a serious offence that affects society, the Bombay high court ruled while rejecting a Navi Mumbai builder’s plea for pre-arrest bail. Anil Nanaware of Sai Enterprises had sought anticipatory bail after he was booked for cheating around 69 flat buyers who had booked apartments in a residential project in Khandeshwar that was subsequently abandoned.
“Prima facie, the applicant dishonestly induced persons to book apartments when he (did not have) valid authority or permission to develop. The applicant secured huge amounts from the public at large,” said Justice Anant Badar. “The offence has serious repercussions on society as well as public at large. He breached the trust reposed in him by his customers.
This court has noticed several such instances of cheating by builders,” the judge added. Nanaware offered to repay the amount collected from the flat buyers but the HC said that it was a different issue. “Considering the nature of offence and involvement of the interest of many people, preference cannot be granted to the personal liberty of (Nanaware). That apart, his custodial interrogation is necessary,” the judge said.
Nanaware had floated a project, Parth Residency, and had collected money from prospective flat buyers. CIDCO issued a notice to the firm in 2015, ordering it to stop construction, as no permission was obtained under the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act, so construction was abandoned. An HC bench in March 2015 gave the builder a month to obtain permission from CIDCO. But the approvals did not come through and earlier this year a flat buyer lodged a complaint with the Khandeshar police. Nanaware claimed he had obtained permission from the gram panchayat, fire department and airport authority.
The HC, however, pointed out that despite no approval to construct the building, as per the complaint, he had gone ahead and sold the flats.
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