Advocate Abhiraaj Sanjeev Kulkarni

Questions Answered by Advocate Abhiraaj Sanjeev Kulkarni

Q: Two different dates mentioned for possession what should be considered

I have booked flat in @80 percent complete building, builder is ready to give delivery date as Mar-17 on his letter head but the agreement clause says 3 years , agreement yet to be registered, Is anything given on builder's letterhead is legal document? pl. advice

Advocate Abhiraaj Sanjeev Kulkarni answered
Dear Querist,If Builder is providing an earlier possession date than Agreement, then he is revising the terms of the contract and as such the revised date should prevail. However if the agreement is registered post such letter, it would in effect postphone the date so revised (depending on the terms of the agreement). Do check if the clause reads as "3 years" and not "Upto 3 years" because upto 3 years can also mean anytime from executing the agreement or from a specified date (as the case maybe) upto 3 years.However irrespective of the date in agreement, in reality the possession may be postphoned or preponed due to business exigencies and as long as such is reasonable and acceptable to both the parties it will not be an issue. For eg. Generally the agreement entered with the construction company / developer is one sided and mostly favouring the builder however the builder will not always enforce the stringent clauses to his benefit and if at all he does so, such clauses are struck down by the Consumer Court in case of dispute. So in essence as a thumb rule what is reasonable shall prevail over that which is onerous or totally one sided.However you need to understand that preponing the possession date might mean you have to pay the full price of the flat immediately unlike the future payment slabs stipulated in your agreement.

Q: Clarification on Crpc section 31

Respected sir, Sir, I am a law student from mumbai,facing a difficulty in analysing a provision in crpc section 31. sir can u please help me out. The doubt is that that there are two limitations prescribed in section 31: 1). The maximum sentence the judge can give is 14 years being the ceiling limit 2). The other limitation is that the aggregate of sentence cannot be twice the sentence which could be inflicted by a magistrate for single offence. Sir I am facing a problem to intereprete the second limitation of section 31. Sir can you please help me out about how do I analyse the second limtation of section 31 crpc with an example if possible??? Sir, I did some research but couldnt find the satisfactory answer. This is mainly to clear my concept. Hope you would help me with this issue... Warm Regards... 

Advocate Abhiraaj Sanjeev Kulkarni answered
Dear Student,A brilliant analysis with example by an authority none other than Honble Justice Ramkumar of Kerala HC at livelaw.com. Do search for it and go through the article. Sincerely hope it will satisfy your question.

Q: Can i file consumer complaint against builder for poor service

i have purchased the flatat nallasopara from 2nd owner.I am 3rd owner but still builder has not handed over he society and tacking care of water supply and othe building issue. My complains are 1) talking maintenance but lift is not working 2) poor construction quality 3) cut water suppy if maintenace is not paid on time. can i fight against builder for above complain. please suggest

Advocate Abhiraaj Sanjeev Kulkarni answered
Dear Querist,Technically yes, you can but there are a lot of practical hurdles such as the assumption that you did the due diligence before buying the property, the use of the apartment by previous owners and the wear and tear it may have caused to it, have any other flat owners filed complaint against the builder or is it you alone, age of the building i.e. how old is the construction ( if its very old the chances of you suceeding may thus get narrower).Have the flat owners formed Society or Apartment, you may consider aporoaching the consumer forum as an association of flat owners rather than singly either to compel the builder to form a Co Op Soc or Apartment in case such it not formed along with other issues.

Q: Token Money forfeited by seller for purchase of flat

I have givn token amount to an agent via cheque (in the name of owner) for a flat in mumbai. Owner is in UAE. I cancelled the deal within 3 days of giving token money by intimating over watsapp chat. However no MOU/contract was signed for same regarding payment schedule or recieving of token money..I am asking for the refund for the same after deducting some reasonable amount..Owner refuesed to pay any amount back as deal was cancelled by me.(buyer ) side hence no refund was applicable.. 

Advocate Abhiraaj Sanjeev Kulkarni answered
Dear Querist,You need to contemplate whether the token amount is so substantial so as to pursue legal recourse against the prospective seller or whether the amount is too meagre to let go.If no Mou is signed between you and the seller and since the payment was made by cheque you can very well send a legal notice for recovery to both the agent and the prospective seller. But you also need to ensure that there was no understanding or agreement for forfeiture of token money either in sms, email or whatsapp exchange between you and the other party i.e. seller or agent.If there is no written agreement whatsoever between you and the prospective seller then you can pursue suit for legal recovery against the seller and if the amount is substantial then you can file a suit for summary recovery of money basis the cheque issued by you. You can also file cheating compliant in police station against seller or grievance in the consumer court against the estate agent.

Q: Lost business due to citibank can i file a case against them

Working time of Citibank India for any branch is 10 AM to 04 AM on 1st & 3rd Saturday. I had been waiting outside bank in a que since 03:30 PM. We waited until 04:10 PM and a bank official came and said we can't serve you as time is over. As long as I know, If I am withing given cut-off time, I had to be served. At 04:20 PM finally I called for Branch Manager and he came around 04:20 PM and said RBI Cut-off is until 04:PM however even by 04:20 PM there were around 15-17 people inside and transactions were happening. I had to pay money on Sunday to a vendor since I have business and I have lost contract for this month as I couldn't pay money. Can I sue Citi bank in this scenario?

Advocate Abhiraaj Sanjeev Kulkarni answered
Dear Querist,What happened with you is very unfortunate. However the situation you are in is tricky. I would advise you against suing the bank in such scenario.Suing for indirect losses or loss of business opportunity is tough and subject to reasonable amount. In such cases you have to prove that such negligence or breach of promise or deficiency in services lead to immediate loss to you and that you were extremely diligent in your part of performance. In this instance the Bank also has availed other alternate modes of payment to you which could have been exercised by you.You always have the option to pay by cheque or funds transfer. Paying by cash is not always the only option available to you. If you have a business account / current account then the ATM allows you to withdraw more cash than the standard withdrawal limit. Banks also offer Merchants / Traders / Business Establishments with Privileged Banking Facilities. Moreso if you knew such payment to Vendor by cash is so important, then it would have been advisable to stay in the queue well in advance rather than just a few minutes or half an hour before the cut off time. Assuming Bank has been servicing customers after cut-off time such could have been special cases viz. Senior Citizens, those in the line for reasons other than withdrawal.