Expressing
displeasure over the functioning of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority
(Rera), the Supreme Court on Friday said it has become a rehabilitation centre
for former bureaucrats to hold positions after retirement.
“We
do not want to speak about Rera. It has become a rehabilitation centre for
former bureaucrats who have frustrated the entire scheme of the Act,” a Bench
of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan said.
The
court was hearing an appeal filed against a Delhi High Court judgment that
dismissed pleas seeking directions to banks and financial institutions to
refrain from charging pre-EMIs or full EMIs from the petitioners.
The Real Estate (Regulation and
Development) Act, 2016, popularly known as Rera, was enacted to bring about
much-needed reform in India’s real estate sector.
The main objective of Rera is to
encourage greater transparency, citizen-centricity, accountability, and
financial discipline, thus empowering home buyers and boosting the economy.
The Delhi High Court had
dismissed many home purchasers' petitions asking banks and financial
institutions not to impose EMIs till real estate developers handover possession
of their particular units.
The petitioners have alternative
remedies under several statutes, including the Consumer Protection Act, the
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, and the Real Estate Regulation and Development
Act, according to Judge Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav, who refused to hear the writ
petitions.
Supertech Urban House Buyers
Association (SUHA) Foundation and other similarly situated people who have
obtained home loans from banks and financial institutions under the subvention
plan were among the petitioners before the court.