News & Media 13th Apr 2026
Our Partner, Heena Chheda a shares his insight in ET Wealth, “Builder fraud: Bombay HC denies society membership to homebuyer who was sold refuge area as residential flats .”
She highlighted that the Bombay High Court quashed orders directing two cooperative housing societies in Bhandup to admit certain apartment purchasers as members. The judgment, however, raises important legal questions. By making factual determinations in writ jurisdiction declaring the premises to be refuge areas despite registered agreements and an Occupancy Certificate plan showing them as flats, the Court arguably entered territory usually reserved for civil courts. The distinction between a “non-existent flat” and an “unauthorised flat” is not always clear-cut in practice, potentially allowing societies to
challenge legitimate purchasers by claiming a flat “does not exist.”
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