Pioneer Urban Land And Infrastructure ... vs Govindan Raghavan on 2 April, 2019
17. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in a catena of judgements has laid down that in the absence of Completion Certificate the possession cannot be considered to be a legal possession, hence we do not seen any illegality or infirmity in the concurrent finding of both the fora below observing that there was deficiency of service on behalf of the Developer in belatedly handing over the possession of the subject flat and also in collecting excess amount of ₹2,85,000/-. The State Commission has arrived at ₹3,40,095/- as excess amount in addition to ₹1,96,000/- payable towards penalty. We find force in the contention of the party in person that ₹5 per sq. ft. per month cannot be considered to be equitable penalty, when the delay is for a longer period of time. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in Pioneer Urban Land & Infrastructure Ltd. Vs. Govindan Raghavan, II (2009) CPJ 34 (SC), has stated that such clauses in the Agreement are one sided as ₹5 per sq. ft. per month amounts to 2.18%, whereas if there is any delay in the Complainants making payments to the Developer, the interest charged is 24% as per Clause 2 (c) of the Agreement.