February 25, 2026 : The Chhattisgarh Real Estate Appellate Tribunal (REAT), Raipur, has set aside an order passed by the Chhattisgarh Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) in a housing dispute involving a flat in Naya Raipur and directed a fresh hearing of the matter within 45 days.
The order was passed on February 25, 2026, by the Tribunal in Appeal No. 377/2026. The bench comprised Chairman Justice Sharad Kumar Gupta and Member Arvind Singh Cheema.
The appeal was filed by Smt. Pooja Tuteja against the Chief Executive Officer and the Sampada Adhikari of the Chhattisgarh Housing Board. She had challenged a RERA order dated December 3, 2025, which directed the respondents to hand over possession of Flat No. BL-32/609 on the 6th floor in Sector 16, Naya Raipur, along with a possession certificate within 45 days. RERA had also ordered payment of interest at 11.10 percent per annum on Rs. 8,50,000 from November 2022 to November 2025, amounting to Rs. 2,83,000.
According to the case record, the flat was originally allotted to the appellant on June 25, 2016, after she deposited Rs. 30,000 under the PMAY scheme. She subsequently deposited around Rs. 7.20 lakh and also received a subsidy of Rs. 55,000. The total cost of the flat was stated to be Rs. 9.5 lakh, and she claimed to have paid Rs. 8.5 lakh in total. The appellant argued that the Housing Board had agreed to hand over possession within three and a half years but failed to do so.
On the other hand, the respondents contended that the complaint was not maintainable because the appellant had already approached the Permanent Lok Adalat, where the matter was pending. They also stated that alternative vacant flats in Blocks 32 and 33 of Sector 16 had been offered to her in 2019 and 2022, but she did not give consent.
Before the Tribunal, the appellant argued that RERA had committed an error in calculating interest by overlooking the actual dates on which deposits were made. A significant issue noted by the Tribunal was that RERA had granted relief in respect of Flat No. BL-32/609, whereas the appellant had not specifically sought possession of that flat in her complaint. The Tribunal also observed that RERA had not addressed the objection regarding the pending proceedings before the Permanent Lok Adalat.
After examining the record, the Tribunal concluded that a retrial was necessary. It set aside the impugned order and remanded the matter back to RERA with directions to consider all relevant facts and objections and decide the case afresh in accordance with law, preferably within 45 days from receipt of the order.
The Tribunal directed both parties to appear before RERA on March 6, 2026. It further ordered that each party would bear its own costs and fixed advocate fees at Rs. 4,000 for each side.
The decision underscores the importance of precise pleadings and proper adjudication of maintainability objections in real estate disputes under the RERA framework.
Case Reference : Appeal No. 377/2026, Smt. Pooja Tuteja vs. Chief Executive Officer and Another; Counsels: For the Appellant/Complainant/Allottee – Mr. Mukesh Virani, Advocate; For the Respondents/Promoters – Mr. Abhishek Jha, Advocate.
