HC Upholds UP-RERA Relief for Gaur City Centre Shop Buyers

• High Court rejects Gaursons’ four appeals over unexplained delays

• Buyers can now enforce UP-RERA orders for possession and compensation

• Court terms developer’s conduct “careless and reckless”

Noida: In a significant relief for shop buyers at Gaur City Centre, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has dismissed four appeals filed by Gaursons Hi-Tech Infrastructure, refusing to interfere with earlier orders passed by UP-RERA and the Real Estate Appellate Tribunal (REAT).

With the High Court declining to condone repeated delays by the developer, buyers are now free to proceed with execution of the RERA orders, bringing long-pending disputes closer to resolution.

The cases stem from complaints filed by allottees who had booked commercial units at Gaur City Centre in Sector 4, Greater Noida West. Under their agreements, buyers paid around 30–50% of the total amount upfront, with the remaining payments linked to possession.

When possession was not offered within the promised timelines, the buyers approached UP-RERA between 2021 and 2022. Following spot inspections, RERA found construction incomplete and directed Gaursons to finish the project as per agreements, obtain occupancy certificates, hand over possession, execute sale deeds, and pay interest for delayed delivery, subject to adjustment of any buyer dues.

Gaursons challenged these directions before REAT in Lucknow. However, the tribunal dismissed each appeal on grounds of delay, with filing delays ranging from 79 to 224 days. The REAT also noted non-compliance with the mandatory pre-deposit requirement under the RERA Act and rejected the developer’s claim that malware-related issues prevented access to documents, pointing out that key records were available on the RERA portal. These dismissals were issued during October and November 2024.

The developer then approached the Allahabad High Court, again with delayed filings.

In judgments delivered on January 21, Justice Prashant Kumar refused to grant any relief, observing that limitation cannot be relaxed casually and that courts must distinguish between genuine explanations and mere excuses. Relying on several Supreme Court rulings, the court said repeated and unexplained delays cannot be overlooked.

The High Court noted that Gaursons failed to demonstrate reasonable diligence both before REAT and the High Court, describing the explanations for delay as “bald, unsupported and unsatisfactory,” and, in some instances, reflecting a “careless and reckless” approach. The court added that such conduct disentitles a litigant from discretionary relief.

With the dismissal of all four appeals as time-barred, the appellate route now stands closed, effectively removing the legal hurdle for buyers seeking enforcement of UP-RERA directions.

Responding to the ruling, a Gaursons spokesperson said the company had challenged the REAT orders mainly over the interpretation of “deemed completion.” According to the developer, all statutory requirements were met and mandatory no-objection certificates were obtained, which, it claims, satisfies the conditions for deemed occupancy under applicable bylaws and UP-RERA’s 2019 notification.

On the issue of delays, the company maintained that filings were held up due to unforeseen technical problems in retrieving electronic data and asserted that the delay was unintentional.

For affected buyers, however, the High Court’s decision brings renewed momentum, allowing them to move ahead with execution proceedings to seek possession, registration, and compensation for delayed delivery.