In Upendra Choudhury v. Bulandshahar Development Authority and Others, REED 2021 SC 02546, a Division Bench of the Hon'ble Supreme Court composed of Justices Dr. Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud and M. R. Shah held that proceedings under Article 32 of the Constitution by a homebuyer seeking specific relief in relation to a real estate project cannot be entertained. The Supreme Court further noted that the homebuyers would have an effective remedy under specific statutory provisions, including the Consumer Protection Act of 1986 and its successor legislation (Consumer Protection Act), the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act of 2016 (RERA), and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code of 2016 (IBC).
In the instant case titled Upendra Choudhury v. Bulandshahar Development Authority.The issues raised for clarification before the Supreme Court was:
Whether the present filing could be entertained under Article 32?
With regard to this issue, all buyers couldn't request a cancellation and refund of consideration, the court said. In addition to this, the petitioner asked for the creation of a committee headed by a retired judge of this court to oversee developer projects as one of the reliefs in support of preliminary relief.
The Court further noted that, in order to accept a petition of this sort, the court would have to oversee a construction project on a daily basis. With regard to submitting a complaint and conducting an appropriate inquiry in accordance with the law, there were explicit legislative provisions holding fields and suitable provisions created in legislation.
The Court categorically stated that,
“Therefore, in view of the statutory framework, both in terms of civil and criminal law and procedure and fact that there was no reason to assume that the petitioner represented a class, petition under Article 32 could not have been entertained."
For the grounds listed above, the Court decided not to consider the petition submitted in accordance with Article 32. However, the petitioner was given the freedom to make use of the legal options open to him under the pertinent legislative provisions.