Is it joint responsibility of flat buyer & builder to obtain completion certificate?

Debashis Sinha & Ors Vs R.N.R. Enterprise (Supreme Court Of India)

Is it the joint responsibility of the flat buyer and the builder to obtain the completion certificate from Kolkata Municipal Corporation and is buyer at fault if he moves in the flat without the CC and connected issues?

Interesting issues arose in this case when the bunch of flat buyers of housing complex at 1 Kailash Ghosh Road, Kolkata complained to the NCRDC under the Consumer Protection Act regarding non fulfilment of the promises by the builder to provide the promised services as well as not providing the CC and a compensation of Rs 1.80 crores was claimed. The NCRDC even though observing that the builder had adopted a casual approach and guilty of unfair trade practice, suspected that the purpose of complaint was to pressurise the respondent builder so as not to pay for extra services. It was also observed by NCRDC that both the buyer and builder should have ensured that they do not occupy the premises without CC.

On these facts the Supreme Court came down upon heavily on NCRDC for having kept the matter on hold as the judgement was passed almost after 10 months of hearing. Moreover, SC also scolded NCRDC for saying that the buyer ought to know what they were purchasing and the reasoning was found indefensible. Finally as far as CC is concerned, after noting the provisions, it was observed that therefore, evident on a conjoint reading of sections 403, 390, and 394 of the KMC Act that it is the obligation of the person intending to erect a building or to execute works to apply for completion certificate in terms of the rules framed thereunder. It is no part of the flat owner’s duty to apply for a completion certificate.

Of course, once a completion certificate is issued by the KMC upon conducting appropriate inspection and tests of the building that has since been erected, it would stand to reason that the same amounts to a certification that the building does not suffer from any violation of the building plan sanctioned for the purpose under section 390 of the KMC Act or that its constructional quality is not of the desired level for which it is unsafe for human habitation.

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