In a stern warning to homebuyers across Maharashtra, the Maharashtra Real Estate Appellate Tribunal (MahaRERA Appellate Tribunal), Mumbai, has ruled that you cannot wait for the builder to finish their review petition before filing your own appeal against a MahaRERA order — even if the order only partly favours you.
On 29 January 2026, the Tribunal outright rejected a homebuyers’ plea to condone a massive 453-day delay in filing an appeal, declaring there is no legal principle that allows an aggrieved party to pause their statutory 60-day appeal timeline just because the opposite side (builder/promoter) has filed a review.
This ruling in Misc. Application No. 990 of 2025 (in Appeal No. AT06/01098/2025) — Rajeev Kumar & Pooja Gupta vs. Oberoi Realty Limited — serves as a critical wake-up call: act fast or lose your right to challenge unfavourable parts of a MahaRERA order forever.
The Case Background
The homebuyers (Rajeev Kumar and Pooja Gupta) had filed a complaint (CC006000000209901) before MahaRERA against Oberoi Realty Limited.
- On 30 April 2024, MahaRERA partly allowed their complaint (order uploaded on the MahaRERA website on 7 May 2024).
- The statutory limitation for filing an appeal under Section 44 of the RERA Act, 2016, is 60 days — which expired on 6 July 2024.
- The builder (Oberoi Realty) filed a review application against the same order. That review was finally dismissed by MahaRERA on 10 March 2025.
- The homebuyers waited for the review outcome and filed their appeal only on 3 October 2025 — 513 days after the order was uploaded, resulting in a 453-day delay beyond the 60-day limit.
They sought condonation of delay, arguing they waited bonafide for the review result because it directly impacted their rights and remedies.
Tribunal’s Strong Rejection of the Delay Plea
The Appellate Tribunal (Chairperson Justice S.S. Shinde and Member Shrikant M. Deshpande) dismissed the condonation application with clear reasoning:
- Builder’s review does NOT stop your appeal clock The Tribunal explicitly held:“There is no legal principle that requires or justifies waiting for the opposite party’s review petition to be decided before filing an appeal. The filing of review by the non-applicant does not create any hindrance and has no bearing on the applicants’ right or deadline to appeal. The applicants cannot claim that someone else’s litigation decision absolves them from complying with their own legal timelines.”
- Homebuyers’ own conduct showed they accepted the order While the builder’s review was pending, the homebuyers filed a non-compliance application before MahaRERA seeking enforcement of the very same order. On 10 February 2025, they obtained recovery warrants against the builder. This proved they were enforcing and accepting the order at that time — not aggrieved enough to challenge it.
- Even after review dismissal, another 7 months of unexplained delay Review dismissed: 10 March 2025 Appeal filed: 3 October 2025 No explanation was given for this additional long gap.
- Negligence & sleeping over rights The Tribunal called the homebuyers negligent and held they “slept over their rights”. They failed to explain each day’s delay — a mandatory requirement. Condonation is an exception, not a right.
Key Legal Principles Cited by the Tribunal
The order relied on Supreme Court rulings to drive home the strictness of limitation laws:
- Pathapati Subba Reddy (2024): Limitation is substantive law; inordinate delay + negligence = no condonation.
- State of Madhya Pradesh vs. Ramkumar Choudhary (2024): Sufficient cause means a real, adequate reason preventing timely filing — not casual waiting.
- Esha Bhattacharjee (2013): Negligence, lack of bona fides, and inordinate delay attract strict scrutiny.
- Bharat Barrel (1971): Law helps the vigilant, not those who sleep over their rights.
Final Outcome
- Delay condonation application rejected.
- Appeal dismissed as time-barred — never heard on merits.
- Parties to bear their own costs.
Urgent Advice for Every Homebuyer in RERA Cases
If you’ve partly won before MahaRERA (or any RERA authority) but want to challenge the unfavourable portions:
- File your appeal within 60 days from the date the order is uploaded on the authority’s website — regardless of whether the builder has filed (or is still pursuing) a review.
- Waiting for the builder’s review outcome is not legally valid and will almost certainly result in your appeal being thrown out as time-barred.
- If you’re satisfied → enforce aggressively (non-compliance, recovery warrants, execution).
- If dissatisfied → appeal immediately — don’t wait to see what the builder does.
- Limitation is strict; tribunals and courts are refusing condonation for negligence or casual delays.
This principle applies pan-India under RERA appellate rules. Don’t let a builder’s review petition silently extinguish your right to justice.
(Reference: MahaRERA Appellate Tribunal order dated 29.01.2026 in M.A. No. 990/2025 in Appeal AT06/01098/2025 – Rajeev Kumar & Pooja Gupta vs. Oberoi Realty Limited)
