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The Haryana Real Estate Regulatory Authority (HRERA), Panchkula, has awarded three months' civil imprisonment to Jagath Chandra, working director of Ansal Properties and Infrastructure Ltd, for repeatedly defying the authority's orders in an execution petition pending since 2022. Major Phalit Sharma (retd), Adjudicating Officer, HRERA, issued the order on 17 August after Chandra neither appeared in person to respond to a show-cause notice, despite being given a third opportunity, nor appeared through video-conferencing. The order directs that a warrant of arrest be issued against her once the decree holder deposits the requisite subsistence allowance.
The Haryana Real Estate Regulatory Authority (HRERA), Panchkula, has awarded three months' civil imprisonment to Jagath Chandra, working director of Ansal Properties and Infrastructure Ltd, for repeatedly defying the authority's orders in an execution petition that has been pending since 2022.
Major Phalit Sharma (retd), Adjudicating Officer at HRERA, issued the order of civil imprisonment on 17 August. According to the order, Chandra neither appeared in person to submit her reply to a show-cause notice issued to her by the authority, despite being given a third opportunity in consideration of her age and medical issues, nor did she appear through video-conferencing.
The order stated that once the subsistence allowance is deposited by the decree holder as per procedure, a warrant of arrest is to be issued against Chandra, directing that she undergo three months' civil imprisonment from the date of her arrest until the sentence is completed, unless the judgment-debtor company and its working directors satisfy the order under execution before then.
The execution petition against which the civil imprisonment order has been passed relates to a decree that Ansal Properties and its directors have failed to satisfy despite repeated directions from the authority. HRERA's action reflects the regulator's continued use of coercive legal powers, including civil imprisonment, in cases where developers and their directors repeatedly ignore execution orders passed in favour of homebuyers or other decree holders.
The order underscores that directors of real estate companies may face personal consequences, including custodial measures, where regulatory orders are wilfully disobeyed, reinforcing a broader pattern of enforcement action taken by Haryana's real estate regulator against developers who fail to comply with directions issued in homebuyer and other execution proceedings.
Ansal Properties and Infrastructure Ltd has previously faced multiple regulatory actions before HRERA and other authorities, including earlier arrest warrants issued against its directors in separate matters concerning delayed possession and non-refund of homebuyer payments. The Punjab and Haryana High Court has also previously upheld interim penalty orders passed against the company by HRERA, ruling that the company's ongoing insolvency proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code do not exempt it from its statutory obligations under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act.
The latest order is expected to strengthen the position of decree holders pursuing similar recovery proceedings against the company, while adding to the reputational and legal pressure facing Ansal Properties and its senior leadership. Real estate sector observers have noted that stricter enforcement measures of this kind are intended to improve accountability among developers, particularly given long-standing complaints across the sector involving delayed possession, diversion of funds and prolonged litigation.
The order did not specify the total amount involved in the underlying execution petition against Ansal Properties, nor did it provide a timeline for when the warrant of arrest is expected to be issued following the decree holder's deposit of the subsistence allowance.
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