It’s been a long decade for 67-year-old Mohammed Lakdawala, four of which were spent in a legal battle against a builder for the possession of his lost Byculla house, but he has finally emerged victorious
Lakdawala outside La Vision. File pic
It’s been a long decade for 67-year-old Mohammed Lakdawala, four of which were spent in a legal battle against a builder for the possession of his lost Byculla house, but he has finally emerged victorious: He will soon have the key to his rightful house, flat 1401 in the redeveloped skyscraper La Vision.
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Redevelopment net
In 2006, Lakadwala moved out of his flat in Madraswala Building that went in for redevelopment under developer Salim Bilakhiya and in 2008, he even inked an agreement that promised him a flat admeasuring 421sqft at no cost on the 14th floor of the redeveloped structure.
However, as reported by mid-day on April 4, 2016, the builder had other plans and when the building was completed in 2012, he reneged on the agreement altogether. “He first asked me to pay R80 lakh to be handed over the new house and when I refused to comply, allotted the flat to another tenant, Karan Mundul,” Lakdawala alleged. In October 2012, Lakdawala filed a case against the builder and the consumer court passed the verdict on December 26, 2016.
Legal route
During the long-drawn legal battle, while he was advised to settle with the builder multiple times, Lakdawala kept up the pressure. “While fighting the case, many people advised us to settle, but I had faith in the system and finally, the verdict has come in our favour.”
Builder holds ground
Meanwhile, justifying his stance, the builder alleged that since he was a retired senior citizen, Lakdawala was free enough to drag the issue in court. “I was ready to adjust in all the ways, but I cannot run a business on sympathy. As per the contract, I had given two option to Lakdawala — either take a 1BHK flat or pay extra for 2 BHK which is more than 421 sq feet, but he refused both,” said Bilakhiya, adding that he had not read the verdict yet, and would be consulting his advocate on the next step.
Last year, Bilakhiya’s nephew Hussain had said, “Lakdawala was asking for the same house as in the agreement, while plans had changed and we were offering him a smaller flat of 380 sqft, which he refused.”
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