Mumbai: Dadar society wants ED to clear dues of Rs 49 lakh on Mehul Choksi’s flats

A plush housing society in Dadar East has written to the Enforcement Directorate to release pending maintenance of Rs 49 lakh against two seized flats belonging to fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi The 4BHK apartments are on the 37th floor of Springs Tower and were bought by Choksi in 2016 from a Bollywood actor The dues are from July 2016 while Choksi fled India in January 2018In its letter dated August 24 to the ED the society said Choski owns flats 3701 and 3702 with a combined area of 5377 sqft and balconies spreading over 1500 sq ft ldquoHe Choksi has not paid any Common Area Maintenance Charges since the time he purchased the said flats July 2016 from the earlier owner which is applicable to all the flat owners as per the society bye laws of Springs TowerSince his flats are sealed due to various recoveries from banks we are unable to recover the dues pertaining to the above said flat and the total alleged outstanding principal amount of Common Area Maintenance charges till date is R4902928rdquo reads the letter signed by Ajay Panicker president of Springs Condominium Association of Apartment OwnersAjay Panicker president Springs Condominium Association of Apartment OwnersThe letter says 12 per cent interest per annum is applicable till the amount is cleared ldquoDue to the huge amount of outstanding we are having a huge deficit in terms of finance in maintaining the Common Areas of Springs Towerrdquo The letter ends with a request to release at least the principal outstanding amount ED had seized the flats in 2019Sources from the real estate industry said the society is home to many corporate head honchos directors and noted industrialists It is alleged that some wellknown names have also not been clearing their maintenance dues The 41storey building is now undergoing major repairsWhen contacted Panicker said ldquoChoksi has two apartments in our Springs Tower building He and his family were residing in our building till January 2018 One fine morning they all disappeared and fled India leaving our building management with the huge burden of pending maintenance dues The dues against these two flats have crossed Rs 49 lakhrdquoPanicker said few banks have pasted recovery notices on the doors of the flats ldquoThe society charges approximately Rs 20 per sq feet towards monthly maintenance charges excluding BMC property tax of approximately Rs 2 lakh per flat which also remains unpaid along with the dues that Choksi owes to the societyrdquoHe said they will move court if ED does clear the dues ldquoFor this purpose we have now served a notice on ED As the president of Springs Tower I am under pressure to start the recovery action against Choksi and EDrdquo explained PanickerlsquoIf PMLA applicable govt has the first rightrsquoUnder the Prevention of Money Laundering Act PMLA senior criminal lawyer Dinesh Tiwari the properties will be liable to be forfeited to the government only if they were purchased with the proceeds of a crime In such a case even bank loans will have to be written off ldquoAs regards the societyrsquos claims about pending dues the same is liable to be written off if the flats were bought with the proceeds of a crime as the claim of the government is superior to that of the claim of the cooperative societyrdquo he said Tiwari even cited an exampleldquoThe unavailability of previously acquired properties for the purpose of attachment and forfeiture has been accepted by various high courts including that of Punjab and Haryana Seema Garg matter and Patna High CourtrdquoAdvocate Jamshed Mistry said the society should wait for EDrsquos response ldquoThe society can approach the Bombay HC by filing a writ of mandamus by making ED the party and get appropriate order from the court seeking directions to ED to either clear the dues from its funds or through auctioning the sealed propertyrdquo said MistryUphill task Expert viewAdvocate Vinod Sampat president of Cooperative Societies and Resident Users Association and who practises in property law said though entitled to 12 per cent interest societies barely get 9 per cent if the flats go to a liquidator Also the cooperative society will have to pay a fat fee to a lawyer to fight in HC ldquoThe first thing that needs to be emphasised is how best the society can recover its dues In view of the fact that the attachment is there even the Registrarrsquos office does not act when an application for recovery of dues is maderdquoIf the flats are sold through a liquidator Sampat explained a list of demands of outstanding amounts will be drawn up first ldquoFrom whatever is the amount recovered prorata amounts are paid to all the creditors including the cooperative societyrdquo said SampatldquoIn the list of creditors the dues of the government and society rank at a higher level compared to that of others In such situations the societyrsquos officebearers are literally helpless It is indeed sad and unfair that other members have to pay 21 per cent interest on outstanding dues Here getting the principal amount itself is a big problemrdquoSampat also said such matters can stretch for more than 10 years He added ldquoThere have been such instances earlier also Many people have done illegal acts and have deprived cooperative societies of their legitimate paymentrdquo5377Total area in sq ft of both flats together37thNo of the floor on which both flats are located