KOLKATA: The West Bengal Real Estate Appellate Tribunal dismissed a complaint filed by landowners against Ashok Dutta, the proprietor of Sreeram Enterprise, citing the inadmissibility of pursuing identical claims in multiple legal forums simultaneously.
The case stemmed from a development agreement signed on Aug 17, 2015, between Ashok Dutta and landowners, including Champak Bhattacharjee and four others, for development of a property at 10, Italgacha Road, Dum Dum. The agreement involved construction of three buildings.
However, disputes among the co-owners regarding allocation of flats led to delays. Despite the completion of construction, unresolved issues regarding allocation of flats prompted complainants to file a case with State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, West Bengal, earlier this year. Concurrently, they lodged a similar complaint with the West Bengal Real Estate Regulatory Authority, seeking identical remedies.
Promoter Ashok Dutta challenged the maintainability of the plaint before the Regulatory Authority, arguing simultaneous proceedings were not permissible. His application was initially rejected by the Regulatory Authority on May 14, 2025.
Upon appeal, West Bengal Real Estate Appellate Tribunal reviewed it and concluded that the complainants could not pursue identical causes of action in both Consumer Commission and Regulatory Authority simultaneously.
