CHANDIGARH: Haryana Real Estate Regulatory Authority (HRERA), Panchkula, has ordered three months’ civil imprisonment for Jagat Chandra, a working director of Ansal Properties and Infrastructure Ltd, for allegedly disobeying an authority order in an execution proceeding.
Civil imprisonment is a legal action where a court puts a person in a civil jail not as a criminal punishment, but to force them to obey a court order or pay a debt.
The order was passed last week by HRERA Panchkula adjudicating officer Major Phalit Sharma, arising from a complaint filed by decree-holder Som Prakash Aggarwal. Advocate Akshat Mittal represented Aggarwal.
Chandra had been directed to appear personally on Aug 17 and respond to a show-cause notice issued over alleged non-compliance with an April 7, 2026 order under the Code of Civil Procedure. He neither appeared personally nor joined through video conference.
His counsel, Falit Sharma, sought exemption citing ill health and requested more time. Mittal opposed the plea, arguing that repeated non-compliance had delayed execution proceedings pending since 2022.
HRERA noted that Chandra had already been given several opportunities, including a final one after considering his age and health. It also noted a previously imposed cost of Rs 5,000 remained unpaid.
The authority said it was exercising civil court-like powers under Section 40 of the RERA Act and Rule 27 of the HRERA Rules, 2017. It distinguished recovery of a money decree from proceedings arising from disobedience of directions issued by an executing forum under Order XXI Rule 41(3) of the CPC.
HRERA also rejected reliance on Section 56 of the CPC, which generally restricts arrest of women for execution of money decrees, observing that the present proceedings concerned non-compliance with an executing forum’s order, not ordinary recovery of a money decree.
The decree-holder has been directed to deposit subsistence allowance of Rs 100 per day, or the applicable rate under the Haryana Prison Rules, 2022, by Aug 30. An arrest warrant will then be issued through the chief judicial magistrate, Bengaluru.
The three-month imprisonment will begin from the date of arrest. The next hearing is on Sept 21, when HRERA will consider the warrant execution report and an exemption plea filed by another Ansal director, Anil Kumar.
