Delhi HC stays arrest of Supertech MD Mohit Arora

The Delhi High Court has granted an interim stay on the National Consumer Court's decision to sentence Supertech's Managing Director Mohit Arora to three years' imprisonment for not returning the money to a flat buyer. A bench of Justice Amit Bansal directed Supertech to deposit Rs 50 lakh in the account of flat buyer Kanwaljit Batra within a week.

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has granted an interim stay on the National Consumer Court's decision to sentence Supertech's Managing Director Mohit Arora to three years' imprisonment for not returning the money to a flat buyer. A bench of Justice Amit Bansal directed Supertech to deposit Rs 50 lakh in the account of flat buyer Kanwaljit Batra within a week. The next hearing of the case will be on October 4.

On September 20, the National Consumer Court, hearing a petition filed by Kanwaljit Batra, sentenced Supertech MD Mohit Arora to three years' imprisonment. Supertech challenged the Consumer Court order in Delhi High Court.

Advocate Sandeep Sethi, appearing for Supertech, submitted that the National Consumer Court can't pursue a criminal case under Section 27 of the Consumer Protection Act. He said that how can Mohit Arora be punished without any trial, Then the court said that you deposit 50 lakh rupees in the flat buyer's account within a week.

Kanwaljit Batra had booked a villa in Supertech's Greater Noida project in 2013, but Supertech did not give him the villa. Batra had filed a petition in the National Consumer Court seeking a refund of the amount given to Supertech. The consumer court had directed Supertech to refund the money to the villa buyer.

The arrest warrant was issued when Supertech MD Mohit Arora did not appear despite repeated court orders. The National Consumer Court said that if Supertech does not return the money to the flat buyer, he should be given three years of imprisonment.