India, June 21 -- The Bombay High Court has held that section 18 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA) gives flat buyers an absolute right to claim compensatory interest for delayed possession, regardless of whether they accepted revised possession timelines.

"[Under] Section 18 of RERA Act, the handing over possession as per the terms of the agreement or as per the date specified is sacrosanct, remaining unqualified by any contingencies outside the terms of the agreement, and is not affected by the acceptance of delayed performance," justice Sharmila Deshmukh said, while dismissing an appeal by CCI Projects Pvt Ltd.

The developer had challenged a March 2021 order of the Maharashtra Real Estate Appellate Tribunal, w...