Mohali, March 11 -- The Punjab Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) has directed a Zirakpur-based developer to refund Rs.26.1 lakh with interest to two homebuyers of Bengaluru for failing to deliver possession of a flat for more than 12 years. The complaint was filed by Bengaluru residents Badri Narayanan Gururaian and Akhila Sowmya Rao Parigi against Royale Empire. The authority directed the developer to refund Rs.26.10 lakh, along with interest at 10.80% per annum from January 19, 2020, until the date of actual payment. The builder has been given 90 days to comply with the order and submit a compliance report. According to the complaint, the couple booked a residential flat in 2011 in the Royale Empire project in Zirakpur. They paid Rs.3 lakh as booking amount on March 27, 2011, and later made multiple payments, taking the total amount paid to Rs.26.10 lakh against the flat cost of Rs.35 lakh. The buyers also obtained a housing loan of Rs.18.88 lakh from HDFC to finance the purchase. As per the buyer's agreement, the developer had promised to deliver possession within 18 to 21 months, meaning the flat should have been handed over by September 2012. However, the project remained incomplete for years. The complainants repeatedly approached the developer for possession. In 2020, the builder offered them an alternative unit Flat No. 302 in Block P in place of the originally allotted in Block K under a compromise agreement. Despite the change in allotment, construction remained incomplete and no physical possession was handed over. During the hearing, counsel for the complainants, Mohd Sartaj Khan, argued that the buyers had already paid more than 74% of the total sale consideration, yet the project remained unfinished and no completion or occupancy certificate had been obtained. He sought a refund of the entire amount along with interest. The developer did not appear before the authority despite repeated notices sent by RERA through post, e-mail and official representatives. As no reply or defence was filed, the authority proceeded ex parte against the respondent, and decided the matter based on the documents and submissions made by the complainants. RERA observed that the delay of over a decade clearly violated the terms of the agreement and the provisions of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016. It noted that under Section 18 of the Act, a homebuyer has the right to withdraw from a project and seek a refund with interest if the promoter fails to deliver possession within the promised time....