LUCKNOW, Aug. 9 -- The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has dismissed a builder's appeal against a Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) order and directed it to pay Rs.2.5 lakh to a homebuyer within four weeks for putting her through multiple rounds of litigation over 13 years. Justice Prashant Kumar, in a judgment passed on July 31, observed that the objective of the RERA law, to ensure transparency and speedy redressal for allottees, had been defeated in this case. The appeal was filed by M/s Aims Max Gardenia Developers Pvt. Ltd. against the September 14, 2022, order of the UP Real Estate Appellate Tribunal, Lucknow, which had rejected its restoration application. The case relates to Pratibha Gupta, who booked a flat in the builder's Golf City project at Plot No 7, Sector-75, Gautam Buddh Nagar. A builder-buyer agreement was executed on April 9, 2011, with possession promised by June 2013 for a total consideration of Rs.34,44,250. Gupta paid Rs.35,90,252, but possession was not delivered. She approached the RERA, Gautam Buddh Nagar, which on July 26, 2018, directed the builder to hand over possession immediately and pay 24% interest from June 30, 2013. After the builder failed to comply, a recovery certificate for Rs.41,21,411.88 was issued on March 6, 2019, following execution proceedings initiated by Gupta. The builder subsequently approached the UP Real Estate Appellate Tribunal. Its appeal was dismissed for want of prosecution after having twice earlier been dismissed on the same ground and restored. A writ petition seeking a stay on recovery proceedings was also dismissed, while a special leave petition against the dismissal was later withdrawn. The HC found no illegality in the tribunal's order and dismissed the appeal. It directed the builder to pay Rs.2.5 lakh to Gupta within four weeks. MANOJ KUMAR SINGH...