Telangana Hyderabad - Apartment associations can disconnect water, electricity of flats says HC

SIBY JEYYA
In a recent decision, the telangana High court upheld the authority that the telangana Apartments (Promotion of Construction and Ownership) Act, of 1987 gave apartment organizations. Apartment associations can cut off residents' access to basic utilities including electricity and water under Section 21 of the Act.
 
Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice N v Shravan Kumar joined the court in emphasizing the Act's legislative goal, which attempts to lessen the strain on urban resources.
 
The decision was made in response to a petition that the managing director of Bollant Industries, srikanth Bolla, had filed contesting section 21 of the Act's constitutionality.

Aruva raghuram Mahadev, Bolla's attorney, contended that the court should apply natural justice principles to the case, citing the infringement of fundamental rights granted by the constitution.
 
The bench did point out that the Act was written based on the ap Law Commission's recommendations following a thorough analysis of the legal systems in nearby states like tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.
 
In the middle of disagreements about parking spaces and other matters, the petitioner, who owned two apartments in the Babukhan Millennium Centre apartment complex in Somajiguda, stopped paying maintenance fees to the organization.
 

The petitioner preferred to contest the validity of the statute itself, the court noted, rather than pursuing a settlement through the proper legal procedures.
 
The court underlined that no apartment owner has the authority to refuse to pay maintenance fees, and stressed the need to give apartment associations the authority to deal with defaulters.
 
Reiterating that reasonable limitations constitute a basic right, the bench denied the petitioner's request for relief.
 


 

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