The Telangana RERA authority penalised developer Manik Infra and three co-owner landowners for selling and booking a flat before the project was registered under RERA, but rejected buyer Thumma Srinivas's separate claim for a Rs 51 lakh refund. The ruling confirms that landowners who are party to a joint-development project, not just the builder, can be held liable for RERA violations on that project.
What this changes for a title check
This case matters for title diligence because it establishes that in a joint-development arrangement, the landowners who contributed the land are not shielded from RERA liability just because they are not the entity marketing or constructing the flats; a buyer's lawyer checking a project for RERA compliance should verify the registration status against all parties named on the project, developer and landowners together, not just the builder's name. Any pre-registration booking or sale agreement on a joint-development project, whether entered with the builder or directly with a landowner, carries this same regulatory exposure.
The rejection of the buyer's Rs 51 lakh refund claim, despite the developer and landowners being penalised, is also worth noting: a RERA violation finding against a developer does not automatically entitle an individual buyer to a refund if the facts of their specific purchase do not support one. For anyone doing diligence on a resale unit from this project, both the penalty order and the refund rejection should be checked to understand exactly what obligations remain outstanding against the project.