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Hyderabad: The Telangana Real Estate Regulatory Authority (TG RERA) has directed Aparna Constructions and Estates Pvt Ltd to hand over a flat in its Aparna Sarovar Zicon project to a subsequent buyer within 30 days, holding that a registered sale deed is presumed valid unless a competent court sets it aside.

The order, passed on Tuesday, July 21, came while deciding a complaint filed by Banjara Hills resident Shridevi Valluri over a flat in Block J of the project at Nallagandla.

How the dispute arose

According to the complaint, the flat’s original buyers, Koshy Mathew and Shiney Mathew, had taken financial help from Vijay Valluri. When they failed to repay the money, they are alleged to have executed an irrevocable general power of attorney (GPA), a legal document authorising someone else to act on one’s behalf, in his favour, transferring ownership and possession rights to him. 

Vijay Valluri later got a registered sale deed executed in favour of his wife, Shridevi Valluri, making her the flat’s new owner on paper.

Shridevi Valluri said she then approached the developer seeking possession of the flat and an update to its ownership records, but got no response. She argued that as a subsequent buyer, she still qualified as an “allottee” under the real estate law.

Aparna cites pending court case

Aparna Constructions opposed the complaint, arguing that it had no direct contractual relationship with Valluri since its agreement was only with the original buyers, the Mathews. It pointed out that the Mathews had filed a civil suit in 2024 seeking to cancel the general power of attorney on grounds of fraud and that this dispute was still pending in court.

The developer also relied on a clause in the original sale deed requiring its no-objection certificate (NOC) before the flat could be transferred to anyone else, and argued that since the case involved a dispute over ownership title, it ought to be decided by a civil court rather than the real estate regulator.

What RERA ordered

TG RERA held that Valluri could be treated as an allottee for the limited purpose of deciding her complaint and directed the developer to hand over the flat and its keys, in liveable condition, within 30 days. 

It made clear that this direction would not affect the outcome of the pending civil suit or separate insolvency proceedings, and that the parties’ final rights over the property would ultimately be decided by the civil court’s verdict.

The authority declined to order any change in the flat’s ownership records or award compensation, saying such claims would have to be pursued separately before the appropriate revenue or municipal authorities and the RERA adjudicating officer.