Godrej Air Legal Dispute: Delhi High Court Case Between Developers
A legal dispute between two developers over a housing project in Gurugram has escalated to the Delhi High Court, where judges are now tasked with deciding on the jurisdiction of the case. Following a directive from a court in Delhi, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police has filed a First Information Report (FIR) against Godrej Properties and its top management regarding the Godrej Air project. The complainant, Orris Infrastructure, alleged that Godrej Properties was contractually obligated to pay Rs 202 crore for 10 acres of land by September 2022 but had only paid Rs 37 crore thus far.
The EOW case includes charges under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code. On May 28, the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (South-West) Dwarka, Rajat Goyal, ordered the FIR to be registered and requested a compliance report be submitted to the court, following a petition filed by Orris. The case was registered the next day.
Godrej Properties subsequently petitioned the Delhi High Court to quash the lower court’s order. After hearing arguments from both sides, Judge Dinesh Kumar Sharma on June 7 stated, “This court considers that this case falls within the category of rarest of rare cases where the documents filed establish the jurisdiction of the courts in Gurugram, and the learned CMM has ordered the FIR to be registered despite acknowledging that the alleged offence occurred within the jurisdiction of Gurugram and the complaint had been forwarded to Gurugram.” The court has stayed any coercive action until the next hearing, scheduled for July 11.
Godrej Properties’ counsel argued that the lower court’s order was made without proper territorial jurisdiction. Orris’ counsel countered, stating that several meetings between the parties had occurred in Delhi, which falls under the territorial jurisdiction of the Dwarka court.
In response to queries, an Orris spokesperson told TOI on Wednesday, “The company had provided Godrej with 10 acres for construction, expecting Rs 200 crore by September 2022. Instead of returning the money, Godrej allegedly diverted the funds to purchase an additional 14-acre parcel of land adjacent to the project, leading to the FIR against them.”
A spokesperson for Godrej Properties refuted the allegations, accusing Orris of attempting to tarnish their reputation. “This is an attempt by Orris to damage the reputation of Godrej Properties by reiterating baseless allegations that have already been investigated by relevant agencies. Upon learning of this action, we have immediately taken legal action, resulting in the Delhi High Court granting a stay order. We are confident in our integrity and look forward to having these claims dismissed once again,” the spokesperson stated on Wednesday.
The matter is now sub judice, and both parties await the court’s decision.
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