3 Answers
Dear Sir,
If only an MoU exists and no registered development agreement/GPA was executed, your position is substantially stronger. An MoU by itself, particularly one that has become void by operation of its own clause, may not give continuing enforceable rights to the developer.
You and your sisters may now issue a formal legal notice stating that:
- the condition regarding approval within one year has failed,
- the MoU has become null and void,
- all permissions or authority granted under the MoU stand revoked,
- and the developer/founder member should cease interference with your independent enjoyment and development of the plots.
Dear Client,
The MoU contained a specific, time bound condition which was plan approval within one year failing which the MoU shall be null and void. Three years have now passed with nothing happening. The MoU has already become null and void by its own terms, and you do not need a court to declare this. However, given that the developer may dispute this, formalizing the position legally is advisable.
What I would like to suggest is that you should initially send a notice through your advocate to the concerned developer informing him that the MoU of May 2023 is null and void because of the fact that the clause itself becomes applicable since there was no approval of the plan within one year. The notice must call for the return of all documentation, earnest money, or any other material he may have acquired under the MoU. You are free from the MoU because you were already able to secure approvals for LRS and building plans from GHMC even without the MoU, which was executed under duress. File the existing approved plan with the contractor of your choice and begin construction without reference to the developer. If the developer attempts to obstruct you again physically, legally, or otherwise, immediately file a complaint before the police citing criminal intimidation under Section 351 BNS and seek a civil injunction restraining him from interfering.
If the developer attempts to claim rights under the expired MoU or files any suit to enforce it, you have a complete defence. The MoU expired by its own terms after one year of non performance. Additionally, since he caused you to delay construction for three years through his obstruction and then non-performance, you have a valid claim for damages under section 73 of the Indian Contract Act for loss caused by his breach of the MoU's time bound obligation.
I hope this helps, and if you have any further issues, do not hesitate to contact us.
Dear Client,
Because your Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the layout developer was expressly conditional on the building plan being approved within one year of the date of the MoU, and it has now been three years with no plan approved or any visible progress, you can legitimately treat the MoU as having failed by its own terms and therefore null and void; Indian courts have held that conditions in such agreements, especially percentage‑time‑limits attached to consents, can be decisively binding and justify cancellation when the condition is not fulfilled. The promoter cannot fairly hold you and your sisters constrained forever on the basis of a plan that never materializes after such a long delay.
You should now formally notify the developer (by registered‑post and email) that the one‑year condition has lapsed, the MoU is therefore treated as void, and you are withdrawing all consent for any layout‑wide or gated‑community‑based building‑plan linked to your three contiguous plots, while reserving your right to file a suit for cancellation of the MoU if he tries to challenge this. At the same time, you should consult a Hyderabad‑based property‑law advocate to review the exact wording of the condition, and, if necessary, file a declaration/cancellation‑suit and separately apply for individual building‑permits for your plots from GHMC or the competent authority, so that your earlier difficult‑won approvals and your own construction plans are not indefinitely blocked by his stalled project.
I hope this helps and if you have any further issues do not hesitate to contact us.