• Disconnection of water supply

I purchased an apartment in Chennai. I paid corpus fund to the builder as per agreement. The builder was maintaining the premises. I paid the maintenance charges to the builder without any due. Meanwhile some owners in group formed an owners welfare association and was properly registered. They asked the owners to pay the maintenance charges to the association. I paid maintenance charges without any due. The association is approached the builder to handover all the documents and Funds, including corpus fund. The builder refused to handover the documents and corpus fund because 50% of the owners didn't pay the maintenance charges to the builder and due was almost double the corpus fund. 

Meanwhile the association asked to pay corpus fund since they could not get transferred fro the builder. Some owners paid as they are financially sound. Being a pensioner I am not able to pay the corpus fund again. The association fixed a different maintenance charges for those who had not pay the corpus fund. The additional maintenance charges amounts to 18% interest on the corpus fund supposed to pay. This is equivalent to charging late payment penalty. Since I already paid the corpus fund to the builder I denied the revised maintenance charges. However, I paid maintenance charges @ the old rate without any due. I informed the association that I would ready to face the dispute in the court of law. But the association office bearers disconnected the water supply. On my approach with the police station they resumed water connection. No complaint is registered but it solved verbally. The association secretary is still insisting me to pay the corpus fund and maintenance at revised rate and threatening me that water supply would be disconnected if the said amount is not paid.

Please offer your advice action on my part.
Asked 8 years ago in Civil Law

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6 Answers

1) file complaint against office bearers of association for criminal intimidation under section 506 of IPC as they are thretening to disconnect your water supply

2) you are not bound to pay corpus fund to the association as you have already paid to the builder

3) issue legal notice to association that in the vent they disconnect your water supply again you will be taking legal proceedings against the office bearers of association .

4) water supply is an essential service and cannot be disconnected by the association

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
97267 Answers
7856 Consultations

1) you are not liable to pay corpus fund to association

2) you are not bound to pay revised maintenance charges . ask association to reverse additional maintenance charges claimed from you

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
97267 Answers
7856 Consultations

section 503 of IPC

Criminal intimidation.—Whoever threatens another with any injury to his person, reputation or property, or to the person or reputation of any one in whom that person is interested, with intent to cause alarm to that person, or to cause that person to do any act which he is not legally bound to do, or to omit to do any any act which that person is legally entitled to do ... as the means of avoiding the execution of such threat, commits criminal intim­idation. Explanation.—A threat to injure the reputation of any deceased person in whom the person threatened is interested, is within this section. Illustration A, for the purpose of inducing B to desist from prosecuting a civil suit, threatens to burn B’s house. A is guilty of criminal intimidation.

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
97267 Answers
7856 Consultations

The disconnection of water or electricity supply is illegal and those who are responsible for this can be prosecuted as per law.

As far as the corpus fund is concerned you may issue a legal notice to the builde to transfer the same to the association and endorse a copy tothe association

You may separately send a communication to the association stating that the corpus fund has already been given to the builder on so and so date vide so and so receipt hence any demand in this regard in future may be made from the builder directly and not from you, and if they still insist on this then you may have to proceed legally against them.

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
87466 Answers
2348 Consultations

Am I liable to pay corpus fund to the association in spite of my corpus fund is with the builder. While forming the association they didn't inform about their intention of collecting additional corpus fund. Am I liable to pay the maintenance at revised rate In which penalty charges incorporated.

The additional corpus fund and revised or enhanced maintenance charges are the decisions taken in general body meeting of the association as per bye laws of the association.

If a resolution has been passed in the meeting, it is binding on all the members whether they like it or not.

You could have protested about it in the meeting itself.

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
87466 Answers
2348 Consultations

Section 506 IPC tells about punishment for a criminal offence. What is the section under which these kind of threatening come and what kind of crime it is. Could you please explain.

Dont worry about the sections of law, if you want to make any complaint against anyone for any illegal or unjustified action against you, yor complaint in the simple format will be taken care of and the law enforcing authority shall look into it as per the proper provisions of law.

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
87466 Answers
2348 Consultations

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