On September 16, 2013, CCI dismissed a complaint filed by an allottee of residential apartments in Hyderabad against Lodha Healthy Constructions & Developers Private Limited (‘LDH’). The complaint accused LDH of disclosing the terms of an unfair buyers agreement only after payment of a significant sum towards booking the flat. The alleged unfair terms of the agreement were differential interest rates for LDH and the complainant for failure to fulfill their respective obligations. It was alleged that LDH refused to amend the unfair terms and instead informed the complainant that failure to sign would result in cancellation of allotment, entailing significant penalty charges.

Here, CCI identified the relevant market as ‘the provision of services for development and sale of residential apartments in Hyderabad’. While assessing whether LDH was in a dominant position, CCI observed the presence of several other developers of repute operating in Hyderabad, which was held to be indicative of existing competition. On this basis, CCI concluded that LDH could not be held to operate independently of competitive forces and was therefore not in a dominant position.

For further information, please contact:

Zia Mody, AZB & Partners
[email protected]

Abhijit Joshi, AZB & Partners 
[email protected]

Shuva Mandal, AZB & Partners 
[email protected]

Samir Gandhi, AZB & Partners
[email protected]

Percy Billimoria, AZB & Partners 
[email protected]

Aditya Bhat, AZB & Partners 
[email protected]