News: 32nd Avenue Gurugram Arrest: Property Due Diligence Checks-11-02-2026
The arrest of the owner of a Gurugram commercial complex for allegedly selling the same property to as many as 25 buyers has put the spotlight on due diligence. The developer is accused of selling one floor of a building to multiple people although a deal for it had been concluded with the first buyer in 2021.
Gurugram Police arrested Dhruv Dutt Sharma, CEO of the firm behind the 32nd Avenue project, in a Rs 500-crore cheating case involving investors, not homebuyers. Police say he drew in investors with promises of fixed returns for 30 years on commercial property; returns were paid for the first year and then reportedly stopped, according to Hindustan Times. Investigators said units of 64 sq ft to 3,000 sq ft were sold across three commercial projects, including 32nd Avenue on a 3.95-acre plot along the Delhi-Jaipur Expressway in Sector 15. Several investors later found their allotted area was smaller than recorded in their conveyance deeds.
Basic verification
Experts advise checking the chain of ownership for the past 20-30 years, particularly for older properties, through a competent person such as a lawyer. Kunal Arora, Partner at Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan Attorneys, told HT Real Estate that independent legal due diligence is among the first and most important steps for anyone buying a standalone property.
Buyers should also do their own checks, he said. All original title documents in the chain, not merely the latest, must be with the current owner and should be physically inspected; where several people claim rights, they cannot all hold the originals. Authenticity should be tested against sub-registrar records to rule out forgery, ideally as one of the final steps.
There should be no equitable mortgage or charge on the property. If a loan has been taken, the lender usually keeps the originals, which is a red flag. In commercial deals especially, physical possession should rest with the person claiming ownership. Municipal property tax records, which are mutated after a transfer, offer a further way to confirm the present owner.
Manmeet Kaur, Partner at Karanjawala & Co, said buyers should go beyond confirming RERA registration and read the Quarterly Progress Reports the developer files on the state RERA website. They should check the Central Registry of Securitisation Asset Reconstruction and Security Interest (CERSAI), which records equitable mortgages created by banks. She also advises issuing a public notice in two local newspapers, one English and one vernacular, inviting claims 15 days before the transaction, and obtaining an Encumbrance Certificate from the sub-registrar’s office.
Who owns a property sold several times
Kaur said priority of rights under Section 48 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 decides ownership: where sale deeds for the same unit are executed with more than one buyer, title rests with the one whose deed was executed and registered first. An Agreement to Sell, even if signed earlier, does not confer title and only gives a right to enforce the sale; a registered sale deed prevails over an unregistered agreement.
Arora said the rightful owner is the person named in the latest valid title document, but this can be determined only after examining the whole chain to confirm each earlier transfer was lawful and recorded. Possession and custody of originals are strong indicators, though legally ownership lies with the holder of the latest valid title that has not been transferred further.
Remedies for later buyers
Besides RERA and refund claims, Kaur suggests criminal proceedings, since selling a unit twice amounts to fraud and dishonest inducement. An FIR for cheating and criminal breach of trust often puts immediate pressure on the developer. A buyer purchasing for personal use, not as an investor, can approach the consumer court (NCDRC) for deficiency in service. Where many buyers are affected, they can jointly initiate insolvency proceedings before the NCLT under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.
She noted that the sub-registrar’s role is largely ministerial, collecting stamp duty and verifying the identity of parties under the Registration Act, not the title. Banks must register a mortgage charge with CERSAI within 30 days of sanction; if lenders finance several buyers for one unit despite a recorded charge, it indicates a systematic lack of due diligence or complicity.
