Couple Held Over Rs 1.1 Crore Gurugram Flat Sale

GURUGRAM: A Delhi couple has been arrested for allegedly selling a mortgaged flat in Sushant Lok Phase 2 for Rs 1.10 crore after using forged bank records to show that the property loan had been cleared. Gurugram Police said the home still carried an outstanding liability of Rs 35.70 lakh when the buyer later checked the records with the lender.

The complaint was filed at Sector 56 police station on April 4 by a Gurugram resident who said he had agreed to buy the flat and paid the full price in instalments. The sellers had disclosed that a loan existed, according to police, but allegedly assured the buyer that it would be closed and that the lender's no-objection certificate and original property papers would then be handed over.

The sale deed was registered in the names of the buyer and his wife on January 23 last year. To complete that transaction, investigators allege, the sellers produced bank statements, foreclosure papers and a no-objection certificate that created the impression of a clean title. Months later, the buyer approached the bank directly and learnt that the loan had not been settled.

Bank verification allegedly showed that the statements presented during the sale were fake and that Rs 35.70 lakh remained due. Police registered a case involving cheating and forgery, examined the transaction documents and arrested the couple on Tuesday. The accusations remain subject to investigation and trial, and a court has not determined guilt.

Registration does not end due diligence

The case exposes a point often missed in Gurugram's fast-moving resale market: a registered sale deed records a transfer, but it does not by itself prove that every financial claim over the property has disappeared. Where a flat is mortgaged, the lender usually holds an interest in the asset until the loan is fully repaid and the original documents are released through a verifiable process.

A buyer should therefore confirm a loan closure independently with the bank rather than relying only on printouts carried by a seller or broker. The lender's branch and official contact details should be obtained from trusted channels. A valid foreclosure statement, payment trail, no-dues or no-objection certificate and return of the original title documents need to line up with one another.

Property records should also be checked for encumbrances, ownership history, pending dues and litigation. In apartment transactions, the developer or residents' association may have maintenance records, but those are not substitutes for a legal title search. Using a property lawyer who is independent of the broker and seller can feel like an extra expense; against a Rs 1.10 crore purchase, it is a modest layer of protection.

Investigators will now have to establish who prepared the disputed documents, where they were used, whether anyone outside the couple assisted and how the sale proceeds moved. For the buyer, the criminal case is only one part of the problem. The unresolved mortgage and the competing financial claims around the flat may require separate legal steps before the home can carry the clear title that the transaction was supposed to deliver.