GALAXY HOMES PVT. LTD. Vs. N. GIRISH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner/Opposite Party being aggrieved by order dated 17.1.2013 passed by Kerala State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Vazuhacaud Thiruvananthapuram(for short,'State Commission') in(First Appeal No.271 of 2012) has filed present revision petition under Section 21(b) of the Consumer Protection Act,1986 (for short, 'Act').Along with it, an application seeking condonation of delay of 31 days has also been filed.

(2.) Brief facts are that Respondent/Complainant had booked a flat in the apartment project of the petitioner named "Galaxy Clifford". Consequent to the booking, an agreement for construction and a sale deed were entered into between the parties on 13-01-2007 and 03-03-2007, respectively. As per the agreement, petitioner was to construct the flat on or before 31-08-2008. However, the revised payment schedule of the petitioner was accepted by the respondent on condition that the construction of the flat would be completed before February 2009, for which petitioner failed. The respondent had taken loan from H.D.F.C. Bank to pay the money and has been paying huge sums to the bank. Thus, respondent prayed for the following reliefs;

(3.) Petitioner in its written versions took the plea that respondent is not a consumer as per the Act. As per Clause 18 of the agreement, Civil Courts in Ernakulam alone have jurisdiction to entertain the dispute, if any between the parties. Petitioner is ready and willing to hand over the flat to the respondent, if he makes the final settlement of the bill amounting to Rs.6,16,495/-, as per the revised payment schedule before 28.2.2009. The delay in construction was caused due to the reasons beyond the control of the petitioner. The respondent has no cause of action against the petitioner.