MANAGING DIRECTOR Vs. GURDEV SINGH AZAD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Aggrieved by the order in Consumer Complaint No. 149 of 2014 passed by the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Punjab, Chandigarh (in short "the State Commission"), the Opposite Party preferred this Appeal under Section 19 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (in short "the Act"). By the impugned order, the State Commission has allowed the Complaint in part directing the Opposite Party to refund Rs. 12,11,000/- to the Complainant with interest @ 12% p.a. from the respective dates of deposits, together with compensation of Rs. 1,00,000/- and costs of Rs. 11,000/-. The Opposite Party was directed to comply with the order within 30 days of the receipt of the certified copy, failing which, the amount of compensation awarded, shall attract interest @12% p.a. from the date of the order till the date of realization.

(2.) The facts material to the case are that the Complainant, a senior citizen and a retired Government employee opted to purchase a flat from the Opposite Party, in category-I, the tentative price of which was Rs. 20,18,000/-. The initial deposit of 5% of the tentative cost was to be paid within 30 days from the date of the allotment letter, 45% of the cost was to be paid in 8 quarterly instalments of Rs. 1,30,500/- and the remaining 40% of the cost i.e., Rs. 8,07,000/- was to be paid in 120 monthly instalments of Rs. 13,017/-. On 03.03.2009, the Complainant paid an amount of Rs. 1,01,000/- and was allotted a flat in category-I vide allotment letter dated 22.06.2009. On 31.08.2011, the Complainant paid Rs. 12,11,000/- with a slight deviation from the Schedule of Payment given by the Opposite Party. It was averred that on 12.03.2012, the Complainant was informed that the flat would be delivered in the last quarter of 2012. However, possession was not delivered even in the year 2013 and the Complainant made a representation on 06.06.2013, but received no reply. It was pleaded that on 19.11.2014, the Opposite Party instead of delivering possession, sent a demand letter to the Complainant to deposit Rs. 20,49,427/-, thereby escalating the cost of flat from Rs. 20,18,000/- to Rs. 32,60,000/-. After deducting Rs. 12,11,000/-, paid by the Complainant, the Complainant was asked to pay an additional amount of Rs. 20,49,427/-. Vexed with the attitude of the Opposite Party, the Complainant approached the State Commission seeking direction not to charge the excessive amount in pursuance to the letter dated 19.11.2014, to hand over the possession within 3 months, from the date of filing of the Complaint, or in the alternative to refund the amount paid with interest @15% p.a. together with compensation of Rs. 10,00,000/- and other costs.

(3.) The Opposite Party filed their Written Version stating that there was no commitment regarding the date of delivery of possession either in the brochure or in the allotment letter. It is settled law that the question of price of flat cannot be gone into by the Consumer Fora and therefore, this Complaint is not a 'Consumer Dispute'. It was averred that the estimates were prepared in the year 2008 when it was decided to float the Project for government employees, which was later extended to the general public. Therefore, after the allotment of the work and completion of the project, there has been an increase in the final cost of the flats and the Complainant is bound by the terms and conditions of the contract. As the site was located in Zirakpur- Patiala Highway, which was a low lying area, the site got flooded a number of times and construction was delayed as the rain water had to be drained out from the site. There was scarcity of building material like sand, gravel and bricks, NOC was not issued by the Punjab State Power Cooperation Ltd, for which Petition No. 6 of 2014 under Section 142 of the Electricity Act, 2003 had to be filed by the Opposite Party. It was only after the passing of the order by this Commission that NOC was issued by the Deputy Chief Engineer on 12.06.2014. Possession of flats could not have been delivered without supply of electricity and without issuance of the NOC. Therefore, the exact cost was worked out, after the completion of the Project, which is as per the terms and conditions of the allotment.