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Judgment
This appeal under section 51(1) of The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 is in challenge to the Order dated 25.01.2021 of the State Commission in complaint no. 274 of 2019.
Heard the learned counsel for the appellant (the ‘builder co.’), for the respondent no. 1 (the ‘complainant’) and for the respondents no. 2 & no. 3 (the ‘financial institution’). Perused the record.
The matter pertains to a builder-buyer dispute.
The award made by the State Commission as contained in para 30 of its impugned Order dated 25.01.2021 is reproduced below for reference:
For the reasons recorded above, this complaint is partly accepted with costs and the opposite parties no. 1 to 3 and they are jointly and severally directed as under:
i) Refund the amount of Rs. 41,00,000/- to the complainant, alongwith interest @12% p.a. without deducting any TDS, from the respective dates of deposit onwards, within a period of 30 days, from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order, failing which, thereafter the said amount of Rs. 41,00,000/- shall carry 3% penal interest i.e. 15% p.a. (12% p.a. plus (+) 3% p.a.) from the date of passing of this order, till realiation.
ii) Pay compensation for causing mental agony and physical harassment; deficiency in providing service and adoption of unfair trade practice and also cost of litigation, in lumpsum, to the tune of Rs. 50,000/- to the complainant within a period of 30 days from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order, failing which, the said amount of Rs. 50,000/-, shall carry interest @9% p.a. from the date of passing of this order, till realization.
Learned counsel for the builder co. submits, on instructions, that the builder co. is willing to refund the amount of Rs. 41,00,000/- deposited by the complainant with interest at the rate of 9% per annum from the respective date(s) of deposit till actual realisation along with lumpsum compensation of Rs.50,000/- and cost of litigation of Rs. 50,000/-. He also submits, on instructions, that the amount if any deposited by the builder co. with the State Commission in compliance of this Commission’s interlocutory Order dated 09.07.2021 may be unconditionally released to the complainant and the balance amount will be made good within eight weeks from today. Learned counsel further requests that this case may not be treated as a precedent.
Learned counsel for the complainant submits, on instructions, that the afore terms are acceptable to the complainant.
Learned counsel for the financial institution submits, on instructions, that the loan advanced has been recovered and presently nothing is due to the financial institution from the complainant.
In the wake of the above submissions nothing more survives for adjudication in this appeal. The same is thus disposed of with the following directions:
The award made by the State Commission is modified to the extent that the builder co. shall refund the amount of Rs. 41,00,000/- deposited by the complainant with interest at the rate of 9% per annum from the respective date(s) of deposit till actual realisation along with lumpsum compensation of Rs. 50,000/- and cost of litigation of Rs. 50,000/-. The amount if any deposited by the builder co. with the State Commission in compliance of this Commission’s interlocutory Order dated 09.07.2021 shall be forthwith released by the State Commission to the complainant. The residual amount of the award, as firmed-up herein, shall be made good by the builder co. within eight weeks from today, failing which the State Commission shall undertake execution, for ‘enforcement’ and for ‘penalty’, as per the law.
This Order has been made on consent. As such the decision in this case shall not be treated as a precedent.
The Registry is requested to send a copy each of this Order to the parties in the appeal and to their learned counsel as well as to the State Commission immediately. The stenographer is requested to upload this Order on the website of this Commission immediately.
‘Dasti’, in addition, to both sides.