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Judgment
THE petitioners/complainants are the owners of flat no. C -39 in Chandravadan Cooperative Housing Society Ltd. at Thane (W), having acquired the said flat in July 1991. According to the complainants, wall seepage started in the year 1998 initially in the kitchen and other places. From July 1991 to July 2003, there was no external leakage from the terrace of the flat. However, in August 2003, the terrace of the flat also started leaking. Major repairs were allegedly carried out by the society in the year 2006 -07 at the cost of Rs. 37 lacs. Despite the aforesaid repairs, leakage and seepage did not stop. The complainants therefore, approached the concerned District Forum by way of a complaint dated 07.11.2008 seeking following reliefs: A) The opponent no. 1 society may be ordered to repair the seepages and leakages by employing competent contractor for this purpose, B) On failure of the opponent no. 1 society to repair the seepages and leakages, the complainants may be allowed to repair the same at the cost, risk and consequences of the opponent no. 1 society, C) The opponents jointly and severally be ordered to pay the damages, the compensation for mental agony and the expenditure incurred by the complainants to the complainants, D) The complainants be allowed to amend, alter and/or add further claims, if any.
THE complaint was resisted by the society which inter alia stated that though the complainants were in arrears of maintenance charges amounting to Rs. 38,653/ -, they had taken steps to repair the building. It was further stated that leakage was discovered in the wall of the flat of the complainants during the monsoon of 2007 as also in 2008, but the aforesaid defect had occurred as the builder had not constructed the building properly.
VIDE order dated 31.10.2013, the concerned District Forum directed the opposite party to repair and colour the damaged wall and repair complete wall damaged due to terrace leakage and make a concrete plan to permanently stop the terrace leakage and leakages from other places on their own cost. The opposite parties were also directed to pay Rs. 5 lacs as compensation to the complainants. Being aggrieved from the order passed by the concerned District Forum, the society and its office bearers approached the concerned State Commission by way of an appeal. Vide impugned order dated 30.10.2014, the concerned State Commission upheld the direction given to the society to repair the ceilings and walls and to carry out necessary painting. However, the liability to carry out repairs and to pay the compensation was restricted to the society alone though the District Forum had fastened the liability on the society as well as on its office bearers.
THE State Commission also reduced the compensation awarded to the complainants to Rs. 50,000/ -. Being still dissatisfied, the complainants are before us by way of this revision petition.
AS far as the order restricting the liability to repair the flat and pay the compensation to the society is concerned, no exception can be taken to the said direction since the office bearers of the society cannot be made personally liable to repair the flat of the complainants.
AS regards the quantum of compensation, considering that the District Forum as well as the State Commission have already directed the society to repair and colour the damaged wall etc. and stop leakage from terrace as well as from other places, the compensation awarded by the State Commission appears to be justified and does not call for any interference by us in exercise of our revisional jurisdiction.
FOR the reasons stated above, we find no merit in the complaint and the same stands dismissed with no order as to cost.