In
a significant judgement that should help apartment owners, the top
consumer court has directed a Ghaziabad-based builder and an official of an
apartment block in Uttarakhand to “atone for their deficiencies” by
rectifying defects in an apartment bought by two consumers or pay them over
Rs.16 lakh in compensation cost for repairs and promised discount.
National
Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission Presiding Member J. M. Malik slammed
Maa Jhande Wali Constructions and Anil Gupta, managing director of Ganga
Residency Apartment in Uttarakhand’s Tehri Garwal, for an apparently
non-serious approach towards the complaint filed by the flat owners and
staying away to delay the proceedings in the subordinate consumer fora.
Malik,
in a recent order, offered a breather to aggrieved flat owners Parth Prathim
Saha and Pankaj Roy, both residents of Tripura, and noted: “On merits, the
counsel for the (builder and Gupta) admitted that they are ready to rectify
the deficiencies in the apartment which was sold to the
purchasers.”
Rejecting
the builder’s and the apartment official’s appeal against an Uttarakhand
Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission order that was in favour of Saha and
Roy, Malik said: “The case of the petitioners is found to be at sixes and
sevens and, therefore, the same is hereby dismissed. No order as
to costs.”
Malik
said the case of the builder and Gupta is that in February 2012 the latter
suddenly fell ill and, therefore, could not appear before the district forum.
He also could not inform his counsel and consequently, the forum proceeded
ex-parte against them.
“I
am not impressed by the explanation advanced on behalf of the petitioners.
There is no medical certificate which may go to depict that Anil Gupta fell
ill in February, 2012, and remained sick till May 5, 2012, July 28, 2012, Oct
8, 2012 and April 5.”
“According
to him, he remained sick for 14 months. There is not even an iota of evidence
which may go to bolster his case. The petitioners have failed to prove
day-to-day delay. Their pleas are vague, evasive and lead the commission
nowhere,” Malik said.
Upholding
the deficiency of service complaint of Saha and Roy, the national commission
said: “The district forum has already ordered that builder and apartment
officials were to rectify the defects as mentioned in… the complaint or pay
Rs.15 lakh to the complainant as cost of repairs and also pay Rs.1.29 lakh
towards the seven percent discount as mentioned in the brochure and Rs.2,000
towards litigation expenses.”
Malik
said the state consumer commission dismissed the first appeal filed by the
builder and the official on the ground that it was barred by a delay of 250
days.
Pointing
to the casual approach of the builder and Gupta, Malik said they did not care
to file the application for condonation of delay that they gave “before the
state commission. However, the order passed by the state commission gives all
the necessary details of the application moved for condonation of delay”.
Saha
and Roy filed a complaint against Maa Jhande Wali Construction and
Gupta in 2011.
The
district forum passed an ex-parte order in favour of the flat buyer July 28,
2012.
Aggrieved
by the district forum’s order, an application for setting aside the ex-parte
order was filed before the district forum by the builder and Gupta Nov 5,
2012. The application was dismissed April 5, 2013.
Aggrieved
by that order the builder and Gupta preferred an appeal before the state
consumer commission which was dismissed May 8. Following this, the builder
and Gupta moved the national consumer commission against the state consumer
commission’s decision in favour of Saha and Roy.
|
Monday, July 8, 2013
Builder liable to rectify faults in apartment: Consumer court
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