E-Paper
Developer told to refund ₹95 lakh for delayed possession
The woman complained that she and her husband booked five residential plots of different sizes in their projects “Palm Spring” and “Palm Garden” at Mullanpur, SAS Nagar, Punjab, in 2012. A sum of ₹95,62,500 had been paid by them as the first instalment at that time.
The district Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission directed a city-based developer to refund ₹95 lakh to a Mohali woman, who had booked five plots in their Mullanpur project.
Amarjit Kaur filed a case against M/s Manohar Infrastructure & Constructions Pvt Ltd.
The woman complained that she and her husband booked five residential plots of different sizes in their projects “Palm Spring” and “Palm Garden” at Mullanpur, SAS Nagar, Punjab, in 2012. A sum of ₹95,62,500 had been paid by them as the first instalment at that time.
After her husband passed away in September 2016, Kaur had requested the developer to allot her a single plot after adjusting the amount already paid. As requested, it adjusted the amount against one plot and allotted her plot number 418, measuring 402.32 square yards, in May 2018.
However, the woman alleged that the opposition party (the developer) tried to get a buyer’s agreement executed in 2018, attempting to impose unfair terms & conditions to prolong the possession date by another 4 to 5 years, due to which the complainant refused to sign it since the initial booking was made way back in 2012.
Kaur later came to know that the developer did not have the required sanctions from the competent authorities in 2011, when it took the initial amount from her, the layout plans of the project are not final till date.
After the matter came to light, she had sought refund of her money, to which the developer didn’t comply with. Therefore, Kaur moved consumer forum for redressal.
During hearing of the case, the developer told the commission that at the time of expression of interest (EOI) of the complainant and her late husband, the development at the project site was going on and now the development is almost complete in that area where many families are already residing.
The developer further added that the complainant was well aware about the facts that the approvals from the concerned authorities/government were awaited and only due to this reason they submitted EOI.
The commission observed, “the complainant is not obliged to accept any other offer of opposition party when they failed to honour the commitment/promise made with complainant. Therefore, the deficiency in service as well as unfair trade practice resorted to by opposition, is clearly established, which not only caused huge financial loss to the complainant but also caused her immense harassment & mental agony.”
With these observations, the commission directed M/s Manohar Infrastructure & Constructions Pvt Ltd to refund to the complainant the deposited amount of ₹95,62,500, along with interest at the rate of 10% per annum from the respective date of its deposit, till the date of its actual payment to the complainant.
