Greater Noida CEO gets relief with state consumer commission order

The Gautam Budh Nagar district dispute redressal commission had fined the CEO of the Greater Noida authority, Ritu Maheshwari, ₹2,000 and sentenced her to one month of imprisonment on January 7, 2023, in response to Mitra’s plea

The Uttar Pradesh State Consumer Commission (UPSCC) has overturned the district consumer commission’s order from January 7, 2023, in the case of Mahesh Mitra, who had been unsuccessful in obtaining an industrial plot for the past 23 years, confirming that Ritu Maheshwari, the chief executive officer of the Greater Noida authority, will not face any consequences for non-compliance with previous orders.

Noida authority CEO Ritu Maheshwari. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

The Gautam Budh Nagar district dispute redressal commission had fined the CEO of the Greater Noida authority, Ritu Maheshwari, ₹2,000 and sentenced her to one month of imprisonment on January 7, 2023, in response to Mitra’s plea.

The order delivered by Justice Ashok Kumar and member Vikas Saxena of the UP Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission said, “The appeal is allowed. The impugned order dated 07-01-2023 is set aside. The matter is remanded back to the district commission to proceed with the matter in accordance with the procedure contemplated under the code of criminal procedure for taking penal action against the appellants who are the concerned officers of the Greater Noida authority, for non-compliance of the order of the honorable NCDRC (National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission). Let a copy of this order be made available to the parties as per rules...”

This case revolves around the failure to comply with an order issued by the NCDRC on May 2, 2014, in response to Mitra’s plea. Mitra, a resident of Delhi, alleged that the negligence of authority officials had resulted in him being denied an allotted industrial plot. On January 17, 2023, the UPSCC directed the Greater Noida authority to ensure “100% compliance” with the earlier orders and address the complainant’s grievances. Mitra, who missed out on the allotment of an industrial plot in 2000, has suffered for nearly two decades due to the alleged negligence of authority officials.

However, the CEO of the Greater Noida authority received relief on June 23, 2023, as the State Commission instructed the District Commission to further review the matter.

The State Commission noted that the District Consumer Commission had erred in passing orders for the issuance of warrants of arrest against the CEO without considering the directions of the National Commission and without following the due procedure of the law. The CEO, who had assumed the additional charge as CEO of the appellant authority on October 1, 2022, was not given any opportunity to respond, resulting in a denial of natural justice.

Mitra on the other hand said, “We have once again failed to get justice in this case that we have been fighting for the last 23 years. The case is very straightforward. We applied for an industrial plot 23 years ago, following all the rules and providing all the necessary documents. Since then, we have been tirelessly fighting for justice but to no avail. We are uncertain about our next steps and will consult with our lawyers to continue this battle.”