JUDGMENT (Oral)

1. Consumer Complaint 335/2017 was instituted by the respondent Shailesh Gupta and 47 other complainants against the petitioner Puri Construction Pvt. Ltd. before the learned National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission ("the learned NCDRC") under Section 12(1)(c)¹ read with Section 21² of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 ("the Act") and Order I Rule 8³ of the First Schedule to the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 ("the CPC"), as a representative class action complaint. It was clearly stated, in the complaint, that it was being filed for resolution and redressal of the grievances of the 48 named complainants "and also to address the common grievance of all the consumers who are affected by the price discrimination by the opposite party in the `Aanand Vilas' project".

2. The complaint averred that, relying on advertisements issued by the petitioner, the complainants booked apartments in the `Aanand Vilas' project by making an initial payment of Rs.7.5 lakhs for 3 BHK and Rs.10 lakhs for 4 BHK apartments. It was alleged, in the complaint, that (i) the application form provided to the complainants and other investors in the petitioner's project did not contain re