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IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI
Navin Chawla, J.
Orris Infrastructure Private Limited - Appellant
Versus
Union of India - Respondent
W.P.(C) 6769 of 2020 and W.P.(C) 6770 of 2020
Decided On : 04-08-2021




Consumer complaints instituted under the repealed Consumer Protection Act, 1986 continue before the corresponding forums and are not affected by the enactment of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

Headnote:(A) Consumer Protection Act, 2019 - Sections 53 and 107 - Review Application against the dismissal of Writ Petition for lack of jurisdiction and availability of statutory remedy. The petitioner contends that the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission ceased to exist post-repeal of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, impacting ongoing disputes; however, the court ruled the right to pursue complaints instituted under the 1986 Act remains preserved based on applicable clauses of the General Clauses Act. (Paras 6, 10, 16, 24, and 39)

(B) The petitioner was also admonished for prolonging litigation and was ordered to pay costs to the respondents. (Paras 40 and 41)

Facts of the case:
Review Applications were filed by an appellant against orders of NCDRC directing refunds and possession of property in accordance with pending complaints.

Issues: The main issues involved were the effect of the repeal of the 1986 Act and the maintainability of complaints before the NCDRC post-enactment of the 2019 Act.

Ratio Decidendi: The court upheld that rights accrued under the repealed act are sustained and that the NCDRC remained competent to adjudicate over complaints filed prior to 20.07.2020.

Result: Review Applications dismissed; costs awarded.

Table of Content
1. application for review of previous court order. (Para 1 , 2)
2. writ petitions seeking to set aside prior orders. (Para 3 , 4)
3. petitioner aggrieved by consumer order. (Para 5 , 6)
4. contention on jurisdiction post-repeal of consumer protection act. (Para 7 , 10 , 11)
5. arguments regarding the effect of amendments. (Para 12 , 14)
6. supreme court's interpretation of statutory remedies. (Para 15 , 18)
7. court's observations on jurisdictional continuity. (Para 19 , 21)
8. legislative intent behind transitional provisions. (Para 22 , 30)
9. repeal provisions protect existing rights. (Para 23 , 25 , 28)
10. continuation of legal proceedings despite repeal. (Para 26 , 27 , 31)
11. final dismissal of review applications with costs. (Para 32 , 34 , 39)

JUDGMENT

REV. PET 9/2021 & CM APPL. 9166/2021 in W.P.(C) 6769/2020 REV. PET 8/2021 & CM APPL. 9726/2021 in W.P.(C) 6770/2020

1. These Review Application(s) have been filed by the writ petitioner seeking review/recall of the Order dated 03.11.2020 passed by this Court dismissing the writ petition(s) filed by the petitioner on the ground of availability of alternate efficacious remedy in form of a statutory appeal, and granting leave to the petitioner to avail of the same.

2. Before considering the submissions made in support of the Review Applications filed by the petitioner, brief background and chronology leading to the present Review Applications need to be noticed.

3. Writ Petition (Civil) No. 6769 of 2020 was filed praying for the following relief:

    "(a) issue writ appropriate writ(s)/direction(s)/order(s) and set aside the order dated 20.07.2020 passed in CC No 3814 of 2017 in "Sanjay Gupta Vs. Three C Shelters Pvt. Ltd. & Anr." and the connected matters adjudicated vide the common order and judgment; and

    (b) As a consequence, pass appropriate direction(s)/order(s) to re-hear the matters de-novo for proper and just adjudication of the matters, with the bench comprising of a judicial member and;"

4. Similarly, Writ Petition (Civil) No. 6770 of 2020 prayed for the following relief:

    "(a) issue writ appropriate writ(s)/direction(s)/order(s) and set aside the order dated 20.07.2020 passed in CC No 2009 of 2017 in "Manoj Aggarwal & Anr. Vs. Orris Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. & Anr." and the connected matters adjudicated vide the common order and judgment; and

    (b) As a consequence, pass appropriate direction(s)/order(s) to re-hear the matters de-novo for proper and just adjudication of the matters, with the bench comprising of a judicial member and;"

5. The petitioner was primarily aggrieved of the direction issued by the learned National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (hereinafter referred to as the `learned NCDRC') directing refund of the amount deposited by the respondents/consumers/allottees of the project "Greenopolis" situated in Sector 89, Gurgaon being developed by the petitioner, along with interest at the rate of 6%/9% per annum. Insofar as the Order in Consumer Case No. 2009 of 2017, titled Manoj Aggarwal & Anr. v. Orris Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. & Ors., which is challenged in W.P.(C) 6770 of 2020, is concerned, the direction of the learned NCDRC was to handover the physical possession of the flat complete in all respects to the allottee till 30.09.2020 failing which the petitioner shall refund the amount deposited by the allottee along with interest.

6. The petitioner self-summarises the grounds on which the writ petition was premised in paragraph 14 of Review Application, as under:

    "14. The Applicant has filed the said Writ Petition against the impugned judgment on several grounds, namely:

    (i) That a Technical Member has passed the order, thereby usurping the jurisdiction of a Judicial Member;

    (ii) That the Ld. NCDRC had acted in contravention of the principle of comity of Tribunals as it ignored the specific and unambiguous request of the Ld. HRERA to not pass any order of refund as the same would put the entire project in jeopardy;

    (iii) That the

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