IMPORTANT POINT
Opposite Parties are not entitled to any escalation in the cost of construction.

T.M. Hassan Pillai, President — Claim is made by the complainant under various heads against the opposite parties and claim made against opposite parties will be dealt with in seriatim with reference to the pleadings and evidence. Before proceeding to deal with the question of entitlement of the complaint to realise from the opposite parties the amounts claimed under various heads we have to reject the two contentions raised in the written statement filed by the opposite parties disputing their liability under the two agreements entered into between the parties evidenced by Exts Al and A2(Ex.Al is the agreement for sale entered into between the parties for the sale of undivided share of land described in the A schedule to that agreement and Ex.A2 is the agreement entered into between the parties for construction of commercial unit described in the 3 schedule to that agreement). One of the contentions urged is that each agreement contained a clause for referring the dispute to arbitration and therefore Commission is not competent to entertain the complaint. The second ground urged in the written statement of the opposite parties challenging the sustainability of the claim made against them is that in the notice issued by the complainant to the opposite parties dated 20.3.2002 evidenced by Ex.A3(photocopy) the opposite parties were only called upon to execute sale deed in respect of the property agreed to be sold under Ex.A1 agreement in favour of the complainant within 15

days from the date of receipt of that notice and to hand over the legal title and absolutely unencumbered possession

and as no other relief is sought for against the opposite parties in that notice by the complainant Order 2 Rule 2 bars claiming of the reliefs prayed for in the complaint.

2. We find absolutely no merit in the above contentions in the written statement (version) to resist the claim made by the complainant. We hold so on the ground that the Apex Court has held in Skypak Couriers Ltd. v. Tata Chemicals Ltd.1 that existence of an arbitration clause will not be a bar to the entertainment of the complaint by the redressal agency constituted under the Consumer Protection Act, since the remedy provided under the Act is in addition to the provisions of any other law for the time being in force. Full Bench of the Kerala High Court also took the same view in General Manager, Telecom, B.S.N.L v. Krishnan2 while considering S. 7(B) of the Indian Telegraph Act. S. 7B provides for referring dispute to arbitration and making the award passed by the arbitrator immune from challenge. So the challenge made in the written statement regarding sustainability of the complaint on the ground of existence of arbitration clauses in EX.A1 and A2 is devoid of any merit and not sustainable.

3. The other contention centres round the provisions of Order 2 Rule 2

of the CPC. Order 2 Rule 2 reads as

under:

(1) Suit to include the whole claim—

Every suit shall include the whole of the claim which the plaintiff is entitled to make in respect of the cause of action; but a plaintiff may relinquish any portion of his claim in order to bring the suit within the jurisdiction of any court.

(2) Relinquishment of part of claim—Where a plaintiff omits to sue in respect of, or intentionally relinquishes, any portion of his claim, he shall not afterwards sue in respect of the portion so omitted or relinquished.

(3) Omission to sue for one of several reliefs— A person entitled to more than one relief for sue for all or any of such reliefs; but he omits, except with the leave of the court, to sue for all such reliefs, he shall not afterwards sue for any relief so omitted.

Explanation—For the purpose of this rule an obligation and a collateral security for its performance and successive claims arising under the same obligation shall be deemed respectively to constitute but one cause of action.

Illustration

A lets a house to B at a yearly rent of Rs. 1200/-. The rent for the whole of the