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NATIONAL CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION, NEW DELHI
V.K. Jain, Presiding Member
Chandrika Developers And Construction & Ors. —Petitioners
versus
Sau. Alka Narayan Bele & Ors. —Respondents
Revision Petition No.413 of 2015
(Against the Order dated 28/01/2009 in Appeal No. 988/2007 & 372/2009 of the State Commission Maharashtra)
Decided on 3.6.2015

Advocates:
Counsel for the Parties:
For the Petitioners:Mr. Anshuman Animesh, Advocate

IMPORTANT POINT
A person approaching a Court/Forum after expiry of prescribed period of limitation needs to explain delay of each and every day.

Headnote:Consumer Protection Act, 1986—Sections 15, 17, 19 and 21—Revision—Limitation— Delay of about 5 years and 10 months in filing of revision petition—A person approaching a Court/Forum after expiry of prescribed period of limitation needs to explain delay of each and every day in approaching Court/Forum—There is no convincing explanation from petitioners for not filing revision petition soon after State Commission dismissed their miscellaneous application—One of objectives behind enactment of Consumer Protection Act is to render justice to Consumers who are aggrieved on account of a defect in product purchased by them or a deficiency in services hired or availed by them—It is towards fulfilment of those objectives that Act enjoins upon Consumer Forum to decide complaint, as far as possible within the period of 3 months—Said objective is bound to be frustrated if revision petitions filed after 5 years and 10 months of order of State Commission are entertained—This is more so where petitioners have lost before concerned District Forum—Revision petition dismissed as barred by limitation. (Paras 6 to 8)

       Result: Revision Petition dismissed.

       

JUDGMENT (ORAL)

V.K.Jain, Presiding Member—This revision petition is directed against the order of the State Commission dated 28.01.2009, whereby the appeal filed by the petitioners against the order of the District Forum dated 03.10.2007 was dismissed in default and non-appearance of the petitioners. Since there is a delay of about 5 years and 10 months in filing the revision petition, an application seeking condonation of delay in filing the revision petition has also been filed by the petitioners.

2. The case of the petitioners in the application is that they were advised to file a miscellaneous application before the State Commission itself for restoration of their appeal and the said application came to be dismissed by the State Commission only on 11.01.2012. As regards the delay post-11.01.2012, the case of the petitioners as stated by their counsel is that initially they contacted a local Advocate for challenging the order of the State Commission before this Commission, but the said local Advocate told them that he was not taking up the matters to be filed before National Commission and referred them to other Advocates. Thereafter the petitioners contacted those Advocates, who told the petitioners that they had filed the revision petition, but in fact they had not done so.

3. The petitioners have not placed on record any affidavit or even the certificate from the Advocate who allegedly advised them to file a miscellaneous application before the State Commission seeking restoration of the appeal which the State Commission had dismissed on 28.01.2009. The legal position in this regard has been well settled for quite some time and therefore the counsel of the petitioners before the State Commission would be aware that the State Commission does not have a jurisdiction to recall an earlier order dismissing an appeal in default. Be that as it may, even if I presume that the petitioners were acting bonafide and were not merely seeking to prolong the matter by filing the miscellaneous application before the State Commission for restoration of the appeal which had been dismissed in default on 28.01.2009, there is hardly any explanation for the delay between 11.01.2012, when the State Commission dismissed the miscellaneous application filed by the petitioners and 12.02.2015, when this revision petition eventually came to be filed.

4. The application does not disclose the name of the Advocate, who allegedly was first contacted by the petitioners to challenge the order of the State Commission before this Commission. The learned counsel for the petitioners points out that the name of the aforesaid Advocate is Mr. Kakde, which finds mention in the additional affidavit which the petitioners have filed today. The application does not disclose the date, on which the aforesaid Advocate was approached and he allegedly declined to file a revision petition before this Commission. No affidavit of the aforesaid Advocate has been filed by the petitioners. In these circumstances, it cannot be known when the petitioners

approached the Advocate Mr. Kakde and

when he allegedly told them that he would not be able to file a matter before the National Commission.

5. The case of the petitioners is that when Mr. Kakde declined to represent them before this Commission, they approached his two juniors namely Mr. A. M. Gedam, Advocate and Mr. Sudame, Advocates. However, the application does not disclose when Mr. A. M. Gedam and Mr. Sudame, Advocates were contacted by the petitioners. It is claimed that the Advocates had told the petitioners that they would do all the requirements for filing the revision petition but later on, it transpired that they had not filed any revision petition. However, no notice was at any point of time given by the petitioners to the above referred two Advocates, stating therein that despite accepting brief from them and obtaining all necessary papers they had failed to file a revision petition before this Commission. No complaint ag






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