IMPORTANT POINT
Wait indefinitely – Complainants cannot be made to wait indefinitely for possession of the booked Flat, as even till date the construction is incomplete.

ORDER

The present Complaint has been filed under Section 21 (a) of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”) against the Opposite Parties, namely, M/s. Parsvnath Developers Ltd. and M/s Parsvnath Hessa Developers Pvt. Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “the Developer”) seeking the following reliefs:

a. “Direct the Opposite Parties to refund Rs.2,28,28,746.29 to the Complainants;

b. Direct the Opposite Parties to pay interest of Rs.2,80,12,963.14 (Calculated @ 18% per annum from the respective installments upto August, 2017);

c. Direct the Opposite Parties to pay a sum of Rs.25 lacs towards opportunity loss caused to Complainants due to the acts of omission/ commission on the part of the Opposite Parties;

d. Direct the Opposite Parties to pay a sum of Rs. 10 lacs towards undue hardship, injury and agony both physical and mental caused to the Complainants.

e. Direct the Opposite Parties to pay at least a sum of Rs. One Lac to the Complainants towards the cost of litigation.

f. Pass such order or further order as this Hon’ble Commission deems fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the present case.”

2. The facts as enumerated in the Complaint are that allured by the advertisements and promises made in the Brochure, the Complainants applied for booking of a Flat in August, 2010 in the Project “Parsvnath Exotica”, to be developed by the Developer at Golf Course Road, Gurgaon, Haryana. In October, 2010 the Complainants were allotted Flat bearing No. B6-302, 3rd Floor in Tower B-6, admeasuring 3390 sq. ft. at the basic cost of Rs.2,46,62,250/- in the aforesaid Residential Project. The Complainants had opted for down payment plan and by May, 2011 they paid a total sum of Rs.2,28,28,746.29 as demanded by the Developer. It is stated that belatedly after almost 15 months of payment of substantial amount, on 29.08.2012, the Complainants were coerced to sign Unfair and One-sided standard form of Flat Buyer Agreement (hereinafter referred to as “the Agreement”) on the threat of forfeiture of huge money on account of earnest money and other charges in case the Complainants have any objection to sign the Agreement. It is alleged that most of the Clauses of the Agreement are totally one-sided, unfair and unjust and are made to suit the whims of the Developer. It is further averred in the Complaint that unfairness and one-sidedness of the Agreement can be seen from bare perusal of the Clauses 5 and 10 of the Agreement which stipulate that on the one hand, the Developer shall be liable to pay a meager compensation of Rs.10/- per Sq. Ft. per month for any delay in handing over of possession of the Flat on their part and on the other hand, the Allottees are charged an exorbitant interest @ 24% p.a. for any delay in payment of installments. According to the Complainants, as per Clause 10 (a) of the Agreement the construction of the Flat was to be completed within a period of 36 months from the date of commencement of the construction of the particular Block in which the booked flat was located or 24 months from the date of booking of the Flat, whichever is later, with a grace period of six months, i.e. by March, 2013.

3. The Complainants repeatedly visited the construction site and office of the Developer during the period from the year 2012 and 2016 to take note of the construction stage but there was no construction at the site. On 10.05.2016, the Complainants wrote a letter to the Developer expressing their serious concern and requesting the Developer to inform for definite date of handing over the possession of the Flat within six months. The Developer, vide letter dated 09.07.2016 informed the Complainants that due to some technical reasons, the construction was on hold and now construction had started in Tower B5 and B6 and the possession of the Flat is likely to be delivered by third quarter of 2017.

4. In September and December, 2016, the Complainants were shocked to see that there was no constru