IMPORTANT POINT
Default by Contractors - Complainant cannot be made to suffer on account of default by contractors engaged by OP.

ORDER

Dr. Inder Jit Singh, Member—The present Consumer Complaint (CC) has been filed under Section 21 of the Consumer Protection Act,1986( for short ‘the Act’) by the Complainant against Opposite party (OP) as detailed above, inter alia praying for:—

(i) To direct OP to refund Rs.1,26,81,173/- along with interest @ 18 % p.a. from the date of the receipt of the payments made to OP.

(ii) To direct OP to pay delayed possession compensation equal to interest at the rate 18% p.a. on amount deposited by the Complainant with OP w.e.f. September 2012.

(iii) To direct OP to refund wrongfully charged taxes and other charges along with the interest on that amount @ 18% p.a. from date of receipt of such wrongfully levied charges and taxes..

(iv) To direct OP to pay Rs.30 lakhs as compensation towards mental agony and harassment to the Complainant.

(v) To direct OP to pay Rs.15 lakh towards cost of litigation.

2. Notice was issued to OP, giving them 30 days’ time to file written statement. Written statement was also filed by OP.

3. It is averred in the Complaint that:—

(i) The complainant initially booked a residential apartment with the OP in a project namely ‘Palm Gardens’ which the OP was to develop in Sector 83 of Gurgaon. The booking was made on 01/09/2012 paying a booking amount of Rs.7,50,000/-. The total consideration of the apartment at the time of booking was Rs.1,26,49,358/- and service tax amounting to Rs.4,23,068/-. After allotment of a residential unit bearing No. PGN-02-1104 having a tentative super area of approx. 1720 sq.ft. to the Complainant, the parties executed an agreement on 22/10/2012, incorporating their respective obligations in respect of the said transaction. As per the Builder Buyers agreement (BBA), the possession was proposed to be handed over to the complainant within thirty six months from the start of construction(June 2012) i.e. by September 2015 (including a grace period of three months). In 2014, OP lured the Complainant by offering a flat with a increased super area of 2030 sq.ft. for the consideration of Rs.2,75,57,858/- and by saying that the construction is almost complete of these flats and possession will be delivered by 2016, owing to these promises by OP, Complainant entered into another Buyers agreement (hereinafter referred to as agreement) dated 29/10/2014 for unit bearing No. PGN-10-0002, having super area of 3750 sq.ft. The grievance of the complainant is that the possession has not been offered to him and the construction is not complete, despite he having paid Rs. 1,26,81,173/- out of the agreed sale consideration of Rs. 2,75,57,858/-.

(ii) OP announced the project in dispute was to consist of 12 towers, with the property ranging from 3 BHK, 5 BHK and duplex having super area from 1720 sq.ft. to 3750 sq.ft. The advertisement further mentions that the project will be having modern amenities and facilities. OP further by using fraudulent means extorted money from Complainant without getting the required permissions from various authorities.

(iii) OP has given different dates of possession to different buyers, such as Complainant has been given the date of possession in 2015, however other buyers who booked the flat in similar period were given the date of 2019, which clearly demonstrates the cheating mindset of OP.

(iv) OP despite charging for various amenities such as road connectivity, green area, 24 metre road which was suggested to provide the connectivity to the project directly etc. were not included in the layout plan, which clearly shows the restrictive and unfair trade practices on part of OP.

(v) OP have used their dominant position and arbitrarily imposed illegal demands for payments i.e. on exorbitant interest of 24% p.a. on delayed payments, the said unit and other amenities promised were not ready for possession. OP has also charged Rs.6,00,000/- as parki