A delay in possession delivery is not grounds for refund outside contract stipulations; interest compensation is applicable.

1. The present Consumer Complaint (CC) has been filed under S.21(a)(i) of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (for short "the Act") by the Complainants against Opposite Party (OP) as detailed above, inter alia praying for:
(i) To direct OP to refund Rs.2,25,31,148 along with compensation of compound interest @ 18% on the total amount from the date of deposit of the amount till final date of payment.
(ii) To direct OP to pay compensation of Rs.1,00,00,000 towards harassment, mental agony, torture, deficiency in services and unfair trade practices. Rs.10,00,000 towards physical strain and mental agony.
(iii) Compensation of Rs.1,00,000 towards litigation cost.

2. Notice was issued to OP, giving them 30 days time to file written statement. Written statement was filed by OP on 17/07/2018.

3. It is averred in the Complaint that:
(i) The Complainants booked an apartment in B Wing, 6th floor bearing Unit No. B - 602, measuring 1966 sq.ft. in Lodha Evoq, situated at New Cuffe Parade, Wadala, Mumbai vide application dated 13/05/2013. The total consideration for the said apartment was Rs.7,55,50,956 out of which Complainants paid Rs.2,25,31,14 till date. The possession was to be delivered on 30/06/2016.
(ii) OP has not delivered the possession of the said unit despite numerous follow ups from the Complainants and has indulged in unfair trade practices.
(iii) The Complainants raised various questions regarding terms and conditions of the application form which were not as per the representation made by the OP, and were one sided clauses favouring OP only such as arbitration clause, forfeiture Clause etc., the OP however, replied that the clauses are standard clauses and will not apply to the Complainants.
(iv) Due to delay in payment of one installment by the Complainants as they were travelling out of India, OP threatened to terminate the agreement and forfeit 10% of the amount paid, which clearly shows the intention to look for an opportunity to forfeit money of the Complainants.
(v) OP vide letter dated 16/09/2015, informed Complainants that he is unable to procure permissions from Civil aviation Authorities and as a result there is delay in construction of the project, and further revised the date of possession to December 2016. Complainants made numerous requests for site visit but OP did not arrange it for them, rather asked the Complainants to first make the payment.
(vi) Complainants in order to timely make the payment arranged a loan from HDFC bank, and spent Rs.50,000 on the process of acquiring loan. Further Complainants would not be liable to pay GST on any payment if the OP had delivered the possession on time. These unfair and arbitrary acts of OP led to huge financial stress to the Complainants. Due to these grave deficiencies Complainants sent a legal notice dated 01/07/2017 terminating the contract and asking for refund of their amount. OP replied to letter stating that the delay happened due to unforeseeable circumstances and Complainants do not have right to terminate the contract, even if they do so, their 20% money of the total consideration will be forfeited and hence no refund will be given to them.
(vii) OP in unfair and arbitrary manner refused to answer the queries of Complainants and further the OP started offering bare shell units instead of designer units, but this choice was denied to the Complainants. Conduct of OP in not delivering the possession led to financial loss, mental agony to the Complainants.

4. The OP in their written statement / reply stated that:
(i) Allegations of unfair trade practices are baseless, have been made with an ulterior motive to extort money from the OP.
(ii) Clause 11.2 of the agreement mentions grace period of one year, hence the date of possession is