National Consumer Disputes Redressal
M/S. Skg Engineering Pvt. Ltd. vs Emaar Mgf Land Pvt. Ltd. on 16 April, 2010
NATIONAL CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION NATIONAL CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION NEW DELH I Consumer Complaint No. 41 OF 2010 M/s. SKG Engineering Pvt. Ltd., Gripwel House, Block 5, C-6 & 7, LSC Vasant Kunj, New Delhi Complainant Versus EMAAR MGF Land Pvt. Ltd. Registered Office at: ECE House, 28, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi-110 001 Also at: EMAAR MGF Business Park, Mehrauli Gurgaon Road, Sikanderpur Chowk, Sector-28, Gurgaon 122002 Haryana Opposite Party BEFORE: HONBLE mR. JUSTICE K.S. GUPTA, PRESIDING MEMBER HONBLE MR. JUSTICE R.K. BATTA, MEMBER For the Complainant : Shri Saurabh Sethh, Advocate PRONOUNCED ON_16th April, 2010 ORDER
JUSTICE K. S. GUPTA, MEMBER Reliefs claimed in the complaint are as under:-
i) Direct the opposite party to return forthwith, the amounts paid to them, as detailed in Schedule I annexed herewith, along with interest @ 18% p.a. w.e.f. the date of payment till the date of the refund of the amount;
ii) Award damages to the tune of Rs. 50,00,000/- in favour of the complainant and against the opposite party, for the harassment and mental agony caused to the complainant;
iii) Award the costs of the present complaint to the complainant;
iv) Any other order (s) as the Honble Forum deems fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the present case.
In Schedule-I the total amount paid is shown as Rs. 2,58,43,942/-.
It is, inter alia, alleged in the complaint that the complainant is a company incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 and is engaged in the manufacture of components, assemblies and hydraulic systems for agricultural and construction purposes. Opposite party is engaged in the construction and project/Township development and has launched a project titled Digital Greens in Sector 61, Gurgaon, Haryana, offering to the public at large, commercial space for office purposes.
Complainant for setting up offices, booked six units in the said project by making application dated 23.6.2008 and paid initial booking amount @ Rs. 15,00,000/- per unit as demanded by the opposite party. The complainant has paid a total amount of Rs. 2,58,43,942/-.
It is further alleged that the opposite party has concealed the material fact from the complainant that the respective units needed to be converted for use as commercial space by obtaining necessary Government sanction. Opposite party is alleged to have informed the complainant by the letter dated 21.1.2010 of the cancellation of booking and forfeiting the amounts already deposited by it. Claiming to be a consumer, this complaint has been filed seeking the afore-mentioned reliefs. Since we were not prima facie, satisfied of the complainant being a consumer on 29.3.2010 on which date the complaint was listed for admission, the complaint has been postponed at the request of Shri Saurabh Seth, Adv. to 30.3.2010 for admission hearing and we have now heard him.
Under Section 2(1)(d) of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, the consumer has been defined thus:
"Consumer"
means any person who
(i) buys any goods for a consideration which has been paid or promised or partly paid and partly promised, or under any system of deferred payment and includes any user of such goods other than the person who buys such goods for consideration paid or promised or partly paid or partly promised, or under any system of deferred payment, when such use is made with the approval of such person, but does not include a person who obtains such goods for resale or for any commercial purpose; or
(ii) hires or avails of any services for a consideration which has been paid or promised or partly paid and partly promised, or under any system of deferred payment and includes any beneficiary of such services other than the person who [hires or avails of] the services for consideration paid or promised, or partly paid and partly promised, or under any system of deferred payment, when such services are availed of with the approval of the first mentioned person [but does not include a person who avails of such services for any commercial purposes];
Explanation. For the purposes of this clause, commercial purpose does not include use by a person of goods bought and used by him and services availed by him exclusively for the purposes of earning his livelihood by means of self-employment. (emphasis supplied) From the allegations made in the complaint it may be seen that the complainant, a company manufacturing components, assemblies and hydraulic systems for agricultural and construction purposes, had booked six units of commercial space for office purposes in Digital Greens project launched by the opposite party-builder and has paid a total amount of Rs. 2,58,43,942/- towards price of the booked units. This booking obviously was not for the purpose of earning livelihood by means of self-employment by the complainant within the meaning of explanation appended to said Section 2(1)(d) of the Act (see Cheema Engineering Services vs. Rajan Singh (1997) 1 SCC 131). The complainant not being a consumer the present complaint under the Act is not legally maintainable. Dismissed as such. It will be open to the complainant to seek refund of the amount paid etc. by filing suit before the competent civil court.
...J. ( K.S. GUPTA ) PRESIDING MEMBER J. ( R.K. BATTA ) MEMBER vs