Just imagine that you have invested all your savings in buying a house and now neither are you getting the house nor the money from the builder. Something similar happened with nirmal Satwant Singh of Gurugram. On July 24, 2013, he booked three flats in 114 Avenue from delhi builder VSR Infrastructure Private Limited. nirmal paid Rs 2.4 crore for these three flats. The builder promised to give him possession within three years, but 11 years passed by and nirmal did not get the ownership rights of the flat from the builder.
The builder refused to give a refund
nirmal tried to resolve this issue by talking to the company several times, but the builder kept procrastinating every time. nirmal appealed to the company to either give him the possession of the flat or refund him, but the builder neither gave him the possession and later refused to give a refund. Finally, nirmal approached the Consumer Commission for help.
The company put forth its case in court
Arguing against Nirmal's action, VSR Infrastructure Private Limited said that the buyer of the house is not a consumer, so solving his issue does not come under the purview of the Consumer Court. Along with this, the company asked the court to dismiss Nirmal's petition. The company also told the court that nirmal has bought the house for his own benefit, not for commercial purposes.
The company, while putting forth its case, also said that the delay in possession is happening due to pollution and the ban imposed by the government on construction. The company said that the flat is ready, only the occupancy certificate is pending, possession will be given as soon as it is received.
The court reprimanded the builder
Meanwhile, the court reprimanded VSR Infrastructure Private Limited and rejected all their arguments. The court said, the buyer of the house also comes under the category of consumer. The house may have been bought for personal use, but money has been paid for it. The court also ordered the company to refund Rs 2.4 crore to Nirmal. Apart from this, it also ordered to pay Rs 5 lakh for mental harassment and Rs 50,000 as compensation for the expenses incurred in the legal battle.
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