| ORDER | DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL FORUM, PATIALA. Complaint No. CC/15/147 of 16.7.2015 Decided on: 22.12.2015 Gurpreet Singh S/o Sh.Surinder Singh c/o Principal, Millennium School, Nandpur Kesho, Sirhind Road, Patiala. …………...Complainant Versus DTDC Courier and Cargo Ltd., SCO-9, Near Kaka Hotel, Gurudwara Dukh Niwaran Sahib Market, Patiala, through its Manager,. …………….Op Complaint under Section 12 of the Consumer Protection Act. QUORUM Sh.D.R.Arora, President Smt.Neelam Gupta, Member Smt.Sonia Bansal,Member Present: For the complainant: S.Gajjan Singh, Advocate For Op : Sh.N.S.Sodhi,Advocate ORDER D.R.ARORA, PRESIDENT - The complainant being employed as Accountant in the office of the Principal, Millennium School, Sirhind Road, Nandpur Kesho, District Patiala had booked with the Op some documents vide CN No.249942178 dated 25.3.2015 for being dispatched to Sh.Neeraj Khurana of 514 Udyog Vihar Gurgaon(Haryana) on behalf of the principal of the said school. Vide letter dated 4.4.2015 the complainant enquired from the Op regarding the status of the consignment . He also checked the status on internet on 26.3.2015 at 11.50 PM and found the status as “In transit”. Similar report was found by the complainant on the internet on 27.3.2015.
- It is alleged by the complainant that the Op failed to deliver the consignment to the consignee and therefore, the purpose of the booking was frustrated which resulted into inconvenience and the embarrassment suffered by the complainant for which he is entitled to be compensated in a sum of Rs.one lac. Besides the Op be burdened with a penalty in a sum of Rs.50,000/-.Accordingly the complainant brought this complaint against the Op under Section 12 of the Consumer Protection Act,1986 ( for short the Act) .
- The op on notice appeared and filed the written version having raised certain preliminary objections, interalia , that the complaint has been filed by the complainant in his personal capacity whereas the parcel was sent in an official capacity and therefore, the complaint is liable to be dismissed; that the complaint is bad for non joinder of necessary parties and that the complainant has not approached the Forum with clean hands. As regards the facts of the complaint, it is not denied by the Op that the complainant had booked the consignment vide CN No.249942178 dated 25.3.2015 with it. It is denied that the complainant had sent any letter dated 4.4.2015 making an enquiry about the status of consignment . It is not denied by the Op that the complainant had enquired about the status of the consignment on internet.
- It is also the plea taken up by the Op that in case the parcel is not insured by the consigner, as per the policy of the company, then the liability of the company is restricted to Rs.100/-only. The complainant had not got the goods insured and therefore, the complainant can not shift the burden of his lapse upon the Op. Ultimately, it was prayed to dismiss the complaint.
- In support of his complaint, the complainant produced in evidence Ex.CA, his sworn affidavit alongwith the documents Exs.C1 to C5 and he closed his evidence.
- On the other hand, on behalf of the Op, it’s counsel tendered in evidence Ex.OPA,the sworn affidavit of Sh.Rajiv Chandan alongwith documents Exs.OP1 to OP3 and closed its evidence.
- The parties failed to file the written arguments. We have heard the learned counsel for the parties and gone through the evidence on record.
- First of all we take up the objection raised by the Op that the complaint brought by the complainant in his personal capacity is not maintainable. Ex.C1 is the copy of the challan No.Z49942178 dated 25.3.2015 issued by the Op and the name of the consignor is recorded as the Millennium school. It is alleged by the complainant that he had booked the consignment in question while being in the employment of Millennium school Sirhind Road, Nandpur Kesho, District Patiala. Even in the sworn affidavit Ex.CA, the complainant has disclosed that he is presently employed as accountant in the office of the principal of Millennium School, Sirhind Road, Nandpur Kesho, District Patiala.
- It was submitted by Sh.N.S.Sodhi, the learned counsel for the Op that the consigner being the Millennium School, the complaint should have been filed by the Millennium School and the complainant Gurpreet Singh could not maintain the same in his individual capacity. Nowhere, it is made out from the challan receipt Ex.C1 that the booking was made by the complainant. It is nowhere alleged by the complainant that he has been authorized by the principal , Millennium School,Nandpur Kesho, Sirhind Road, Patiala to file the complaint on his behalf. Similarly the complaint is not shown to have been filed by the principal Millennium school Nandpur Kesho, Sirhind Road, District Patiala through the complainant Sh.Gurpreet Singh as the authorized representative. Therefore, we fail to understand as to how the complainant could maintain the complaint in his individual capacity. In the title of the complaint, the complainant has shown his address as c/o Principal Millennium School, Nandpur Kesho, Sirhind Road, Patiala but that itself does not go to show the complaint to have been filed by the Principal Millennium School. As a result we are of the considered view that the complaint filed by the complainant in his individual capacity is not maintainable as he had no cause of action to file the complaint against the Op.
- Since we have come to the findings that the complaint filed by the complainant is not maintainable, we refrain from discussing the merits of the case and dismiss the complaint being not maintainable with no order as to costs.
Pronounced Dated:22.12 .2015 Sonia Bansal Neelam Gupta D.R.Arora Member Member President | |
