Complainant Gurlal Singh through special attorney Rattan Singh through the present complaint filed under Section 12 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (for short, ‘the Act’) has prayed that opposite party be directed to return Rs.1,00,000/- i.e. Rs.75,000/- + Rs.25,000/- received by her from him with 18% P.A. interest from its due date till its realization. He has also claimed Rs.50,000/- as compensation for harassment and Rs.10,000/- as litigation expenses. He has further prayed that opposite party be directed to return the original documents.
The case of the complainant in brief is that he appointed his father Rattan Singh as his Special Attorney to prosecute this complaint. It was pleaded that complainant Gurlal Singh agreed to avail and retain the services of the Company herein after called as opposite party for the purposes of receiving service and applying for a permanent resident visa to go abroad to Canada under the Nova Scotia Regular Labour Market demand programme 2013 for consideration which was carried by the opposite party as business. It was pleaded that opposite party received the amount of Rs.75,000/- in shape of demand draft bearing No.291997 dated 14.3.2014 made from Punjab & Sind Bank Gurdaspur from account of Rattan Singh Special Attorney of the complainant on 18.3.2014 vide receipt No.702 dated 18.3.2014 and undertook that she provides the services of the opposite party to the complainant to prepare and send the prepared file to the Canada immigration office for making arrangement of getting permanent resident visa under the law Nova Scotia Regular Labour Market demand programme 2013. It was further pleaded that opposite party has executed the contract of engagement dated 18.3.2014 with the complainant. Opposite party also received Rs.25,000/- vide receipt No.708 dated 24.3.2014 from the complainant as Visa fee which was to be deposited in the visa office but the opposite party did not deposit Rs.25,000/- as visa fee and alongwith this the original documents i.e. work experience certificate and other documents of passport, police clearance certificates, educational certificates of degree and other financial/property documents received from him by the opposite party. It was also pleaded that opposite party did not process the application of the complainant for the permanent resident visa of Canada Embassy under the Nova Scotia Regular Labour Market demand programme 2013 and also did not deposit the amount of Rs.25,000/- as Visa fee in the Embassy of Canada which was received by her from the complainant and used the above said amount for her own benefit and committed the offence and did not offer any service for which the opposite party has taken a huge amount of Rs.75,000/-to provide the services for Nova Scotia Regular Labour Market demand programme 2013 under the arrangement of permanent resident visa dated 18.3.2014. It was next pleaded that letters dated 20.2.2015 and 21.3.2015 were also sent by the complainant to the opposite party to know the visa application dated 18.3.2014 but the opposite party did not pay any heed to these letters/notices. It was pleaded that after sending the letter complainant himself approached to the opposite party and requested that to tell about the visa application and its process but the opposite party did not pay any heed to the requests of the complainant and instead of listening the requests of the complainant he humiliated by the opposite party in the presence of number of customers and openly proclaimed that she will do nothing in this matter and will not offer any service in the matter and the complainant may file a case against him and he will give reply in the court of law. It was also pleaded that opposite party failed to provide the service to the complainant which was clear cut deficiency in services of the opposite party, hence this complaint.
3. Notice of the complaint was issued to the opposite parties who appeared through her counsel but after availing so many opportunities and imposing of costs she failed to file the reply to the complaint and was proceeded against exparte vide order dated 16.10.2015.
4. Sh.Rattan Singh Adv. Special Powner of Attorney holder tendered into evidence his own affidavit Ex.CW1/A alongwith documents Ex.C1 to Ex.C12 and closed the evidence.
5. We have duly considered the pleadings of the counsel for the complainant and have also appreciated the evidence produced on record with the valuable assistance of the learned counsel for the purpose of adjudication of the present complaint.
6. We have anxiously considered the contention of the complainant in the light of evidence on record and have found that the stand of the complainant is supported from the exparte evidence led by him in the form of affidavit Ex.C1 wherein it is asserted that the complainant agreed to avail the services of the OP company for the purpose of applying for a permanent resident visa to go to Canada for consideration. It was further asserted that OP received Rs.75000/- vide Ex.C3 and Rs.25000/- vide Ex.C4 from the complainant. The contract of Engagement was also executed which is Ex.C2. The complainant made written requests Ex.C-5 and Ex.C7. The postal receipt is Ex.C6 and Ex.C8.
7. From the evidential part, it is proved that the complainant time and again approached OP for removal of his grievance but was unnecessarily harassed by OP which amounts to deficiency in service on the part of OP. The OP did not bother to appear in the Forum and failed to satisfy the complainant and also did not care to contest the claim of the complainant and rebut the evidence led by him as aforesaid and as such it can be concluded without any hesitation that either they admit the claim of the complainant or they have nothing to say in the matter. In this way, the evidence led by the complainant goes unrebutted and unassailed. Hence we are of this view that present complaint can be best disposed of by giving directions to the parties and hence we order and direct the OP to refund the amount received from the complainant within 30 days from the date of receipt of copy of orders failing which the payable amount shall carry interest @6% p.a from the date of orders till actually paid.
8. Copy of the order be communicated to the parties free of charges. File is ordered to be consigned to the record room.
(Naveen Puri)
President.
ANNOUNCED: (Jagdeep Kaur)
NOV. 18, 2015 Member.
*YP*
