Karnataka

Bangalore 4th Additional

CC/15/2025

Mr,Pulipakkam Narasimhan Ashok S/o, Pulipakkam Narasimhan - Complainant(s)

Versus

M/s. Puravankara Investments Earlier Known as Puravankara Constructions, - Opp.Party(s)

S. Vinod & K.V. Vishnu Prasad

03 Apr 2018

ORDER

Complaint filed on: 17.12.2015

                                                      Disposed on: 03.04.2018

 

BEFORE THE IV ADDL DISTRICT

CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL FORUM, BENGALURU

 1^ST FLOOR, BMTC, B-BLOCK, TTMC BUILDING, K.H.ROAD, SHANTHINAGAR, BENGALURU – 560 027       

 

 

CC.No.2025/2015

DATED THIS THE 3^rd APRIL OF 2018

 

PRESENT

 

 

SRI.S.L.PATIL, PRESIDENT

SMT.N.R.ROOPA, MEMBER

 

Complainant/s: -                           

Mr.Pulipakkam

Narasimhan Ashok

S/o Pulipakkam Narasimhan, aged 55 years,

R/at PineVilla, Byepass

Road, Saproon Solan,

Himachal Pradesh-173212

 

By Advocates

M/s.V & V Law Office     

 

V/s

Opposite party/s

Respondent/s:-

 

1. M/s.Puravankara Investments, Earlier known as Puravankara Constructions,

no.130/1, Ulsoor road, Benglauru-42.

Rep. by its Proprietor

Mr.Ashish Puravanakara

 

2. M/s.Provident Housing ltd., no.130/1, Ulsoor road, Benglauru-42.

Rep. by its authorized person

 

By Advocates

M/s.Hudson Samuel and Partners

 

PRESIDENT: SRI.S.L.PATIL

 

 

            This complaint is filed by the Complainant against the Opposite party no.1 & 2 (herein after referred as Op.no.1 & 2 or Ops) seeking issuance of direction to provide BESCOM electricity power connection to the flat no.105 and to pay Rs.5 lakhs towards damages. Further direct them to pay cost and to grant such other reliefs deem fit for which the Complainant is entitled to.

 

          2. The brief facts of the case of the Complainant are that, he purchased a flat bearing no.105 (hereinafter referred as the said flat) J6, Block/Wing in ‘Provident Welworth City’ (hereinafter referred as the said project) in Kadatanamale village, Hesaraghatta hobli, Bengaluru. The schedule ‘D’ in the sale agreement more precisely mention the specifications and amenities that the Ops have promised to provide on or before the registering the sale deed. The Complainant further submits that, Ops handed over the possession of the said flat to the Complainant through their letter dtd.25.09.14. Subsequently to taking the possession of the said flat, Ops have executed the sale deed in favour of the Complainant and also got the katha entered in to his name. The Complainant further submits that, Ops have not provided Electricity power connection to the said flat, hence Complainant through his email requested the Op to provide temporary power connection for 20 days in the month of June 2015. After 20 days of temporary electric connection, the Ops did not provide the permanent electricity power connection from BESCOM and till this day Ops have not provided the permanent electricity power connections to the said flat. The Complainant requested the Ops on many occasion through his mails dtd.29.09.14, 21.07.15 & 11.08.15. Other flat owners also started pressurizing the Ops for the permanent BESCOM electricity power connections to the above said project. Under these circumstances, the Complainant during the month of August 2015 came to know that the Ops are in the process of forming Flat Owners Association, thereby the Ops can transfer all their liabilities of maintenances and other facilities of project and thereby they can escape from their clutches of the flat owners. The Complainant further submits that, his efforts of meeting the Ops went in vein and he wrote a detail email on 29.05.15 requesting to provide permanent power connection but they did not reply to his email. Again he wrote a letter to the General Manager of Op but Ops did not reply to the said letter also. Finally he got issued legal notice dtd.31.10.15, for which also Ops did not choose to reply. Hence, he constrained to approach this form and prays to allow the complaint.

 

3. On receipt of the notice, Op.no.1 & 2 did appear and filed common version denying the allegations made by the Complainant. It is the specific case of the Ops that, the main relief prayed for by the Complainant has become infructuous since BESCOM electricity power connection to the said flat has already been provided and the Complainant has kept informed on the same. Hence, on this ground alone, complaint is liable to be dismissed. In this context Ops have given better particulars in its version at para 7 (a) to (h), reads thus:

1. The Complainant approached the Op.no.2 seeking to purchase an apartment for himself in the project known as ‘Provident Welworth City’ launched by the Ops by submitting an application for allotment dtd.30.06.14
2. As per the application for allotment, the Complainants were liable to make payment of a total sum of Rs.32,41,125/- excluding taxes, towards the cost of the apartment and undivided share in the land, inclusive of car parking space at the stilt level, In addition to this, the Complainant was liable to pay VAT in a sum of Rs.1,17,820/- and Service Tax in a sum of Rs.1,45,626/- on the land cost and the construction cost. The Complainant was also liable to pay a sum of Rs.1,15,696/- towards electricity connection charges along with service tax, advance maintenance charges along with service tax, corpus fund etc., Thus, the total cost of the apartment was Rs.36,20,267/- excluding stamp duty and registration charges, which the Complainant was also required to pay.
3. The Complainant made of a sum of Rs.33,000/- towards the booking of an apartment of his preference being the apartment no.105 on the first floor in J6 block/wing. The booking and subsequent allotment of the apartment was subject to the Complainant fulfilling the terms & conditions as stated in the application for allotment. As stated in clause 1 of the application for allotment, time for payment of the installment amounts was made the essence of the contracts.
4. The agreement for sale dtd.08.07.14, was executed by the Complainant. The installment amounts agreed under the application for allotment and the sale agreement was to be paid without any default by the Complainant and without demand by the Ops as the time for payment of balance of sale price and construction cost was essential on account of the scheme formulated for the development of the property and that in the event of any default in payment of the balance amount, timely completion of the entire project would be affected, affecting the interest of the Ops, as also the interest of other purchasers of apartments in the said project. Under the terms & conditions of the agreement of sale dtd.08.07.14, making payments of the installments on the due dates is made not only the essence of the contract, but the delay in making payments also attracted interest at the rates set out therein. The Ops also reserved the right to terminate the said agreement and the allotment of the apartment to the Complainant, in the event the Complainant defaulted in payments of installments and balance amounts as provided under the said agreement. The Complainant requested to make payment of 80% of the total cost at the time of taking possession, which as a special case was agreed to by the Ops.
5. In the agreement of sale, the tentative date for completion was mentioned as 31.07.14 with a further grace period of six months, which was subject to prompt payment of installments by all purchasers on the due dates, and subject to delay if any, caused on account of force majeure conditions and other unforeseen circumstances. In Sept 2014, the Complainant was informed about the completion of his apartment. The Complainant paid the balance amounts and took possession of his apartment on 25.09.14. The Complainant also executed a declaration cum undertaking dtd.25.09.14. Sale deed dtd.26.09.14 also came to be executed by the Ops, in favour of the Complainant in respect of the apartment and undivided share in the land.
6. The permanent BESCOM electricity supply to the 3^rd phase, in which the Complainant’s apartment is, was delayed on account of BESCOM itself. The Ops had applied under the self-executing scheme, which could not be executed on account of road widening of Doddaballapur road which was proposed. Therefore the Ops requested BESCOM itself to lay the cables and supply permanent power to the 3^rd phase. In the interim, temporary power was organized and could be availed of by any/all of the flat owners who were residing there at a cost of Rs.1,000/- per month. Backup power was also made available through the generators already installed for the said purpose. The Complainant has also availed of the temporary power on occasions that he was staying at his flat by paying the charges of Rs.1,000/- per month. The Complainant was also kept informed about the status of the permanent BESCOM connection.  
7. BESCOM has provided permanent power supply to the 3^rd phase including the Complainants apartment on 31.03.2016. Copy of the service certificate dtd.04.04.16 is issued by BESCOM is marked as Ex-B6. Thereafter the Ops have also surrendered the temporary power connection obtained by them to BESCOM. Copy of the letter dtd.04.04.16 issued by BESCOM, confirming the surrender of the temporary connection is marked as Ex-B7.
8. The RR no. pertaining to the permanent electricity connection to the Complainants apartment is MSYEH 78810 and the meter serial no. is 1940999.  These details have been communicated to the Complainant by the Op.no.2 vide their email dtd.26.04.16 marked as Ex-B8. It is the responsibility of the Complainant to get the electricity connection in respect of his apartment, transferred in his name. The Op.no.2 has also informed the Complainant about the procedure of getting the connection transferred in his name vide their email dtd.14.06.16 marked as Ex-B9.

 

Hence on these grounds and other grounds prays for dismissal of the complaint.

         

          4. The Complainant to substantiate his case filed affidavit evidence and produced documents as annexure A to L. The Vice President – Legal and Authorized Signatory of Ops filed affidavit evidence and got marked the documents as Ex-B1 to B9. We have gone through the available materials on record. Heard both side.

  

5. The points that arise for our consideration are:

1. Whether is there any deficiency of service on the part of Ops, if so, whether the Complainant entitled for the relief sought for ?  
2. What order ?

                   

           

 

6.  Our answers to the above points are as under:

 

Point no.1: This issue does not survive for consideration since the BESCOM has already supplied the permanent power connection to the flat bearing no.105, Block-J6, Provident Welworth City, Kadatanamale village, Hesarghatta village, Bengaluru.  

Point no.2: As per the final order for the following

 

REASONS

 

          7. Point no.1:  It is the Complainant who approached the Op.no.2 seeking to purchase an apartment for himself in the project known as ‘Provident Welworth City’ launched by the Ops by submitting an application for allotment dtd.30.06.14. As per the application for allotment, the Complainants were liable to make payment of a total sum of Rs.32,41,125/- excluding taxes, towards the cost of the apartment and undivided share in the land, inclusive of car parking space at the stilt level. In addition to this, the Complainant was liable to pay VAT in a sum of Rs.1,17,820/- and Service Tax in a sum of Rs.1,45,626/- on the land cost and the construction cost. The Complainant was also liable to pay a sum of Rs.1,15,696/- towards electricity connection charges along with service tax, advance maintenance charges along with service tax, corpus fund etc., Thus, the total cost of the apartment was Rs.36,20,267/- excluding stamp duty and registration charges, which the Complainant was also required to pay. This fact is not specifically denied by the Complainant. The booking and subsequent allotment of the apartment was subject to the Complainant fulfilling the terms & conditions as stated in the application for allotment. Clause 1 of the application for allotment, time for payment of the installment amounts was made the essence of the contracts.

 

8. Let us come to the issue in question with regard to the electricity supply. It is the specific case of the Ops that, the permanent BESCOM electricity supply to the 3^rd phase, in which the Complainant’s apartment is, was delayed on account of BESCOM itself. The Ops had applied under the self-executing scheme, which could not be executed on account of road widening of Doddaballapur road which was proposed. Therefore the Ops requested BESCOM itself to lay the cables and supply permanent power to the 3^rd phase. In the interim, temporary power was organized and could be availed of by any/all of the flat owners who were residing there at a cost of Rs.1,000/- per month. Backup power was also made available through the generators already installed for the said purpose. The Complainant has also availed of the temporary power on occasions that he was staying at his flat by paying the charges of Rs.1,000/- per month. The Complainant was also kept informed about the status of the permanent BESCOM connection. In this context, we placed reliance on the annexure F which is the email dtd.26.05.15 sent by the Complainant to Op, wherein it is stated that:

Dear Mr.Chandrashekar,

I hold a flat in PWWC. My flat no. is J6-105. I received the soft copy of stilt car parking allotment. Thanks for it. I intend to come alongwith my family to stay in my flat for about 20 days during the month of June from 10.06.15 to 30.06.05

As I understand that the permanent KSEB electrical connection will take another 2 months or so, I request you to provide the temporary electrical connection to my flat from 10.06.15 to 30.06.15 for which I will make the necessary pro-rata payment.

Hope you would acknowledge and do the needful in this regard.

 

If the above email is strictly construed, it is the Complainant who has requested for provide temporary electric connection to his said flat.

 

          9. We also noticed that, BESCOM has provided permanent power supply to the third phase including the Complainant’s apartment on 31.03.16 i.e. after filing the present complaint. In this context, Service certificate dtd.04.04.16 has been issued by BESCOM. Thereafter the Ops have also surrendered the temporary power connection obtained by them to BESCOM by its letter dtd.04.04.16 issued by BESCOM, confirming the surrender of the temporary connection.  It is also noticed that, the RR no. pertaining to the permanent electricity connection to the Complainants apartment is MSYEH 78810 and the meter serial no. is 1940999.  These details have been communicated to the Complainant by the Op.no.2 vide their email dtd.26.04.16. It is the responsibility of the Complainant to get the electricity connection in respect of his apartment, transferred in his name. The Op.no.2 has also informed the Complainant about the procedure of getting the connection transferred in his name vide their email dtd.14.06.16. These facts are supported by annexure F and also Ex-B6 to B9. When such being the fact, claim of the Complainant becomes infructuous as the permanent power connection to the said flat bearing no.105, Block-J6, Provident Welworth City, Kadatanamale village, Hesarghatta village, Bengaluru has already been given. Hence, we do not find any deficiency of service on the part of Ops. Accordingly we answered the point no.1.

 

10. Point no.2: In the result, we passed the following:

 

ORDER

 

          The complaint filed by the Complainant is hereby dismissed as it becomes infructuous in view of supply of permanent power supply to the flat bearing no.105, Block-J6, Provident Welworth City, Kadatanamale village, Hesarghatta village, Bengaluru.

 

          2. Looking to the circumstances of the case, we direct both the parties to bear their own cost.   

         

          Supply free copy of this order to both the parties.

 

          (Dictated to the Stenographer in the open forum and pronounced on 3^rd April 2018).

 

 

 

(ROOPA.N.R)     MEMBER

(S.L.PATIL)  PRESIDENT

                                                                        

1. Witness examined on behalf of the complainant/s by way of affidavit:

 

Sri.Pulipakkam Narasimhan Ashok, who being the complainant was examined. 

Copies of Documents produced on behalf of Complainant/s:

 

Annex.A	Sale agreement dtd.08.07.14
Annex.B	Possession letter dtd.25.09.14
Annex.C	Receipt dtd.25.09.14
Annex.D	Sale deed dtd.26.09.14
Annex.E	Form no.9 Punchayat E khatha dtd.16.05.15
Annex.F to H	Email correspondence with Op
Annex.I	Letter dtd.31.08.15
Annex.J	Legal notice dtd.31.10.15
Annex.K	Letter of cost break up details dtd.19.08.14
Annex.L	Rejoinder letter dtd.03.12.15

 

2. Witness examined on behalf of the Opposite party/s Respondent/s by way of affidavit:

 

Sri.S.John Vijayakumar, who being the Vice President – Legal and Authorized Signatory of Ops was examined.

 

Copies of Documents produced on behalf of Opposite party/s

 

Ex-B1	Letter dtd.05.11.14
Ex-B2	Note dtd.17.11.14
Ex-B3 to B5	Letters dtd.30.12.14, 15.05.15, 26.06.15
Ex-B6	Service certificate dtd.04.04.16
Ex-B7	Letter dtd.04.04.16
Ex-B8 & B9	Email dtd.26.04.16 & 14.06.16

 

 

 

 

(ROOPA.N.R)     MEMBER

(S.L.PATIL)  PRESIDENT