Charanjit Singh, President;
1 The complainant has filed the present complaint under Section 34, 35, 36 and 38 of the Consumer Protection Act (herein after called as 'the Act') against the opposite parties by alleging that the complainant and his son hired the services of opposite parties for the interior decoration and for working in the Kothi of complainant. The opposite party contacted the complainant by visiting the house of the complainant. Both the opposite parties have initially talk with the son of the complainant on mobile and later on both the opposite parties visited the house of the complainant. The opposite parties made a contract with the complainant for a lump sum amount of Rs. 10,00,000/- as Theka for the construction work as well as interior decoration which includes down sealing of the interior building sealing of gypsum board, affixing tiles on flour of two bathroom and decoration of walls of those bathrooms and to install two geyser, two bed, two sofa set, two big Almirah’s, Four LED Penal, entire electricity wiring, fans, AC Wiring in Lobby, complete entire work of main gate and kitchen, entire wooden work, mirror, Jalian of all the doors and windows of the house. As per the oral contract the opposite party started wok in the house of complainant on 28.2.2020 and it was agreed that the opposite party finalized the entire contractual work up till 3.2.2021. In between the work in progress the opposite party No. 1 executed an agreement dated 4.1.2021 in favour of complainant in which the opposite party No. 1 admitted the above detailed works to be completed by him in lieu of total contract amount of Rs. 10,00,000/- in the presence of witness of the agreement dated 4.1.2021 and it was one of the term of the agreement. If opposite party will fail to compete the entire as detailed above within stipulated date 3.2.2021 then the complainant may initiate legal proceedings against opposite party and the opposite party will be responsible to return back the entire received amount by them alongwith compensation. As per the contract the opposite party started work in the house of complainant since 28.9.2020 and came up till 11.1.2021 thereafter opposite party stopped working in the house of complainant. But since up to period of 4.1.2021 both opposite parties have received Rs. 6,60,000/- which has been sent/ transfer to the account of Palvi Opposite Party No. 2 at the instance of opposite party No. 1 and both the opposite parties took Rs.58,614/- cash from complainant by visiting the house of the complainant. Later on the opposite party again took Rs. 1,19,000/- from the complainant on 5.1.2021, 6.1.2021 and on 11.1.2021 for paying the bills of the material purchased but now opposite parties have committed the breach of contract dated 4.1.2021 by stop doing work in the house of complainant and after receiving the last payment in cash from complainant on 11.1.2021 both have total received Rs.8,37,614/- and opposite party did come to compete the works which is as under:- The opposite parties have not installed a Sofa set, two geyser, One dining table, Chula and Chimni, marble of the kitchen, 2 washroom complete, 2 bathroom complete, fans, entire work of electricity, partition mirror to bathrooms, two Almirah, one bed and one bed incomplete, kitchen incomplete, mirrors of window, Main Gate, entire work of garage, Wallpaper, decoration incomplete, four TV panel, work of paint incomplete, six doors of rooms. The sunmica used in the kitchen damaged due to inferior quality.
And after the opposite party stopped working in the house of complainant, complainant has to pay Rs. 72,490/- to various shopkeepers and labour and in total complainant has paid Rs. 9,10,104/- but the opposite party did not complete the work as per the contract. The complainant has the video recordings, audio recordings and the Whatsapp chat of Opposite party with the son of complainant admitting the works to complete and regarding demand and receiving of payments. The complainant has also video graphed the incomplete work and the photographs dated 18.2.2021 showing the work incomplete and the breach of the term of contract and the agreed work to be done even detailed in the agreement and in the chat whatsapp. The amount detailed in the earlier para received by the opposite party through the bank account of complainant and the cash payments by visiting in the house of the complainant. The complaint moved by the complainant to SHO P.S. Goindwal Sahib is true and correct as the opposite parties have breached the contract dated 4.1.2021 and after receiving the total amount of Rs. 9,10,104/- same through the bank account of his wife and remaining by way of cash from complainant and some by direct payment by complainant but the opposite parties have failed to complete contract with complainant and they have intentionally breached the terms of the contract. Even the sunmica fixed on the incomplete Almirah etc. and is of inferior quality and same has come out of the Almirah etc. even the other works in progress also done with the material of the low quality which has not damaged of their own. The opposite party has shown complete deficient, negligence and inefficiency in providing service to the complainant which is a clear case of negligence, defrauding the complainant as the complainant made legal agreement with the opposite party for hiring service of the opposite party for the construction and interior decoration of the house of the complainant and made the payment of huge amount to the opposite party. The complainant has prayed the following relieves.
- The opposite party may be directed to return back the entire amount of Rs. 9,10,104/- to the complainant alongwith the compensation of Rs. 5 Lacs or
- The opposite party may be directed to complete the work as agreed with good material and also may be directed to remove the low quality material affix on the work in progress and complete the work with good quality material.
- The opposite party may be directed to pay the harassment and litigation charges to the tune of Rs. 1,00,000/-
Alongwith the complaint, the complainant has placed on record affidavit of complainant Ex. C-1, copy of agreement dated 4.1.2021 Ex. C-3, copy of whats app massage 5 pages Ex. C-3 Copy of Bank statement of Tarlok Singh Ex. C-4, Copy of Bank Transfer containing 9 pages Ex. C-5, Copy of application to SHO Goindwal Sahib Ex. C-6, Copy of Bills No. 495 dated 8.2.2021 Ex. C-7, Copy of bill No. 424 dated 30.12.2020 Ex. C-8, Copy of Bill No. 376 dated 30.11.2020 Ex. C-9, Copy of Bill No. 372 dated 27.11.2020 Ex. C-10, Copy of Bill No. 370 dated 26.11.2020 Ex. C-11, Copy of Bill invoice No. 774 dated 19.9.2020 Ex. C-12, Copy of Bill dated 16.1.2020 Ex. C-13, Copy of Bill No. 308 dated 16.1.2021 Ex. C-14, Copy of Bill No. 782 dated 15.2.2021 Ex. C-15, Copy of Bill bath fitting 11.1.2021, 9.1.2021 Ex. C-16, Copy of Bill No. 505 dated 18.2.2021 Ex. C-17, Copy of Bill dated 6.1.2021 Ex. C-18, Copy of Bill dated 5.1.2021 Ex. C-19, Copy of Bill No. 6384 dated 5.1.2021 Ex. C-20, Copy of Bill No. 1053 amounting Rs. 21240/- Ex. C-21, copy of Bill of J.K. lakshmiplast Ex. C-22, Photos 30 in Number Ex. C-23, Pendrive Ex. C-24.
2 Notice of this complaint was sent to the opposite party and opposite parties appeared through Sh. M.P. Arora Advocate but they failed to file written version within stipulated period, consequently, the right of opposite parties to file written statement was closed by order dated 22.7.2021.
3 We have heard the Ld. counsel for complainant and have also carefully gone through the evidence and documents on the file.
4 The complainant has produced on record his affidavit Ex. C-1 and declared that the complainant and his son hired the services of opposite parties for the interior decoration and for working in the Kothi of complainant. The opposite party contacted the complainant by visiting the house of the complainant. Both the opposite parties have initially talk with the son of the complainant on mobile and later on both the opposite parties visited the house of the complainant. The opposite parties made a contract with the complainant for a lump sum amount of Rs. 10,00,000/- as Theka for the construction work as well as interior decoration which includes down sealing of the interior building sealing of gypsum board, affixing tiles on flour of two bathroom and decoration of walls of those bathrooms and to install two geyser, two bed, two sofa set, two big Almirah’s, Four LED Penal, entire electricity wiring, fans, AC Wiring in Lobby, complete entire work of main gate and kitchen, entire wooden work, mirror, Jalian of all the doors and windows of the house. As per the oral contract the opposite party started wok in the house of complainant on 28.2.2020 and it was agreed that the opposite party finalized the entire contractual work up till 3.2.2021. In between the work in progress the opposite party No. 1 executed an agreement dated 4.1.2021 Ex. C-2 in favour of complainant in which the opposite party No. 1 admitted the above detailed works to be completed by him in lieu of total contract amount of Rs. 10,00,000/- in the presence of witness of the agreement dated 4.1.2021 and it was one of the term of the agreement. If opposite party will fail to compete the entire as detailed above within stipulated date 3.2.2021 then the complainant may initiate legal proceedings against opposite party and the opposite party will be responsible to return back the entire received amount by them alongwith compensation. As per the contract the opposite party started work in the house of complainant since 28.9.2020 and came up till 11.1.2021 thereafter opposite party stopped working in the house of complainant. But since up to period of 4.1.2021 both opposite parties have received Rs. 6,60,000/- which has been sent/ transfer to the account of Palvi Opposite Party No. 2 at the instance of opposite party No. 1 and both the opposite parties took Rs.58,614/- cash from complainant by visiting the house of the complainant. He further declared that later on the opposite party again took Rs. 1,19,000/- from the complainant on 5.1.2021, 6.1.2021 and on 11.1.2021 for paying the bills of the material purchased but now opposite parties have committed the breach of contract dated 4.1.2021 by stop doing work in the house of complainant and after receiving the last payment in cash from complainant on 11.1.2021 both have total received Rs.8,37,614/- and opposite party did come to compete the works which is as under:- The opposite parties have not installed a Sofa set, two geyser, One dining table, Chula and Chimni, marble of the kitchen, 2 washroom complete, 2 bathroom complete, fans, entire work of electricity, partition mirror to bathrooms, two Almirah, one bed and one bed incomplete, kitchen incomplete, mirrors of window, Main Gate, entire work of garage, Wallpaper, decoration incomplete, four TV panel, work of paint incomplete, six doors of rooms. The sunmica used in the kitchen damage due to inferior quality. After the opposite party stopped working in the house of complainant, complainant has to pay Rs. 72,490/- to various shopkeepers and labour and in total complainant has paid Rs. 9,10,104/- but the opposite party did not complete the work as per the contract. The complainant has the video recordings, audio recordings and the Whatsapp chat Ex. C-3 of Opposite party with the son of complainant admitting the works to complete and regarding demand and receiving of payments. He further declared that the complainant has also video graphed the incomplete work and the photographs dated 18.2.2021 showing the work incomplete and the breach of the term of contract and the agreed work to be done even detailed in the agreement and in the chat whatsapp. The amount detailed in the earlier para received by the opposite party through the bank account of complainant and the cash payments by visiting in the house of the complainant. The complaint moved by the complainant to SHO P.S. Goindwal Sahib Ex. C-6 is true and correct as the opposite parties have breached the contract dated 4.1.2021 and after receiving the total amount of Rs. 9,10,104/- same through the bank account of his wife and remaining by way of cash from complainant and some by direct payment by complainant but the opposite parties have failed to complete contract with complainant and they have intentionally breached the terms of the contract. He further declared that even the sunmica fixed on the incomplete Almirah etc. and is of inferior quality and same has come out of the Almirah etc. even the other works in progress also done with the material of the low quality which has not damaged of their own. The opposite party has shown complete deficient, negligence and inefficiency in providing service to the complainant which is a clear case of negligence, defrauding the complainant as the complainant made legal agreement with the opposite party for hiring service of the opposite party for the construction and interior decoration of the house of the complainant and made the payment of huge amount to the opposite party and prayed that the present complaint be allowed.
5 The evidence led by the complainant on the file goes unchallenged and unrebutted as Opposite Parties as they have not filed written version within stipulated period and there is no reason on the file as to why the evidence produced by the complainant be not believed. Otherwise also, due notice was issued to the Opposite Parties and opposite parties did not file written version to the complaint filed by the complainant which shows that the Opposite Parties have nothing to say upon the allegations leveled against them by the complainant.
6 In light of the above discussion, the complaint succeeds and the same is hereby partly allowed with costs in favour of the complainant. The opposite parties are directed to complete the remaining work as per agreement Ex. C-2 to the satisfaction of the complainant. The complainant has been unnecessarily harassed by the opposite parties for a long time, therefore, the complainant is entitled to Rs. 50,000/- as compensation on account of harassment and mental agony and Rs 11,000/- as litigation expenses from the opposite parties. Opposite Parties are directed to comply with the order within three months from the date of receipt of copy of the order, failing which the complainant is entitled to interest @ 9% per annum, on the awarded amount, from the date of filing instant complaint till its realisation. Case could not be disposed of within the stipulated period due to heavy pendency of the cases in this Commission and due to COVID-19. Copies of the order be furnished to the parties as per rules. File is ordered to be consigned to the record room.
Announced in Open Commission
26.03.2024
