Date of Filing : 11.10.2010
Date of Order : 27.06.2011
BEFORE THE II ADDITIONAL DISTRICT CONSUMER
DISPUTES REDRESSAL FORUM,
SESHADRIPURAM, BANGALORE – 560 020
Dated 27th JUNE 2011
PRESENT
Sri. S.S. NAGARALE, B.A., LL.B. (SPL) …. President
Smt. D. LEELAVATHI, M.A., LL.B. …. Member
Sri. BALAKRISHNA V. MASALI, B.A., LL.B.(SPL) …. Member
COMPLAINT NO. 2339 / 2010
Mr. Bharath Kumar.N.
S/o. Sri. C. Nagaraja Reddy,
Aged about 24 years,
R/at: No. 31, 4th Main, 12th Cross,
Wilson Garden, Opposite to SBI,
Bangalore – 560 030. ……. Complainant
COMPLAINT NO. 2340 / 2010
Kum. Choodamani.G.N.
D/o. Sri. Narasimhan,
Aged about 24 years,
R/at: No. 896, 2nd ‘D’ Cross,
8th Block, Koramangala,
Bangalore – 560 095. ……. Complainant
V/s.
1. NIIT,
No. 143-B, 2nd Floor, 5th Block,
60 Ft. Road, Koramangala,
Bangalore – 560 034.
Rep. by its Manager.
2. NIIT,
Regional Office,
No. 24, Sabari Complex, 2nd Floor,
Residency Road,
Bangalore – 560 025.
Rep. by its Manager, …… Opposite Party
(OPs are common in both the Complaints)
ORDER
(By the President Sri. S.S. Nagarale)
These two Complaints are clubbed together for passing common order since the OPs in both the cases are one and the same and the question of law & facts involved are one and the same. Therefore, these two Complaints can be conveniently disposed off by common order.
2. The respective Complainants have filed their Complaints u/s. 12 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, seeking refund of Rs.24,266/- in Complaint No. 2339/2010 and Rs.25,370/- in Complaint No. 2340/2010 paid to the OPs and compensation.
3. The brief facts of the case are that the Complainant approached OPs for professional course of Programme on Interconnecting Network Devises duration of which is 80 hours. OPs have assured to provide examination by providing a CISCO voucher which is very much necessary to take up the examination. Complainants have paid course fees to the OPs. After compilation of the course, Complainants requested OPs to issue CISCO voucher to take up examination. Complainants requested the OP several times to generate CISCO voucher, but OP1 postponed the matter. Complainants visited the OP several times and sent e-mail also. OP1 never responded to the e-mails. Every attempt of the Complainants in getting CISCO voucher went in vain. OPs have wrongly withheld the CISCO voucher and delayed in taking up the examination. Complainants informed the OPs about the problems faced by them. Complainants undergone lot of mental agony. Complainants got issued the legal notice calling upon the OP to refund the fees. Legal notice has been served, but OPs neither replied to the said notice nor refunded the amount. After issuing the legal notice, OPs have transferred the CISCO voucher and e-mailed on 16.09.2010 & 18.09.2010. Complainants are not able to concentrate on their studies as they are working for MNC Company. Hence, Complainants prayed for refund of the amount.
4. OPs have filed version stating that there was no deficiency of service on the part of OPs. Complaint is bad for non-joinder of necessary parties. CISCO Systems Pvt. Ltd. whose course was obtained by the Complainant is a necessary party to the present matter. It is the CISCO which was provided the voucher. OPs were merely acting as a facilitator. Complaint is not maintainable. Complainants have duly completed the course within the time frame. Complainants were also satisfied. Complainants were sent Voucher on 03.01.2010. However, Complainants failed to retrieve the Voucher from their I.D. account and given fresh voucher sent by CISCO to the Complainant on 16.07.2010. Thus, Complainants cannot be blamed the OPs. The voucher was required to be sent by CISCO directly to the students. Payment of course fees is a matter of record. OPs have taken further defence that despite sending voucher twice Complainants failed to retrieve voucher. OPs as a gesture & goodwill offered to another extra V Lab session to fresh up their knowledge and take up the examination for which the Complainant declined. Complainants are not entitled for refund of course fees along with compensation. Therefore, OPs requested to dismiss the Complaints.
5. Both the parties have filed their affidavit evidence and written arguments.
6. I have gone through the pleadings, documents and written arguments submitted by the parties. Arguments are heard.
7. Points for consideration are as under:
(i) Whether the Complainants have proved deficiency of service on the part of OPs?
(ii) Whether the Complainants are entitled for refund of the course fees ?
(iii) Whether the Complainant is entitled for compensation?
(iv) What order?
REASONS
It is the admitted case of the parties that Complainants have paid Rs.24,266/- in Complaint No. 2339/2010 and Rs.25,370/- in Complaint No. 2340/2010 towards course fees of professional programme Interconnecting Network Devises and the course duration was 80 hours. Regarding payment of course fees, there is no dispute. Complainants have also completed the course. There is a grievance that the OP has not sent CISCO voucher so as to take up examination. Complainants have also made several e-mail correspondence with the OP and informed the OP that they have not received CISCO voucher. They have also requested the OP to send CISCO voucher. E-mail correspondence has been produced by the Complainant. It is the case of the OP that they have sent CISCO voucher to the Complainants on 03.01.2010, but the Complainants failed to retrieve the voucher from their ID and again fresh voucher was sent by the OPs on 16.07.2010, whereas the Complainants denied having received the CISCO voucher. On the other hand, Complainants time and again made request to the OPs to send CISCO voucher. They have also sent several e-mail letters to the OP requesting OP to send CISCO voucher. OP has not produced any record or documents to show that CISCO voucher was sent to the Complainant on 03.01.2010 and again on 16.07.2010. So in the absence of any documents or record, it cannot be accepted that CISCO voucher had been sent to the Complainants. Complainants were fair enough to submit that OPs have generated the CISCO voucher and e-mailed them on 16.09.2010 & 18.09.2010 after issue of legal notice by them. This late generating of the CISCO voucher has not helped the Complainants, because they were employed elsewhere and they were not in a position to concentrate on their studies and to appear for the examination. Therefore, the OP has failed in its service to generate CISCO voucher and to send it to the Complainants. Since the OP has failed to show that they have generated and sent CISCO Voucher on 03.01.2010 & 16.07.2010. Therefore, this amounts to deficiency of service on the part of OP. OP offered another extra session to the Complainants as a gesture & goodwill, but the Complainants did not accept the said offer since they were employed. Under these circumstances, OPs have to refund the amount collected by the Complainants. The Learned Counsel for the OPs submitted that CISCO is a necessary party to the present proceedings. On the facts of the case CISCO will not come into picture, because the Complainants were approached the OP and it is the responsibility of the OP to get CISCO voucher and handover the same to the Complainants. There is no agreement or contract between the Complainants and the CISCO. No amount has been paid to the CISCO by the Complainants. Therefore, CISCO is not a necessary party to the present proceedings. Taking into all the facts & circumstances of the case, the OP having failed to generate CISCO voucher and made available to the Complainants to appear for examination amounts to deficiency of service and the Complaints are entitled for refund of the amount paid by them. Complainants have claimed Rs.25,000/- as compensation for mental agony. There is nothing to show on record as to how and in what manner the Complainants suffered mental agony. The Complainants are not entitled for compensation claimed by them. Ends of justice will be met in ordering refund of fees. In the result, I proceed to pass the following:
ORDER
Both the Complaints are allowed. OPs are directed to refund a sum of Rs.24,266/- to the Complainant Mr. Bharath Kumar.N. in Complaint No. 2339/2010 and Rs.25,370/- to the Complainant Kum. Choodamani.G.N. in Complaint No. 2340/2010.
OPs are directed to comply the order within 60 days from the date of order.
OPs are further directed to send the above ordered amount directly to the respective Complainants with an intimation to this Forum.
Send the copy of this Order to both the parties free of cost immediately.
Pronounced in the Open Forum on this 27th June 2011.
Order accordingly
PRESIDENT
We concur the above findings
MEMBER MEMBER
SSS
