JUSTICE V.K.JAIN (ORAL) Several consumer complaints were instituted against Vadodara Municipal Corporation, Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd. and Ripple Aqua Sports. The consumer complaints were disposed of by the State Commission vide its order dated 23.9.2002. Several appeals against the orders of the State Commission were filed before this Commission and were disposed of vide a common order dated 2.11.2006. Appeals by Special Leave, preferred against the order passed by this Commission were disposed of by the Hon’ble Supreme Court vide order dated 10.9.2014. As a result, the orders passed by this Commission became final, binding and executable. The final order passed by this Commission to the extent it is relevant reads as under:- “Conclusion: In the result, it is held that: the Ripple Aqua Sports and the Vadodara Municipal Corporation are jointly and severally liable to pay the compensation to the Complainants as awarded; the Vadodara Municipal Corporation is directed to pay the balance of compensation (that is, after deducting the amount paid) to the Complainants in each case within a period of eight weeks form the date of the Order. It would be open to the Corporation to recover the same from the Ripple Aqua Sports; the Insurance Company is liable to pay Rs.20 lakhs for each accident, namely, each death, but in aggregate the sum is limited to Rs.80 lakhs. Hence, the Insurance Company shall reimburse, in all, Rs.80 lakhs to the Vadodara Municipal Corporation and, The rest of the order passed by State Commission directing payment of interest at the rate of 10% p.a. from the date of the incident, i.e. from 11.8.1993 till the date of payment of compensation is confirmed. With these modifications the First Appeal Nos.464 of 2002 and First Appeal Nos. 61 to 77 of 2004 filed by the Vadodara Municipal Corporation are disposed of accordingly. Considering the facts, there shall be no order as to costs. Cross-Appeals for enhancement: The Appeals filed by the Complainants in First Appeal Nos. 488 of 2002; 289 of 2004; 290 of 2004; 292 of 2004; 295 of 2004 and 296 of 2004 are dismissed. There shall be no order as to costs. The First Appeal Nos.288 of 2004; 291 of 2004; 294 of 2004; 297 of 2004; 299 of 2004; 293 of 2004; 298 of 2004 and 300 of 2004 filed by the complainants are partly allowed. The order passed by the State Commission is modified as under:- It is held that the complainants are entitled to have compensation of: Rs.1 lakh in each Appeal Nos.288 of 2004; 291 of 2004; and 294 of 2004; Rs.1,25,000/- in each Appeal Nos.297 of 2004 and 299 of 2004; Rs.1,50,000/- in each Appeal Nos.293 of 2004; 298 of 2004 and 300 of 2004. Abovementioned First Appeals are disposed of accordingly. Interim relief stands vacated. There shall be no order as to costs.”
2. It would thus be seen that the as far as Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd. is concerned, its liability was restricted to an aggregate sum of Rs.80 lakhs Admittedly, that amount stands paid by the Insurance Co. It is also an admitted position that Vadodara Municipal Corporation has paid the entire compensation to the complainants in terms of the above-referred order passed by this Commission. Since this Commission had left it open to Vadodara Municipal Corporation to recover the compensation paid by it from Ripple Aqua Sports, the Corporation is seeking to recover the same from Ripple Aqua Sports through the process of the State Commission. 3. In my opinion, if Vadodara Municipal Corporation has any monetary claim seeking reimbursement from Ripple Aqua Sports, it has to recover the amount of its claim only through the process of the Civil Court and a Consumer Forum is not the appropriate Forum for such a recovery. A Consumer Forum deals with the issues arising between the consumers and the service provider and not with the disputes interse between the opposite parties in a consumer complaint. Even this Commission while leaving it open to Vadodara Municipal Corporation to recover the compensation from Ripple Aqua Sports, did not say that the said compensation from Ripple Aqua Sports could be recovered by Vadodara Municipal Corporation through the process of the State Commission. Therefore, the attempt to recover the said amount from Ripple Aqua Sports through the process of the State Commission was wholly misconceived. 4. The submission of the learned counsel for the appellant is that since the payment by the Vadodara Municipal Corporation to the complainants was made under the order of this Commission, the Corporation is entitled to reimbursement by way of recovery from the Ripple Aqua Sports through the process of the State Commission. I, however, find no merit in this contention since neither the order passed by this Commission on 2.11.2006 envisages recovery through the process of a the State Commission nor a Consumer Forum has the requisite jurisdiction to order payment by Ripple Aqua Sports to Vadodara Municipal Corporation. 5. The view taken by the State Commission, therefore, does not call for any interference by this Commission. The appeals are, therefore, dismissed with liberty to the appellant to recover the compensation in terms of the liberty granted by this Commission vide order dated 2.11.2006 through the process of the Civil Court. It shall also be open to the complainant to seek benefit of the provisions contained in Section 14 of the Limitation Act provided that such a benefit is otherwise admissible to it in law. |
