Order No. -21                                                                                 Dt.-01/04/2015

Mr.  A. K. Das, President

Case record is placed for passing final order as per order no. 20 passed to day.

Complainant’s case in short that he is a Chartered Accountant by profession. The OP was holding a flat in his position in the 1^st Floor of Aradhana Apartment at Deshbandhupara near YMA, Club Siliguri. The OP wanted to sale his said flat on valuable consideration. In July 2011 the complainant was in need of residential accommodating and so he approach OP for his flat and offered Rs.12,50,000/- as consideration of sale of that flat. The OP accepted the offer and it was agreed by them that they would enter into a written agreement after complainant’s return from Kolkata. It was agreed by and between the complainant and the OP that the consideration of the flat would be Rs.12,50,000/- and the earnest money would be 1,01,000/- and that the registration would be done with in 6^th months from the date of verbal agreement i.e. From 1^st week of July 2011. The complainant has paid Rs.1,01,000/- to the OP towards earnest money by cheque dt. 21/07/’11. It is alleged by the complainant that he contacted the OP for geeting the agreement in Black & White but the OP was reluctant in the matter. In the month of Dec.2011 the complainant came to learn from the OP that the said flat had already sold to another person by OP on receiving higher value. The OP gave assurance to the complainant to repay the earnest money with interest with in March 2012 but the OP didn’t pay a penny to the complainant. The complainant there after requested to OP several times to re-pay his dues but OP paid no heed.

Hence, this case.

Notice was issued upon the OP which was duly served and the OP also appeared but finally he did not contest the case.

Hence, the case is hard ex-parte.

Seen and perused the petition of complaint. We have hard argument of Ld Lawyer for the complainant. Ld Lawyer has referred a judgement of Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in Civil Appeal no(s) 6197 of 2000 dt. 17/12/2008 in support of his contention that the oral agreement between the parties to this case regarding sale of OP’s flat is valid. Seen and perused the judgement passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India referred by Ld. Lawyer for the complainant. We find that in this judgement Hon’ble Supreme Court has observed that, “An agreement of sale comes into existence when the vendor agrees to sale and the purchaser agrees to purchase, for an agreed consideration on agreed terms. It can be oral.....”. So, in view of the judgement of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India we find that there was oral agreement between the parties to this case over sale of OP’s flat to the complainant which was effected from the 1^st week of July 2011. Its appears from paragraph no.6 of the petition of the complainant that the registration should be done within 6^th months from the date of verbal agreement dt. 1^st week of July 2011. Admittedly registration was not done within 6^th months i.e. Within 1^st week of Jan.2012 by the OP as per terms of the oral agreement. Therefore the complainant should have file this case against the OP within 2 years i.e. on or before 1^st week of Jan.-2014, i.e. within the period of limitation as per provision of C.P.Act1986. But the complainant has filed this case on 25/03/2014 i.e. after expiary statutory period  of limitation.

In this view of the matter we fine and hold that this case is not maintainable as this case was filed after expiary of the statutory period of limitation as per C.P. Act 1986.

Hence, the complainant is not entitled to get any relief in this case and the case is liable to be dismissed.

Hence, it is

                                                 Ordered

that the case stands dismissed ex-parte without cost.

Let copy of this final order be supplied to the complainant free of cost forthwith in terms of Sec.5(10) of West Bengal Consumer Protection Rules 1987.