Complainant Gurinder Singh has filed the present complaint against the opposite parties U/S 12 of the Consumer Protection Act (for short, C.P.Act.) seeking necessary directions to the opposite parties to deliver possession of Flat No.6 in Block No.15, AUGF (Upper Ground Floor) as per site plan and allotment letter and also not to impose any fine/penalty upon him. Opposite parties be further directed to pay Rs.1,00,000/- as compensation on account of mental agony, torture, physical harassment, financial loss caused by the opposite parties on account of deficiency in service alongwith Rs.5,000/- as litigation expenses, in the interest of justice.

2.       The case of the complainant in brief is that he was allotted Flat No.6 in Block No.15, AUGF (Upper Ground Floor) situated at Scheme no.7 Gurdaspur vide allotment letter/memo No.487 dated 27.02.2012. He had been depositing installments of the above mentioned flat regularly as per schedule and without any default. Due to non completion of construction of flats, till today the possession of the flat so allotted to him has not been delivered. Although he had been going to the spot from time to time in order to know about the progress of the construction work and delivery of possession of the flat allotted to him. Now when the construction work is completed, it has come to his notice that the opposite parties have marked wrong numbering on the flats which is against the site plan with sole motive to deliver possession of good quality flats to the persons related to them. He has next pleaded that to his utter surprise, the opposite parties are not delivering possession of Flat No.6 in Block No.15, AUGF which is allotted to him and forcing him to accept possession of some other flat, which is totally against law and spirits of the allotment letter. The flat possession of which the opposite parties are delivering to him illegally and forcibly is having less value than the flat actually allotted to him. In this regard he has also issued registered letters to the opposite parties on dated 06.05.2016, 25.05.2016, 04.07.2016 and 06.09.2016. In addition to letters mentioned above, he also sought information's under Right to Information Act, but all in vain. Thus, there is deficiency in service on the part of the opposite parties. Hence this complaint.

3.       Notice of the complaint was issued to the opposite parties who appeared through their counsel and filed their joint written reply taking the preliminary objections that complaint is not maintainable in the present form; the complainant has no cause of action to file the present complaint; the present complaint has been filed by the complainant just to harass the opposite parties and the complainant has suppressed the true and material facts from this Ld.Forum. On merits, it was submitted that the Flat No.6 in Block No.15, AUGF (Upper Ground Floor) situated at Scheme no.7 Gurdaspur was allotted to the complainant vide letter/memo No.487 dated 2.02.2012. It was next submitted that the complainant has not deposited the remaining installments of Flat No.6, Block 15 (UGF) which was allotted to him vide Allotment Letter no.487 dated 27.02.2012 and in this regard, one letter no.678 dated 21.02.2012 has been duly issued to the complainant by the Improvement Trust Guraspur to deposit the remaining installment of the allotted Flat. Even the Four installments of complainant of Rs.97,500/- for the period 9.12.2012 to 9.6.2014 are pending against the complainant which he has not deposited with the office of opposite party no.1 so far. It was further submitted that the complainant moved registered letters to the opposite parties on 6.05.2016 to 6.9.2016 and in lieu of that the opposite party no.1 issued registered letter no.1722 dated 20.12.2013 wherein it has clarified that the opposite parties has already gave public notice in newspaper for allotment of flats and further stated that each and every allottee has to take the possession of the flats after receiving the letter no.1722 but the complainant without Posture Placnta (without application of mind) frequently forwarded the letters to the office of opposite parties without any reason. Actually, the opposite parties informed the complainant under registered Letter No.1423 dated 28.5.2012 with regard to the Flat No.6, Scheme No.7 Improvement Trust Gurdaspur allotted to him stating therein the possession of Flat will be handed over to the owner/complainant after depositing the enhanced construction fee i.e.Rs.1,10,000/- in the office of opposite party no.1 within 30 days with 4% as cess charges and in default of the said construction fee, the allotment be canceled accordingly, which is mandatory as per the norms of Improvement Trust Act, which the complainant has not deposited upto now. All other averments made in the complaint have been denied and lastly the complaint has been prayed to be dismissed with costs.

4.       Counsel for the complainant tendered into evidence affidavit of complainant Ex.C1 alongwith other documents Ex.C2 to Ex.C10 and closed the evidence. 

5.     Counsel for the opposite parties tendered into evidence affidavit of Amarbit Singh A.E. Ex.OP-W-1/A, alongwith other documents Ex.OP1 to Ex.OP-3 and closed the evidence.

6.       We have fully heard the learned counsels for both the sides in the back drop of the legally applicable and statutorily acceptable merit(s) as evidenced by the supporting document(s) duly produced on record by the litigating parties in order to statutorily resolve the inter-se dispute (under the C P Act’ 1986) prompting the present complaint. We find that the complainant was allotted Flat # 06 in Block # 15, AUGF (UGF) at Scheme # 07, Gurdaspur; by the opposite parties Improvement Trust vide its letter # 487 dated 27.02.2012 (Ex.C2) and who even after having received its ‘allotment price’ in full had failed to hand over the requisite possession of the allotted flat as has been pleaded forth vide letters Ex.C3 to Ex.C6.

7.       The opposite party Improvement Trust, on the other hand, has deposed/ pleaded in its defense through the affidavit (Ex-OP-W1/A) of Amarbir Singh AE that the complainant had been defaulter in his payment of Flat Purchase installments and that has caused delay in handing him over the possession of the allotted flat. We, however, observe that Opposite Party Trust have accepted the final payment of Rs.1,48,700/- on 11.01.2016 for the allotted flat and thus they are bound to hand over the requisite possession of the same very flat as allotted per the original allotment letter (Ex.C2).  

8.       We find that the complainant had been admittedly the allottee owner of the Flat in question (as its valid allottee) at the time of depositing of ‘final-payment’ and as such he has been entitled to file the statutory consumer complaint as ‘consumer’ of the OP Trust. We further find that the OP Trust has failed to prove that the requisite infrastructure facilities had been available/provided for at the site as on the proposed date of handing over/ transfer of the flat to the allottee complainant and in the absence of the same they are not entitled to impose any ‘penalty’ on the grounds of whatsoever. The above proposition finds its legal support vides the final orders dated 23.09.2010 of the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission Punjab in First Appeal # 1330 of 2004; the paragraph 10 of which rules out as hereunder: “10. Accordingly, the appeal is partly accepted and the remaining part of the impugned order is upheld with the direction that period of three years shall be counted from 10.10.2002 or from the exact date when the above mentioned basic amenities were provided and the possession was delivered to the complainant. If any non-construction charges had been deposited by the complainant, the same shall be refunded.”       

9.       In the light of the all above, we partly allow the present complaint and thus ORDER the titled opposite party Improvement Trust to hand over/deliver the promised possession of the allotted flat No.6 in Block No.15, AUGF (as per site plan and allotment letter) to the complainant upon receipt of installment/amount due if any without any fine/penality, besides to pay him Rs.5,000/- as cost and compensation (for having inflicted harassment etc) within 30 days of the receipt of the copy of these orders otherwise the aggregate awarded  amount shall carry an additional interest @ 9% PA from the date of orders till actual payment. 

10.      Copy of the orders be communicated to the parties free of charges. After compliance, file be consigned to records.

              (Naveen Puri)

                                                                             President

ANNOUNCED:                                                      (Jagdeep Kaur)                      

January 24,2018.                                                  Member                                          

*MK*