Chandigarh

DF-II

CC/143/2015

Ravinder Singh - Complainant(s)

Versus

The Secretray, the Department of Chandigarh Housing Board Sector-9, Chandigarh - Opp.Party(s)

Received by post

25 Aug 2015

ORDER

DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL FORUM-II

U.T. CHANDIGARH

 

Consumer Complaint No.	:	143/2015
Date of Institution	:	18.03.2015
Date of Decision	:	25/08/2015

                       

                            

Ravinder Singh son of Sh.Kirpal Singh r/o H.No.4250, Sector 46-D, Chandigarh

                   ….Complainant.

Versus

The Secretary, The Department of Chandigarh Housing Board, Sector 9, Chandigarh (U.T.).

…. Opposite Party.

BEFORE:   SHRI RAJAN DEWAN, PRESIDENT

SHRI JASWINDER SINGH SIDHU, MEMBER

SMT.PRITI MALHOTRA, MEMBER

 

Argued by: Ms.Jaswinder Kaur, Authorized Agent for the             complainant  

          Sh.Indresh Goel, Counsel for the OP.

 

PER RAJAN DEWAN, PRESIDENT

         The case of the complainant, in brief, is that he being a Sub Inspector in Chandigarh Police Senior, applied for a flat in the Self Financing Housing Scheme 2008 for the employees of Chandigarh Administration through his employer by raising the loan from Chandigarh State Cooperative Bank and deposited Rs.70,000/-  as earnest money with the OP on 24.02.2008 in CHB Sr. No.51620/-Loan A/c No.997. It has been contended that draw of lots against this scheme was held in the year 2011 and the complainant remained unsuccessful.  The OP has returned the said amount of Rs.70,000/- to the Bank whereas the Bank has charged a sum of Rs.24,610/- as loan interest from him for the time period span of 2008 to 2011 as interest but the beneficiary of the said amount, for the said period was the OP and therefore, he is not liable to pay the interest of Rs.24,610/- for the delaying tactics for earning of interest from earnest money. The complainant has made a prayer for a direction to the OP to refund Rs.24,610/- to him.

2.     In its reply, OP has pleaded that Chandigarh Housing Board had floated a housing scheme i.e. “Self Financing Housing Scheme – 2008” for the employees of Chandigarh Administration on 14.1.2008 and finally the draw of lots was conducted on 4.11.2010. It has been further pleaded that Clause (IV) under para VIII of the brochure of the said scheme, provided for a waiting list of 20% of the total number of units available under each category, subject to minimum one was prepared for a period of one year from the date of draw of lots. It has been further pleaded that Clause VIII (V) of the brochure of the said housing scheme provided that initial deposit would be refunded within 30 days from the draw of lots, to the applicants, who remained unsuccessful and also did not figure in the waiting list and in case the refund was not made within the stipulated time, the interest was payable at the savings bank rate beyond the period of 30 days. It has been stated that the complainant and a number of unsuccessful applicants suo-moto approached the OP and gave an undertaking dated 30.11.2010 i.e. within 30 days of the draw of lots, that his earnest money be retained, till a final decision is taken by the Chandigarh Administration and also he will not claim any interest from 4.11.2010 onwards on the earnest money deposited by him. The earnest money of all the unsuccessful applicants, who had not submitted any undertaking regarding the retention of the earnest money, was refunded.  It has been further stated that meetings at various levels were held and after detailed deliberations and discussions, on 26.12.2012, it was decided that the earnest money of the unsuccessful applicants, lying with the Chandigarh Housing Board be refunded to the applicants. It has been further stated that in view of the decision taken by Chandigarh Housing Board interest on savings bank rate has been given to the complainant vide Annexure R-1.
3.     The complainant filed rejoinder to the written reply of the Opposite Party controverting its stand and reiterating his own.
4.      We have heard the authorized representative of the complainant and ld.counsel for the OP and have gone through the documents on record.
5.     It is the admitted case of the parties that the complainant, who is working in the Chandigarh Police, had applied for the flat in response to the scheme launched by the Chandigarh Housing Board under the name “Self Financing Housing Scheme 2008” for the employees of Chandigarh Administration as well as Punjab and Haryana High Court etc. and deposited an amount of Rs.70,000/- as earnest money by availing loan from Chandigarh State Cooperative Bank. The draw of lots was held on 4.11.2010 and the complainant was not successful. It is an also admitted fact on record that earnest money of Rs.70,000/-  has already been refunded by the OP to the Bank of the complainant from where he availed the loan for the earnest money.  It is also an admitted fact that Rs.2633/- on account of refund of interest money has been sent by cheque No.679966 dated 16.06.2014 to the complainant vide letter (Annexure R-1).  However, the letter, aforesaid, has been returned to the OP as undelivered by the postal authority. 
6.     The complainant, in this complaint, has made a prayer for payment of Rs.24,610/- which he has to pay to his Bank on account of interest on the earnest money loan availed by him. However, it is worth mentioning that in some other cases filed by the various complainants, this Forum has awarded interest at the savings bank rate on the amount of earnest money from 4.12.2010 i.e. within one month after the draw of lots, wherein, the complainant was not successful, to the date on which, the cheque was received on the basis of the terms and conditions in the brochure of the scheme as well as the judgment of the Hon’ble State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, UT, Chandigarh in  Chandigarh Housing Board Vs. Rupinder Kaur, First Appeal No.474 of 2013, decided on 17.12.2013. In this view of the matter, the complainant is only entitled to interest on the savings bank rate not the amount of Rs.24,610/- towards interest paid by him to the Bank.
7.     As regards, the payment of savings bank rate interest on the earnest money is concerned, admittedly, Rs.2633/- on account of refund of interest money has been sent vide cheque No.679966 dated 16.06.2014 to the complainant through registered letter (Annexure R-1) by the OP before the filing of the instant complaint However, the said letter has been received back as undelivered by the postal authorities with the remarks “no such person”.   Moreover, it is the case of the complainant himself that he was in judicial custody from March, 2012 till date and confined in Model Jail, Chandigarh. It is important to mention here that on receipt of the summons and filing its written statement and evidence, the OP itself tendered a new cheque in the sum of Rs.2633/- on account of refund of interest money at the savings bank rate, in lieu of the earlier cheque which was received by it as undelivered from the postal authorities with remarks “ no such person”. The said cheque has been accepted by the authorized agent of the complainant under protest.  Had the Opposite Party did not sent the cheque on account of refund of interest money at the savings bank rate before the filing of the complaint then the position certainly would have been different. But in the instant case, the OP acted bonafidely by sending the cheque to the complainant before the institution of the complaint. The complainant has, thus, failed to make out any case of deficiency in service or indulgence into deficiency in service on the part of the OP.
8.     For the reasons recorded above, the complaint is hereby dismissed with no order as to cost.
9.     The certified copies of this order be sent to the parties free of charge. The file be consigned.

Announced

25/08/2015                                   (RAJAN DEWAN)

PRESIDENT

 

 

(JASWINDER SINGH SIDHU)

MEMBER

 

 

(PRITI MALHOTRA)

MEMBER