DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL FORUM (EAST)

GOVT. OF NCT OF DELHI

CONVIENIENT SHOPPING CENTRE, SAINI ENCLAVE: DELHI-92

Case No.299/2012:

In the matter of:

Sh. Tribhuwan Prasad Rai

C/o. ShVindyal Singh

H.No.146, Gali No.11, I – Block,

Laxmi Nagar, Delhi – 110 092

Also At:

C/o. Shiv Nath Rai

E – 130, LIG Flat,

Brij Vihar, Ghaziabad(U.P.)

Complainant

Vs.

The Manager

TMFL, Delhi Branch,

11 – B/A, 2^ndFloor,

Tiwari House, Pusa Road,

Regional Office (North),

New Delhi – 110 055

Respondent

Date of Admission : 27/07/2012

                                                                                    Date of Order          : 20/03/2015

ORDER

Ms. Poonam Malhotra, Member:

            The brief conspectus of facts of the present complaint are that the complainant got financed a Tata Indica Car (DLE) bearing No. DL-04CU-8077 from the Manager/Director HIM Motor Pvt. Ltd. 24, F.I.E. Patparganj, Delhi – 110 092 and the respondent vide Loan-cum-Hypothecation Agreement No.5000011501 dated 16/10/2006.  The complainant alleges to have paid the entire loan amount but the respondent has not handed over the original Registration Certificate/ NOC of the said vehicle despite several visits and requests.  Legal Notice dated 24/12/2011 served upon the respondent was of no consequence.   In these circumstances, the complainant has prayed for directions to the respondent to return to the complainant the Original Registration Certificate of the Vehicle No. DL-04CU-8077, to pay Rs.80,000/- as compensation for harassment, mental agony and pain and Rs.11,000/- as the cost of this litigation. 

            Written Statement filed by the respondent, Tata Motor Finance Ltd. wherein it has raised the plea that this Forum has no jurisdiction to entertain the present complaint as arbitration proceedings have already been initiated in view of the terms of the Loan Agreement and an interim award u/s 17 of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act has been passed on 28/04/2012, copy of which is filed on record as Annexure R - 1.  It has placed reliance on S. Balwant Singh vs. Kanpur Development Authority III (2009) CPJ 425 (NC); Jatan Kumar Sethi vs. Indusland Bank Ltd. Revision Petition No.3586/2009.  It is submitted by the respondent that the complainant is bound by the Terms & Conditions of the contract executed between the parties.  It is contended that this Forum lacks the jurisdiction to entertain the present complaint as it revolves around a contract between the complainant and the respondent and it is exclusively triable by a civil court.  It is alleged that an amount of Rs. 33,768.79 is due and outstanding as on 26/11/2012 from the complainant.  It is further contended by the respondent that no cause of action arose to the complainant against it.  Rest of the allegations have been denied.

            Evidence by way of affidavit filed by both the parties to the present lis in support of their respective cases.

            Heard and perused the record.

Before going into the merits of the case, the plea raised by the respondent as to the jurisdiction of this Forum to entertain the present complaint needs to be decided in view of the fact that arbitration proceedings have already been initiated on the basis of the Loan Agreement and an interim award u/s 17 of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act has been passed on 28/04/2012.  It is pertinent to mention here that in the case in hand in the arbitration proceedings initiated by the respondent herein on 27/04/2012 an interim order was passed on 28/04/2012 and on the same day the complainant had instituted the present complaint before this Forum.  Since the matter involving the same facts and on the same cause of action is already pending before Arbitration, this Forum constituted under the The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 shall have no jurisdiction to entertain the present complaint on the same cause of action.  Merely because an adverse order has been passed against him in arbitration proceedings initiated against him by the respondent it shall not be open to the complainant to knock the door of the Consumer Forum. 

Taking into consideration the discussion made above, the present complaint is not maintainable before this Forum.

            Copy of the order to be sent to both the parties as per rules.