CHANDIGARH HOUSING BOARD Vs. RAJ KUMAR & ORS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an appeal filed by O.P. No. 1 Chandigarh Housing Board (for short hereinafter to be referred as CHB) against impugned judgment and order dated 1.3.2004 passed by the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum -II, U.T. Chandigarh (for short hereinafter to be referred as District Forum) in Complaint Case No. 143/2001.

(2.) THE complainant Shri Raj Kumar Sharma, a member of O.P. No. 4 - Progressive Cooperative House Building Society (for short hereinafter to be referred as Society) applied through O.P. No. 4 - Society for allotment of land/dwelling unit to the O.P. No. 1 - Chandigarh Housing Board (for short hereinafter to be referred as CHB) under Chandigarh allotment of land to the Cooperative House Building Societies Scheme, 1991 (for short hereinafter to be referred as scheme), which was floated by the Chandigarh Administration, Chandigarh. The respondent/complainant initially deposited Rs. 9,200/ - with O.P. No. 1 through O.P. No. 4 - society vide receipt No. 858 dated 25.5.1992. Thereafter, another amounts of Rs. 31,170/ - and Rs. 500/ - were deposited on 24.1.1998 and thus the respondent/complainant deposited a total sum of Rs. 39,832/ - with O.P. No. 4 - society, which further deposited the same with O.P. No. 1 - CHB. Later on, the said Scheme was challenged by way of filing a Civil Writ Petition No. 1454 of 1992 before the Hon'ble High Court of Punjab and Haryana and a Division Bench of Hon'ble High Court passed an interim order dated 11.5.1992 and directed for depositing 10% of the amount of the tentative price. After the decision of the writ petition, the O.P. No. 1 - CHB, it is alleged, enhanced the price of the land from Rs. 750/ - to Rs. 2,500/ - per sq. yard. Since the price of the allotted plot was enhanced to more than 3 -1/3 times, the complainant felt that he was unable to pay the costs of the plot at such an exorbitant rate of Rs. 2,500/ - per sq. yard and thus became disinterested in the allotment of dwelling unit applied for and sought refund of amount deposited with the O.P. No. 1 - CHB. The CHB refunded only Rs. 26,030/ - out of the total amount deposited by the complainant. A sum of Rs. 13,802/ - was forfeited, which was the interest component deposited by the complainant with O.P. No. 1 through O.P. No. 4 in accordance with the order of the Hon'ble High Court. The complainant alleged that the forfeiture of the amount of Rs. 13,802/ - by the CHB was illegal, arbitrary and against the provisions of the scheme. Consequently, the complaint was filed praying the following relief:

(3.) O .P. Nos. 2 and 3 filed a reply wherein they state that the dispute lies between the complainant on one hand and the O.P. Nos. 1 and 4 on the other hand and they were not either concerned with the same. Initially O.P. No. 4 - Society put in appearance through Mr. K.C. Sahu but subsequently none put in appearance on behalf of O.P. No. 4 and the case proceeded ex parte against O.P. No. 4 - society.