HARYANA URBAN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY Vs. JAGDISH CHANDER VERMA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This revision petition challenges the order dated 16.10.2008 passed by the Haryana State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Panchkula (in short, 'the State Commission'). By this order, the State Commission dismissed the appeal filed by the petitioner against the order dated 29.07.2008 passed by the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Panchkula (in short, 'the District Forum'), by which the District Forum had partly allowed the complaint of the complainant and directed the petitioner to refund the earnest money deposited by the complainant with interest @9% p.a. from the date of deposit till actual payment and also pay cost of Rs.2,000/-. It appears that after the State Commission passed the impugned order, the petitioner sought review of the said order. The State Commission rightly dismissed this application for review on the ground that the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (in short, 'the Act') does not provide for review of its order by a State Commission.

(2.) The brief facts are that the complainant applied to the petitioner for allotment of a plot of land on 03.02.2007 alongwith earnest money deposit of Rs.2.22 lakh. The complainant was, however, not successful in the draw of lots and hence he was entitled to refund of the earnest money. To this effect, he wrote a letter dated 11.09.2007 to the petitioner and also followed it up with subsequent reminders but to no avail. Hence he filed the complaint in question. The defence stand of the petitioner before the District Forum was that it had actually dispatched a cheque for the said amount of Rs.2.22 lakh to the respondent / complainant at his home address (House No. 10, Street No. 9, Malhotra Colony, Ropar). On the other hand, the complainant vehemently denied having received the cheque. The petitioner produced a copy of letter dated 24.04.2009 from the State Bank of Hyderabad, Sector 34 A, Chandigarh to the effect that petitioner's cheque no. 31503 dated 22.07.2007 issued in favour of one Jagdish Chander Verma was presented in clearing by the Bank's Panchkula Branch (Sector 4). A photocopy of cheque No. 031503 dated 30.07.2007 was, however, produced by the petitioner before the District Forum. The petitioner also produced copy of a letter dated 19.03.2009 from the Manager (Operations), AXIS Bank Limited, Panchkula stating that payment of cheque no. "3105" favouring Mr. Jagdish Chander Verma, application no. 40718 amounting to Rs.2.22 lakh was presented for clearance by the State Bank of Hyderabad, Chandigarh Branch and passed on 22.09.2007 by the Chandigarh Branch of the AXIS Bank. From these documents, the petitioner sought to show that the respondent / complainant had actually received the full refund of the money deposit way back in September 2007.

(3.) We have heard Mr. R.S. Badhran, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr. Manbir Singh Rathi, learned counsel for the respondent / complainant and gone through the evidence and documents on record.