MUMBAI GRAHAK PANCHAYAT Vs. LOHIA MACHINES LTD.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This complaint has been preferred by the Mumbai Grahak Panchayat, a registered Voluntary Consumer Organisation having its office in Bombay. The Opposite Party M/s. Lohia Machines Limited is a company engaged in the manufacture of two wheeler scooters having the brand name Vespa -XE. Applications had been invited by the company from persons interested in the purchase of scooters and the stipulation was that at the time of booking and registration an advance deposit of Rs. 500/ - was to be made by each customer which was later to be adjusted against the total price payable by him at the time of the delivery. As per the conditions notified by the company, the advance deposit of Rs. 500/ - was to carry simple interest of 9 per cent per annum but in the event of cancellation of the booking by the applicant, the money deposited by way of advance was to be refunded by the company with only interest at the rate of 7 per cent per annum. There was a further condition that in the case of cancellation of the booking within the first six months from the date of the close of booking, no interest shall be payable. However, it was clearly stipulated that the refund of the deposit amount shall be made by the company by a demand draft to be posted to the customer within 60 days from the date of receipt of the cancellation advice. The petitioner has produced as Annexure ˜I to the petition, a photostat copy of the intimation sent by the company to the customers at the time of booking which contains the terms and conditions relating to the transaction.

(2.) It is averred in the complaint -petition that on account of long delays in deliveries and the absence of any immediate prospect of getting the scooter many consumers cancelled their bookings and applied for refund of their advance deposit amounts along with the interest due thereon. A list containing the particulars of the names, addresses, registration numbers and dates of cancellation etc. of 934 persons who have so far cancelled their bookings for the scooters with the respondent company has been produced by the petitioner as Annexure ˜II to the petition. The petitioner has stated that in spite of repeated requests made by these persons to the company, no refunds of the advance deposit amounts have been made to them by the company even after long delays ranging upto three years despite due intimation of cancellation of bookings having been given to the company. The petitioner contends that the Opposite Party has been illegally utilising the huge sums of money aggregating to several crores belonging to such consumers for the purpose of their business and thereby indulging in unjust, unfair and illegal enrichment. It is urged by the petitioner that a clear case of deficiency in service established on the part of the Opposite Party and hence the aggrieved persons whose names and addresses are set out in Annexure ˜II are entitled to be granted by this Commission reliefs by way of an order directing the respondent company to immediately refund to them the amounts of deposits together with interest at such rate as may be fixed by this Commission and also compensation for the mental agony and loss suffered by them, which according to the petitioner should be fixed in respect of each aggrieved person at Rs. 100/ - per month of delay commencing from the expiry of three months after the cancellation of their orders.

(3.) The complainant has further stated that in addition to the persons whose particulars are enumerated in Annexure ˜II there are many thousands of others all over India who are similarly situated and whose deposit amounts are being wrongfully withheld by the company in spite of their having cancelled their bookings long ago. Hence it has been prayed that this petition should be treated as a public interest petition filed on behalf of all such persons as well and that a general order should be passed against the company granting the reliefs aforementioned in favour of all such similarly situated persons also.