KONE ELEVATORS PVT. LTD. Vs. SHREE KRISHNA BUILDERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) M A 29 and 31 of 2021 (directions, directions)

(2.) The background of this case is that the Petitioner had filed a Revision Petition against the order of the State Commission dated 12.12.2013. The said order of the State Commission was set aside vide order of this Commission dated 06.07.2020. The matter was remanded back to the State Commission with directions to Deal with the Appeals afresh. Parties were also directed to appear before the State Commission on 27.08.2020. It is apparent from the order dated 07.11.2020 of the State Commission that on 27.08.2020, the State Commission was not holding the court at Raipur but was holding the court at Bilaspur. Therefore, since the Bench of the State Commission was not functioning at Raipur on that date, the parties could not appear before the Bench. This Commission had never directed the parties to appear before the Registrar. As soon as the Bench resumed its functioning on 07.11.2020, both the parties appeared before the Bench. The State Commission has observed that the parties have not complied with the direction of this Commission and did not appear on 27.08.2020. Such observation is perverse and unwarranted. When the Bench was not functioning at Raipur on 27.08.2020, the parties had no occasion to appear before the Bench. They did appear before the Bench on the first date of its resumption for hearing, i.e. 07.11.2020. In this background it is an absurd assumption on the part of the State Commission that the parties did not follow the direction of this Commission. This Commission is constrained to observe that the State Commission had unnecessarily made the parties to run to this Commission seeking extension of time. Vide the order dated 06.07.2020, this Commission had directed the State Commission to decide both the Appeals on merits and instead of doing that, the State Commission had refused to hear the Appeal on the ground that the parties did not appear before it on 27.08.2020 when it knew that it did not hold the court on that date at Raipur. This Commission vide its order dated 06.07.2020 had only facilitated the appearance of the parties by fixing a date 27.08.2020. The directions in the said order read as under:

(3.) In view of the above, it was not open to the State Commission to refuse to hear the case on merits and instead make the parties run to this Commission. The State Commission is hereby directed to comply with the directions of this Commission in the order dated 06.07.2020 and hear the matter on merits and decide it at the earliest, preferably within a month. In order to facilitate the appearance of the parties, the parties are directed to appear before the State Commission on 01.03.2021.