SUBODH KUMAR BAHETI Vs. DELHI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner Subodh Kumar Baheti who is resident of Bhilwara, Rajasthan filed a consumer complaint before the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Bhilwara, Rajasthan against the OPs No.1 & 2, namely, Delhi Development Authority, New Delhi and Nodal Branch of ICICI Bank, Green Park Extension, New Delhi who are respondents No.1 & 2 respectively herein.

(2.) Briefly stated, petitioner had applied for allotment of a house by the DDA and sent the requisite form dated 8.9.2008 along with a demand draft of Rs.1,50,000/-. Since the allotment was not done under the scheme, the petitioner wrote to respondent No.1 demanding refund of his application money of Rs.1,50,000/-. Having failed to get the refund in spite of several letters followed by a legal notice, the complaint in question came to be filed by the petitioner before the District Forum at Bhilwara. On being noticed, the respondent No.1 submitted that it had already instructed respondent No.2 Bank which was the nodal branch to refund the amount in question to the petitioner. It also raised the plea of lack of territorial jurisdiction of the District Forum, Bhilwara and pleaded for dismissal of the complaint. Respondent No.2/Opposite Party No.2 did not appear and hence was proceeded ex parte. After hearing the parties and looking into the documents placed before it, the District Forum dismissed the complaint vide its order dated 24.1.2012 on the ground that since the opposite parties did not reside under the jurisdiction of the District Forum and the cause of action also did not arise in its jurisdiction and hence the District Forum did not have jurisdiction to deal with the complaint.

(3.) Aggrieved by the aforesaid order of the District Forum, the petitioner filed an appeal before the Rajasthan State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Jaipur ('State Commission' for short). The State Commission vide its order dated 6.3.2012 upheld the order of the District Forum and dismissed the appeal. This impugned order of the State Commission is now under challenge before this Commission.