NAV NIRMAN COOPERATIVE GHS Vs. R C GUPTA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Appellant is a Cooperative Group Housing Society. Respondent is its member. He was allotted a flat No.156, Ankur Apartments by the appellant society. Though the flat was allotted in the year 1991 but major defects including flooring, plastering, finishing wood work, etc. were brought to the notice of the society on 23.6.1992. Since the defects were not removed by the appellant-society, the respondent sought redressal from the Consumer Forum.

(2.) Vide impugned order dated 16.5.2001 the District Forum directed the appellant society to pay an amount of Rs.5,000 as damages/compensation and Rs.1,000 litigation cost and also pay Rs.24,577 as per estimate furnished by the respondent to the society to repair the sunken floor. Feeling aggrieved of the above order, the appellant has preferred this appeal.

(3.) First and foremost question raised by the appellant is that the respondent is not a consumer vis-a-vis the society and, therefore, the District Forum has no jurisdiction to entertain the complaint. We do not find any merit in this contention as the nature of services to be provided by the appellant society comes within the ambit of the services enumerated in Sec.2 (1) (f) [sic 2 (1)o]of the Consumer Protection Act which includes the services of the one in question. Only those disputes are referable under the Cooperative Housing Societies Act which relate to the disputes as to the validity of the membership, cancellation of membership and not those disputes which involve defects in the flats allotted by the society. Moreover, the 'defect' as per Sec.2 (1) (d) [sic 2 (1) (f)] means any fault, imperfection or shortcoming in the quality, quantity, potency, purity or standard which is required to be maintained by or under any law for the time being in force or (under any contract, express or implied as is claimed by the trader in any manner whatsoever in relation to any goods.