UNITED ENTERPRISES Vs. B VENKATESWARA RAG

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal preferred by the opposite party in C. C. No.312 of 1994 questioning the order of the Visakhapatnam District Forum dated 6.2.1997 allowing the said case and directing him to dis- continue "own Your Bajaj Chetak (Mutual Donation System) Scheme" started by it and also not to repeat such unfair trade practices and to pay Rs.5,000/- as costs to the complainant.

(2.) The complainant is the respondent before us. According to him he paid a sum of Rs.5,850/- under the scheme in question started by the appellant and the appellant issued booklet Bearing D No.2218 in quadruplicate (marked as Ex. A1) asking him to get payment from four persons of Rs.5,850/- each. The respondent further stated in his complaint as follows: "when the complainant approached his friends and relatives for sale of the tickets they informed the complainant that there was a publication against the opposite party on 15.7.1993 that they were not genuine and were arrested by the police as such no one would buy the tickets. The complainant was also informed by the friends that similar schemes floated by certain persons have cheated the public of their money".

(3.) Thereafter he requested the appellant to refund the amount paid by him. But the appellant postponed the matter on one pretext or the other. The respondent further stated in his complaint as follows: "the scheme floated by the opposite party under mutual donation system is an unfair trade practice inducing the public as if a person can get a scooter for just Rs.1,170/-. But actually the sum is collected from the person to whom the tickets are sold by the members of the scheme. If any person could not sell the ticket to four persons as stipulated he would not get either the scooter or the amount paid by him. The mode of loss sustained by the public can be easily seen by going through whole transaction of the opposite party. The public at large are deceived by the opposite party by such fanciful system".