KARNATAKA HOUSING BOARD Vs. R SHANKAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS revision petition reveals the manipulation, which some clever consumers resort to avoid and finally evade payment of dues after having occupied the property by approaching various fora. The abuse of the process available is evident from the long passage of 24 years, during which no payment was made against the installments due for the house allotted to the respondent/complainant.

(2.) THE brief facts are that the respondent/complainant was allotted an MIG house bearing no. 12 situated at M.S.K. Mill Road, Gulbarga by the petitioners/opposite parties/Karnataka Housing Board during 1982. The provisional cost of the house was stated to be Rs.42,000/ - which, however, was later revised to Rs.70,086/ - and the respondent/complainant/allottee was informed about it by the letter dated 17th of April, 1985. The parties thereafter entered into a lease -cum -sale agreement on the 10th of September, 1985, in which the provisional cost of the property fixed at Rs.70,086/ - formed the basis of terms of agreement and after taking into consideration the registration amount of Rs.7009/ -, the balance cost of the property amounting to Rs.63,077/ - together with interest @ 12% per annum was agreed to be paid by the respondent/complainant/allottee on a monthly equated installment of Rs.849/ -. The possession of the house was handed over to the respondent/complainant/allottee on 1st of March, 1986. The respondent/complainant/allottee despite the said agreement, however, failed to pay any installment after taking possession of the house and instead filed a Writ Petition before the Hon ble Karnataka High Court, challenging the escalation of the cost of the house from Rs.42,000/ - to Rs.70,086/ -. The said writ petition was dismissed by the Hon ble Karnataka High Court on 23rd of March, 1989, with the following observation : -

(3.) HOWEVER , even thereafter, the respondent/complainant/allottee neither requested the petitioners/opposite parties/Karnataka Housing Board with regard to consideration for rescheduling of his dues nor did he make any payment against the arrears, which he himself was in a position to calculate in terms of the agreement entered into with the petitioners/opposite parties/Karanataka Housing Board. The petitioners/opposite parties/ Karnataka Housing Board are alleged to have issued repeated notices to the respondent/complainant/allottee to make the necessary payment, which was responded by him only during the year 2000 when on 14th of March, 2000 he deposited a sum of Rs.35,000/ - and thereafter again went into slumber. The petitioners/opposite parties/Karanataka Housing Board, after waiting for a number of years, vide their show cause notice dated 19th of February, 2003 informed the respondent/complainant/allottee that the outstanding amount of Rs.2,77,293/ - be paid before 25th of February, 2003, failing which the allotment of the house will be cancelled as per the terms of the agreement. Even thereafter the respondent/complainant/allottee did not bother to make any payment. On the contrary, after a period of two years, he filed a complaint before the District Consumer Forum, Gulbarga (District Forum for short) stating that he was ready to pay the increased cost of the house but he has been prevented from doing so as the petitioners/opposite parties/Karanataka Housing Board misplaced his records and therefore they are to blame for the non -payment. The complaint had been resisted by the petitioners/opposite parties/Karanataka Housing Board stating that the allottee was a chronic defaulter and had been avoiding payment of the installments and they were entitled to recover the installment amount with interest and penal interest as per the terms of the agreement. They also denied that there was any delay on their part because of misplacement of his file on account of which the respondent/complainant/allottee could not pay the installments. The District Forum after consideration of the evidence produced by the parties allowed the complaint and vide its order dated 31st of March, 2006 directed the petitioners/opposite parties/Karanataka Housing Board to receive only a sum of Rs.47,634/ - along with interest @ 8% on the outstanding amount of Rs.36,806/ - for the period from 9th of September, 2001 to 14th of September, 2005 and thereafter the house be registered in favour of the respondent/allottee. When the matter was taken up in appeal before the Karnataka State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Bangalore (State Commission for short) by the petitioners/opposite parties/Karanataka Housing Board, the State Commission modified the order of the District Forum only to the extent that as against 8% rate of interest, as ordered by the District Forum, the petitioners/opposite parties/Karanataka Housing Board were entitled to charge interest @ 12% per annum from 9th of September, 2001 till the date of payment. Aggrieved yet again, the petitioners/opposite parties/Karanataka Housing Board have filed this revision petition.