Construction firm told to cough up Rs 14 lakh for fraud by Hyderabad Consumer Forum

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Consumer Forum awarded K. Anasuya Reddy, a resident of Nizampet, a whopping settlement of Rs 14 lakh from Sri Sai Constructions who sold a flat registered in the complainant’s name to another party.

The complainant stated that she had purchased a semi furnished flat of 1,120 square feet after paying Rs 8,11,000 on October 14, 2009.

The opposite parties kept on postponing the registration of the flat despite repeated requests and she eventually found out that it was handed over to someone else. The opposite parties contended that the complainant’s husband had asked for the flat agreement to be made as security but the building was not yet constructed and the flat in question was also not ready. The consumer forum rebutted the contention that there was no building in existence by stating that the allotment of a non-existent site is a deficiency of service and said, “Complainants are entitled to an alternative site if and for this negligence the allottee ought not to suffer and for the delay caused on re-allotment, the allottee is entitled to compensation.”

The forum also referred to earlier cases where the complainant was given a refund when there was considerable delay in handing over the possession of plots.

The issue of dual registration by construction companies which is leading to a lot of fraudulent practices was also noted by the forum, which commented that even if the deed was written for security purpose, it was registered in the sub-registrar’s office which is illegal.

The deed could have been given without signatures if it was for security purpose and said that the opposite party should have denied the payment given by the complainant rather than pocketing the same.

The forum ruled in favour of the complainant and ordered the construction company to pay Rs 8,11,000 with nine per cent interest from October 14, 2009 and a compensation of 10,000 along with costs of Rs 5,000.