The
Consumer Protection act, 1986 came into force from July 1987 onwards.
Immediately thereafter, cases against the Real estate builders were started to
be filed before the concerned Consumer Redressal Forums set-up under this Act,
all over the Country. These ‘Consumer Redressal Forums’ are modeled
on the ‘Small Claims Court’ pattern and it incorporates safeguards for
Consumers against ‘unfair trade practices’. Complaints against the
builders could always be entertained in the ‘Consumer Redressal Forums’.
In
order to straighten the things and to make the picture more clearer, the
Government of India amended the ‘Consumer Protection Act’ in 1993.One of
the amended portion is that the words ‘Housing Construction’ have been inserted
in Clause 2 (1) (0) of the Consumer Protection Act, which defines ‘service’.Hence complaints against builders with regard to ‘housing construction’ can
also be filed before the concerned ‘Consumer Redressal forums’.
Jurisdiction
to file complaint:
A consumer
can get redressal for his grievances, in the form of a ‘three-tier’ redressal
machinery, as follows:
1.If
the compensation claimed by a Consumer is less than Rs.20.00 lakhs, then the
Complaint to be filed before the concerned District Consumer Redressal Forum.
2.In
case the compensation claimed is above Rs.20.00 lakhs but below Rs.1.00 Crore,
then the matter is required to be moved before the State Consumer Forum; and
3.In case the
compensation claimed is above Rs.1.00 Crore, then the case has to be filed
before the National Consumer Commission at New Delhi.
The
clause for Appeal is also provided under the ‘Consumer Protection Act.’
Who can
file a complaint:
In terms of
Section 2 (1) (b) of the Consumer Protection Act,a ‘Complainant’ is :
a.A
Consumer; or
b.Any
voluntary consumer association registered under the Companies Act, 1956
c.The
Central Government or any State Government;
d.One
or more Consumers where there are numerous consumers having the same interest;
e.In
case of death of a Consumer, his legal heir or representative who and which
make the complaint.
Group
Complaints:
In case
there are problems with a common builder, then by way of an amendment to the
‘Consumer Protection Act’ in 1993, all such persons who have purchased houses
or flats and have complaint against such common builder can get together and
form in to a group and can file a ‘consolidated complaint’ against the common
builder.This is in view of the fact that the words ’one or more
consumers’ where there are numerous consumers having the same interest’ have
been inserted in the definition of ‘complainant’ in Section 2 (1) (b) as
sub-clause (iv) thereof by the amendment.
However,
a caution to be noted here, wherein, it may be noted that, in case the
complainants are asking a builder to refund the money paid by one of the
consumer for a flat on account of such complainant’s personal need for the
money, then in such cases, the complainant may not win the case before the
Consumer Redressal Forum.
To
corroborate the above position, please find hereunder a case which clarifies
the position:
A person did
not pay the installments as she should have after she booked a flat with the
builder, instead she complained to the Delhi State Commission for refund of the
money she had already deposited with the builder. It appears that she had
earlier written to the builder that she needed the money for her domestic
reasons. It was not the case of her that she was asking for a refund
because the flat was not being completed or given possession to her. In
this case, the Delhi State Commission held that the client could not be allowed
to wriggle out of the contract with the builder.
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