20 years on, CHB applicant gets justice

Sandeep Rana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 4

Nearly 20 years after he paid earnest money of Rs 40,000 for an LIG housing scheme in which he remained unsuccessful and was not returned the amount, the complainant has finally got justice.

The district consumer forum here yesterday ordered the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) and the State Bank of India (SBI), Sector 12 branch, to refund the amount along with an interest of 6 per cent per annum with effect from April 8, 1997 (three months after the date of the draw of lots), till realisation, to the complainant, Vivek Saigal, a resident of Sector 34.

An amount of Rs 10,000 was ordered to be paid on account of deficiency in service and causing mental and physical harassment and Rs 7,000 towards the cost of litigation to the complainant.

Saigal had applied for the allotment of a flat in the LIG housing scheme of the CHB in Sector 38 (West) in 1996 and had paid Rs 40,000 to participate in the scheme. The draw of lots was held on January 8, 1997, and the complainant was not successful. The complainant alleged that he did not get the refund of the amount.

The CHB submitted in the court that it had remitted the entire amount of the unsuccessful applicants to the SBI on March 31, 1997, for issuing the necessary refunds to the applicants. However, the CHB did not produce any record such as the cheque/demand draft numbers by which the SBI had refunded the deposited money of the unsuccessful applicants.

“A conjoint reading of the foregoings makes it crystal clear that the opposite parties acted in a highly irresponsible and negligent manner regarding preserving/maintenance of the records in respect of the unsuccessful applicants. Hence, it is held that they failed to prove that they had actually refunded the amount to the complainant. The complainant has produced cogent evidence to prove unfair trade practice and deficiency in service on the part of the two parties,” said the court order.