Consumer panel gives buyers Rs 1L relief over delay in possession of flat

Ramkrishan Upadhyay

Chandigarh, December 27

The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Chandigarh, has directed M/s Omaxe Chandigarh Extension Developers Pvt Ltd to pay Rs 1,00,000 to city residents Dr Renuka Sharma and Dr Ratti Ram Sharma for a delay in handing over the possession of a flat to them.

The panel also directed the firm to deliver physical possession of the flat within a period of 45 days and pay compensation to the complainants for the delay. The Sharmas had claimed in their complaint filed before the commission through advocate Karan Singla that they had purchased a flat from the builder under its project, ‘The Lake’. The total price of the flat for sale was fixed at Rs 82,05,600. They said that the builder (opposite party) had assured them that possession of the flat would be offered within 42 months (by September 6, 2018) of the date of the booking (September 6, 2014). The complainants alleged that the opposite party had failed to keep up with the construction of the project and did not raise any further demand after August 2019 for about four years. They further stated that even though they had already shelled out an amount of Rs 68,81,482 for the flat and more than eight years and nine months had elapsed, the opposite party failed to hand over possession of the flat to them. The builder (OP) denied the allegations and contended that the delay in offering possession of the unit took place because of the force majeure circumstances caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The commission directed the builder to deliver actual physical possession of the flat to the complainants within 45 days of the date of receipt of a certified copy of the order.