SC Directs HSIDC To Refund Rs.1,66,425 To Allottee

The Supreme Court bench comprising Justices S. Ravindra Bhat and Dipankar Datta directed Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation to refund and amount of Rs.1,66,425 to the allottee with an interest of 6% p.a. from September 18,1998 till date. The court was hearing an appeal against the order of National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (NCDRC) where the commission allowed the revision petition filed by HSIDC.

Facts of the Case:

The allottee had applied for a plot in the Industrial State Udyog Vihar in Gurgaon in the year 1994 and the possession was handed over to him in the year 1995. As per the agreement between the appellant and the HSIDC, the appellant had stated that he would complete the project in a period of 2 years and an extension of that period could be given only on the payment of a fee.

When the project was not completed by the appellant in the said time a reason for the same was sought from him to which he replied that there was a lack of infrastructural facilities due to which the project could not be completed. 

The HSIDC did not find the reasons submitted by the appellant to be satisfactory and proceeded to give refund of the plot and asked the appellant to handover the possession of the plot as a result of which the appellant approached the consumer forum.

It was submitted by the appellant/ allottee before the Supreme Court that the HSIDC had cancelled his allotment of the plot without giving him a chance to explain himself in a hearing. It was also submitted that there were no proper infrastructural facilities such as roads and electrical and other kinds of amenities due to which the project could not be expected to be completed.

On perusal of the agreement between the appellant and the HSIDC, the court noted that there is no record of any plan to construct a factory or an industrial unit. The court observed the non- seriousness of the appellant towards the project can be seen from the fact that he did not seek any approval for any plans, did not seek any equipment or machinery and neither did he indulge in securing any tax registration or any other such factors which point to his intention towards completing the project.

Proceedings before the District Consumer Forum:

The District consumer forum held that the appellant had not been able to complete the project because of the change in the policy by the state government and it was beyond his control.

Proceedings before the State Consumer Forum:

Aggrieved by the observation of the district consumer forum, the HSIDC approached the state consumer forum but the appeal was dismissed. 

Proceedings before the National Consumer Commission:

The NCDRC dismissed the revision petition filed by HSIDC due to delay.

Finally, the HSIDC approached the Supreme Court of India against the order of the NCDRC to dismiss the revision petition.

In the light of the aforementioned the apex court observed that the allottee is only entitled to the amount that was paid by him for the said plot. The court directed Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation to refund and amount of Rs.1,66,425 to the allottee with an interest of 6% p.a. from September 18,1998 till date. The court was hearing an appeal against the order of National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (NCDRC) where the commission allowed the revision petition filed by HSIDC.

CASE: AMAN SEMI- CONDUCTORS (P) LTD. V. HARYANA INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT CORPN. LTD.