Skip to main content

Duty of the complainants to prove that the booking done by them was not for a commercial purpose

In Majestic Properties Vs. Arun Dhandhania, the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has held that It is the duty of the complainants to prove that the booking done by them was not for a commercial purpose and that, they fall within the definition of ‘Consumer’ under the Act.

The facts involved in these cases show that the main person in the whole episode is Arun Dhandhania who booked one residential flat for himself, one for his son and three other flats in the names of various companies, which were operating through him only, as Director. Although booking in three cases has been made in the name of three different companies, it has not been made clear anywhere in the evidence produced by the complainants that the said property was required for residential purpose in any manner. During arguments, it was stated that the residential property was required for the purpose of housing various directors/employees from time to time. It has nowhere been stated, however, that the property was required for the personal use of a particular director. In case, the property was to be used for the general purpose of lodging various directors/employees from time to time, it shall fall under the definition of commercial activity only. On the other hand, the learned counsel for the OP Builder has vehemently argued that the basic objective of the companies involved was to deal in real estate business and the booking of the properties had been made for commercial purpose only.

The matter has been considered by this Commission in a number of judgments passed earlier from time to time. In Kavita Ahuja vs Shipra Estate Ltd. & Anr., CC No. 137 of 2010 decided on 12.02.2015

this Commission stated categorically that the mere booking of more than one flat shall not constitute a commercial purpose, provided evidence had been given that the property being booked was meant for genuine residential purpose of the family members of the complainant and not for the purpose of sale-purchase of property. In the instant case, flats have been booked by Arun Dhandhania, acting on behalf of himself or on behalf of three companies, but it has not been made clear that the booking had been made for residential purpose only and not for the purpose of sale-purchase of the property.

20. From the foregoing discussion, it is clearly brought out that the complainants do not fall within the definition of ‘consumer’ as defined under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 and hence, the complaints filed by them were not maintainable before the Consumer Fora in any manner. I have no reason to agree with the findings of the State Commission that the commercial purpose for the premises can be inferred only when some commercial activity is carried out by the complainant in the flats, after obtaining the possession of the same. It was the duty of the complainants to prove that the booking done by them was not for a commercial purpose and that, they fall within the definition of ‘Consumer’ under the Act. The appeals filed by the OP Builder, i.e., FA No. 941 to 945/2015 are, therefore, allowed. The appeals filed by the complainants, i.e., FA No. 465 to 469 / 2016 are ordered to be dismissed. As a consequence, the impugned orders passed by the State Commission are set aside and the consumer complaints no. 29 to 33 of 2012 are dismissed. There shall be no order as to costs.

Comments

Most viewed this month

Partition proceedings are vitiated even if single co-sharer is not made party or is not served in accordance with law

Cause Title :  Bhagwant Singh vs  Financial Commissioner (Appeals) Punjab, Chandigarh,  CWP-2132-2018 (O&M), High Court Of Punjab & Haryana At Chandigarh Date of Judgment/Order : 31.08.2022 Corum : Hon’ble Mr. Justice Sudhir Mittal Background A large parcel of land was owned by the Nagar Panchayat. Thereafter, some of the co-sharers sold their shares to third parties including the petitioners herein. On 22.11.1995, respondents No.3 to 5 filed an application for partition of the land. The petitioners were not impleaded as parties.  On completion of proceedings, sanad was issued on 28.08.1996. Vide two separate sale deeds dated 28.05.2008 respondents No.3 and 5 sold some portion in favour of respondent No.6 and 7. These respondents sought implementation of the sanad resulting in issuance of warrants of possession dated 05.06.2008. Allegedly, it was then that the petitioners realized that joint land had been partitioned and that proceedings h...

Power of Attorney holder can also file cheque bounce cases: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has held that a criminal complaint in a cheque bounce case can be filed and pursued by a person who holds a power of attorney (PoA) on behalf of the complainant. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam gave the "authoritative" pronouncement on the issue, referred to it by a division bench in view of conflicting judgements of some high courts and the apex court. "We are of the view that the power of attorney holder may be allowed to file, appear and depose for the purpose of issue of process for the offence punishable under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act (which deals with cheque bounce cases)," the bench, also comprising justices Ranjana Prakash Desai and Ranjan Gogoi, said. The bench, in its judgement, said, "...we clarify the position and answer the questions in the following manner: "Filing of complaint petition under Section 138 of Negotiable Instruments Act through PoA holder is perfectly legal...

Christian who reconverts as Hindu SC will get quota benefits

Amid the controversy over “ghar wapsi”, the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a person who “reconverts” from Christianity to Hinduism shall be entitled to reservation benefits if his forefathers belonged to a Scheduled Caste and the community accepts him after “reconversion”. Citing articles by B R Ambedkar and James Massey, and reports by Mandal Commission and Chinappa Commission, the court said: “There has been detailed study to indicate the Scheduled Caste persons belonging to Hindu religion, who had embraced Christianity with some kind of hope or aspiration, have remained socially, educationally and economically backward.” The bench of Justices Dipak Misra and V Gopala Gowda held that a person shall not be deprived of reservation benefits if he decides to “reconvert” to Hinduism and adopts the caste that his forefathers originally belonged to just because he was born to Christian parents or has a Christian spouse. Expanding the scope of a previous Constitution benc...