Full Judgment Text
2024 INSC 983
REPORTABLE
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
CIVIL APPEAL NO(S). OF 2024
[Arising out of SLP (C) No. 14908 of 2023]
Indore Development Authority …….Appellant
Versus
Dr. Hemant Mandovra ………Respondent
J U D G M E N T
SATISH CHANDRA SHARMA, J.
1. Leave granted.
2. This present petition is arising out of order dated
29.03.2023 passed by National Consumer Disputes Redressal
Signature Not Verified
Digitally signed by Commission (for short, “the National Commission”) in Revision
NITIN TALREJA
Date: 2024.12.13
18:37:59 IST
Reason:
SLP (C) No. 14908/2023 Page 1 of 8
Petition No. 2808 of 2018 whereby the National Commission
directed the appellant to handover possession of the plot in
question to the respondent within three weeks from the date the
amount is paid along with interest to the Indore Development
Authority.
3. The undisputed facts of the case reveal that the appellant
i.e. Indore Development Authority which is an authority
constituted under the Town and Country Planning Act, 1973,
issued an advertisement/Notice Inviting Tender (NIT) on
05.10.1994 in respect of Scheme No. 54 offering various plots to
the public at large. The respondent pursuant to the said
advertisement/tender notice dated 05.10.1994 submitted his offer
and was allotted a Plot No. 314 on 02.01.1995 in Scheme No. 54
with a payment plan to deposit 50% premium amount and lease
rent within 30 days from the date of allotment and the rest 50%
was required to be deposited in 12 quarterly instalments. The
undisputed facts further reveal that the respondent deposited the
initial amount and did not deposit the balance instalments on time
and, therefore, as per the terms and conditions of the allotment
and rules of the authority, the allotment was cancelled on
22.03.2000.
4. The respondent being aggrieved by the cancellation of
allotment preferred a Writ Petition No. 174 of 2001 before the
SLP (C) No. 14908/2023 Page 2 of 8
Indore Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court and the Indore
Bench of that High Court vide order dated 01.08.2006 passed in
Writ Petition No. 174 of 2001 allowed the writ petition thereby
directing the Indore Development Authority i.e. the appellant
herein to deliver the possession of the plot to the writ petitioner
i.e. respondent herein subject to payment of the remaining
outstanding amount within 30 days from the date of the order,
meaning thereby, the allotment of the respondent was restored
and 30 days’ time was granted to him to pay the outstanding dues.
5. The respondent pursuant to the order passed by the High
Court submitted a Demand Draft amounting to Rs 5,72,782/-,
though the total outstanding amount was Rs. 12,02,592/-. The
Demand Draft was returned to the respondent as it was not in
respect of the total outstanding amount. According to the
respondent, in response to his letter dated 18.06.2008 whereby he
requested the appellant to reduce the interest and therefore, based
upon his request, the amount was reduced to Rs. 11,04,948/- by
the appellant, which was required to be deposited on or before
28.02.2009. The respondent, even though the amount was
reduced, failed to deposit the amount of Rs. 11,04,948/- and took
a different route for redressal of his grievance by approaching
District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Indore,
(hereinafter referred to as, “District Forum”) by filing a
consumer complaint No. 391/2009 under Section 12 of the
SLP (C) No. 14908/2023 Page 3 of 8
Consumer Protection Act, 1986, challenging the demand dated
17.02.2009 and for issuance of an appropriate direction for
execution of sale deed in his favour and the District Forum vide
order dated 25.02.2015 dismissed the complaint on the ground
that the amount was not deposited as directed by the High Court.
6. The respondent being aggrieved by the order passed by the
District Forum preferred another writ petition No. 1661/2015
before the Indore Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court and
the said writ petition was dismissed as withdrawn on 08.04.2015
with the liberty to avail the statutory remedy provided under the
Consumer Protection Act. Thereafter, the respondent preferred
an appeal before the Madhya Pradesh State Consumer Disputes
Redressal Commission, Bhopal (hereinafter referred to as, “State
Commission”). The State Commission admitted the appeal and
during the pendency of the appeal, the respondent filed an
application under Section 13(3B) of the Consumer Protection
Act, for grant of permission to deposit the amount of
Rs. 11,04,948/- under protest with the liberty to reclaim the said
amount. The Indore Development Authority i.e. the appellant
herein filed its reply stating on affidavit that the total amount of
Rs. 22,73,079/- is outstanding which included the interest. The
State Commission passed an interim order on 15.12.2017.
Though, it was an interim order but granted final relief to the
respondent by directing him to deposit the entire outstanding
SLP (C) No. 14908/2023 Page 4 of 8
amount with interest and the appellant i.e. Indore Development
Authority was directed to place the respondent in possession.
7. Being aggrieved by the order dated 15.12.2017 passed by
the State Commission, a revision petition was preferred before
the National Commission and the National Commission had
disposed of the revision petition directing the appellant to
calculate the interest within a period of two weeks and after
receiving the amount along with interest, to handover the
possession of the plot within a period of three weeks from the
date of receipt of such deposit.
8. We have heard the learned counsel for the parties at length
and perused the records minutely.
9. It is an undisputed fact that in respect of
advertisement/NIT which was issued on 05.10.1994, National
Commission vide order dated 29.03.2023 has directed the
appellant to accept the deposit made by respondent and to allot
the plot to him, meaning thereby, after the lapse of period of 28
years. In the present case, the respondent at the first instance
opted to file a writ petition before the High Court of Madhya
Pradesh and a favourable order was also passed in his favour on
01.08.2006 directing the respondent to pay the balance
outstanding amount within 30 days and further directed the
appellant i.e. Indore Development Authority to handover the
SLP (C) No. 14908/2023 Page 5 of 8
possession of the plot to the writ petitioner i.e. respondent herein.
However, only a sum of Rs. 5,72,782/- through a demand draft
was presented in the month of September, 2006, against the total
outstanding dues of Rs. 12,02,592/-.
10. The appellant i.e. Indore Development Authority has
shown magnanimity in the matter by reducing the interest vide
letter dated 17.02.2009 and the amount was reduced to
Rs. 11,04,948/- which was required to be paid on or before
28.02.2009. The respondent, not being satisfied even with the
reduction of amount, opted for a different route for redressal of
his grievance by approaching the District Forum and the District
Forum was justified in dismissing the complaint of the
respondent. The respondent again approached the High Court by
way of a writ petition which was dismissed as withdrawn on
08.04.2015 with the liberty to avail statutory remedy provided
under the Consumer Protection Act and thereafter the respondent
preferred an appeal before the State Commission against the
order passed by the District Forum. The State Commission by
way of an interim order dated 15.12.2017 directed the appellant
i.e. Indore Development Authority to accept the outstanding
amount with interest and to deliver the possession of plot in
question to the respondent, meaning thereby, a final relief was
granted by way of an interim order and under these
circumstances, the matter had reached the National Commission.
SLP (C) No. 14908/2023 Page 6 of 8
In the considered opinion of this Court, final relief could not have
been granted by the State Commission on an interlocutory
application filed in the matter.
11. The other important aspect of the case is that the National
Commission without considering any ground raised by the
appellant has directed the appellant to receive and accept the
amount from the respondent along with interest and handover the
possession of the plot in question. In our considered opinion, in
respect of NIT/advertisement issued on 05.10.1994, no such
order could have been passed by the National Commission in the
peculiar facts and circumstances of the present case i.e. after a
lapse of period of 28 years. It was the respondent who committed
default in depositing the balance amount as per the terms and
conditions of the NIT and even after the first round of litigation
before the High Court, the respondent did not deposit the amount
of Rs. 12,02,592/- which was outstanding against him and,
therefore, at this juncture, after a lapse of 28 years, the question
of directing the appellant i.e. Indore Development Authority as
has been done by the National Commission to accept the amount
does not arise. Resultantly, the orders passed by the State
Commission dt. 15.12.2017 and National Commission
dt. 29.03.2023 deserve to be set aside and are accordingly set
aside and it is made clear that the appellant i.e. Indore
Development Authority shall issue a fresh tender in respect of the
SLP (C) No. 14908/2023 Page 7 of 8
said plot in question and shall allot the plot only by way of
auction or by following the due process as per rules.
12. With the aforesaid, the appeal stands allowed.
……………………………………J.
[BELA M. TRIVEDI]
……………………………………J.
[SATISH CHANDRA SHARMA]
NEW DELHI
December 13, 2024
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