HYDERABAD: Have a complaint to make against your builder or apartment developer? Make sure that you disclose the aggregate value of the housing unit of the project when you approach a consumer forum. Because, even if the issue is about fixing a common generator, construction of a swimming pool or installation of CCTV cameras, the district consumer forum considers a complaint based on the aggregate value of the unit and not on the amount for which the compensation is being claimed for.
More and more complaints of incomplete works in several infrastructure projects are landing at the state commission from the district fora after being rejected on grounds of lack of jurisdiction. A district consumer forum cannot, under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, take up cases involving claims of compensation exceeding Rs 20 lakh.
According to the information provided by the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (SCDRC), more than 50 petitions were rejected by various district fora between January and March on grounds of pecuniary jurisdiction (limitation due to money) and the State Redressal Commission had to be approached.
"The district fora rejected them because the entire value of goods or service was considered without considering the value of the actual compensation claimed," SCDRC sources said. For instance, if a complaint seeking compensation of `5 lakh for delivering a flat without completing the furnishing work, the value of the flat is considered and not the compensation for admitting the case. And, if the value of the flat is more than `20 lakh, the complaint is not accepted.
The practice has been recently started following a National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission judgment (NCDRC). "The order of NCDRC is not just because it denies consumers the access to a district forum. How can the entire value of a goods or service be taken for calculation when the claim can be for as less as `25,000 for a property valued `1 crore?" wondered V Gouri Sankara Rao, chairman of the Confederation of All Telangana Consumers Organisations.
Thus, if the aggregate value of goods, property or service is taken into account and not just the value of the disputed part of the service for claim, the case will go beyond the jurisdiction of the district forum if its is higher than `20 lakh. And the complaint has to approach the state commission in such cases. The will result in fewer cases being filed at district fora and more needing to be filed at state commission. But not many would prefer this approach as a man, for instance, going from a far-off Adilabad to SCDRC in Hyderabad for justice though the actual compensation claimed is as low as `50,000, Rao reasoned. Experts point out that either a review of the judgment or a clarification from the Supreme Court will lead to proper interpretation of the Act.
What the Act says
The Consumer Protection Act of 1986 says, "A complaint in relation to any goods sold or delivered or agreed to be sold or delivered or any service provided or agreed to be provided may be filed with a District Forum."