A consumer commission in Ahmedabad has issued an arrest warrant against a New Delhi-based builder because he failed to return money to a consumer upon commission’s order and failed to appear before it to face the charge of non-compliance of order.
The Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission, Ahmedabad (rural) has ordered Kalkaji police station in New Delhi to arrest the director of Supertech Realtors Pvt Ltd, Harish Chander Chhibber, and produce him before the commission on December 12. This is because of his failure to appear before the commission in response to a summons to answer why he should not be punished for non-compliance of refund order.
The case involves former assistant solicitor general of the Gujarat high court, advocate Jitendra Malkan, who booked a 595 square foot studio apartment on the 40th floor in an upcoming scheme named Iconic Tower Spira in Delhi. He paid over Rs 66 lakh to the builder, who promised possession of the flat by 2016, but this did not happen and advocate Malkan demanded his money back.
Before the consumer commission, advocate Malkan submitted that since he has to frequently visit Delhi for court proceedings, he decided to buy a flat, but it was deficiency in service on part of the builder that he promised him possession despite the fact that the land on which the apartments were to be built had legal encumbrances.
The builder opposed the plaint and argued that the lawyer had booked the flat with an intention of investment and he wanted to earn profit out of it. Hence, his case is fit for arbitration and was not maintainable before a consumer commission.
After hearing the case, the commission in March 2022 ordered the director of Supertech to refund the amount to Malkan with 8% interest and Rs 15,000 extra as compensation.
