BENGALURU: After being sold a litigation-prone site that the builder had no legal right to sell, an 81-year-old Vidyaranyapura resident took Mega City (Bengaluru) Developers & Builders to Karnataka State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, which asked the real estate firm to pay him about Rs 7 lakh.
PP Sharma, a retired HMT manager, wanted to buy a site to build his dream home. Initially, Sharma was allotted a 2,400 sqft site in the F-II block of Vajragiri on Aug 26, 1999. However, the builder failed to execute the sale deed, leading to multiple follow-ups by Sharma. After 10 years, a sale deed was executed for another site in A-1 block, Sheshagirihalli village, Ramanagara, on April 6, 2009.
Sharma initially paid Rs 96,000 for the allotment of the site and later paid Rs 6,342 towards development charges. At the time of the sale deed, he paid Rs 2.4 lakh. He also paid Rs 50,000 towards betterment charges, Rs 12,340 for registration, and Rs 81,600 as stamp duty. His payments totalled Rs 4.9 lakh.
Sharma alleged the sale deed was merely a paper transaction that conferred no real rights, as the original owners were still cultivating the land. Moreover, the landowners had regained ownership through a court order.
Faced with the situation, Sharma filed a consumer complaint seeking a refund from the developer. The builder argued that the complaint was time-barred, as it was filed 12 years after the sale deed’s execution. However, the commission rejected this argument, stating that the limitation period should be considered from the date of Sharma’s legal notice on Sept 23, 2020.
Unfair trade practice
After considering all the proof, the commission said the developer was guilty of deficient service and unfair trade practices as it had kept hidden from the complaint the fact that the site sold to him belonged to another person and was not developed at the time of the sale deed. This misrepresentation led to Sharma experiencing mental agony and stress.
The commission directed the builder to refund Rs 4.9 lakh Sharma had paid, with 12% interest per annum from the date of receipt until payment and also pay him Rs 2 lakh as compensation for the mental agony and physical inconvenience caused to him and Rs 25,000 towards litigation costs.
