Hyderabad: The Hyderabad District Consumer Commission-1 on Friday convicted and sentenced Sunil J. Sachdev, managing partner of Gharonda Builders and Developers, to four months of imprisonment for failing to comply with the commission’s order to compensate buyers in a long pending housing dispute. The case was filed by Srinivas Reddy, an NRI in the United States, represented by his general power of attorney (GPA) holder, K. Padma Mohan Reddy. The complainant had entered into an agreement with Gharonda Builders in 2005 for the purchase of a 775-sq ft flat in ‘Gharonda Chamundeshwari Apartments’ at Amberpet. Despite paying Rs 9,61,683 out of the total Rs 14,04,810, the builder failed to hand over the flat for over a decade. After years of unfulfilled promises by the builder, including a written assurance in May 2014, the complainant approached the consumer forum in 2017. In 2018, the district Commission ordered the builder to refund the paid amount with 18 per cent interest per annum and awarded Rs 3 lakh as compensation for mental agony along with Rs 5,000 in legal costs. When the builder failed to comply, the complainant filed an appeal before the TSCDRC, which upheld the district commission’s order. The state commission, however, set aside the Rs 3 lakh compensation order, claiming that the interest was sufficient. “Appeal and revision petitions were filed by the builder before the state commission and the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission respectively, but they were dismissed,” said T.V. Rajeshwar Rao, president of District Consumer Fora Advocates Association. After continuous non-compliance with the refund order despite the appellate ruling, the district commission took a major enforcement step and convicted Sachdev under Section 27 of the Consumer Protection Act.
Source link
