BEFORE THE STATE CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION AT PUDUCHERRY
THURSDAY, the 13th day of March, 2014
First Appeal No.1/2014
R.Rama, D/o Ramesh,
No.5, Indira Gandhi Street,
Isravel Nagar, Gorimedu,
Puducherry. ……………. Appellant
Vs.
Jayakumar, S/o Ramasamy,
No.11, T.B. Quarters,
Gorimedu, Puducherry-6. …………… Respondent
(On appeal against the order passed by the District Forum, Puducherry in Consumer Complaint No.18 of 2012, dated 13.11.2013)
Consumer Complaint No. 18 of 2012
R.Rama, D/o Ramesh,
No.5, Indira Gandhi Street,
Isravel Nagar, Gorimedu,
Puducherry. ……………. Complainant
Vs.
Jayakumar, S/o Ramasamy,
No.11, T.B. Quarters,
Gorimedu, Puducherry-6. …………… Opposite Party
BEFORE:
HON’BLE THIRU JUSTICE K.VENKATARAMAN
PRESIDENT
TMT.K.K.RITHA,
MEMBER
THIRU K.ELUMALAI,
MEMBER
FOR APPELLANT/COMPLAINANT:
Tvl. G.Mohan Keerthi Kumar &,
S.Sathia Moorthy.
Advocates, Puducherry.
FOR RESPONDENT/O.P.:
Thiru M.Shanmugam,
Advocate, Puducherry
O R D E R
(By Hon’ble Justice President)
This appeal is directed against the order of the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Puducherry in Consumer Complaint No.18/2012, dated 13.11.2013.
2. The appellant herein is the complainant before the District Forum, Puducherry, who has filed the complaint claiming a relief against the respondent/O.P. to rectify the repairs to the house or in the alternative to pay to the appellant a sum of Rs.2,80,000/-for the rectification and repair works; to pay interest on the said amount at the rate of 24% p.a. from the date of complaint till such payment; to pay a sum of Rs.50,000/- towards hardship and mental agony suffered by the appellant/complainant and to pay a sum of Rs.10,000/- towards costs.
3. When the complaint came before the District Forum, Puducherry, both the appellant and respondent, who were complainant and opposite party respectively before the District Forum, were absent and hence the complaint was dismissed. The present appeal is directed against the said order.
4. We have noted that the respondent herein was set exparte before the District Forum, Puducherry and thereafter when the matter was listed on 13.11.2013, the appellant/complainant was not present before the District Forum and hence the complaint was dismissed by the District Forum for default.
5. In the grounds of appeal, it is stated by the appellant that inadvertently the date of hearing before the District Forum was noted as 15.11.2013 instead of 13.11.2013 and hence there was no representation before the District Forum on 13.11.2013. In view of the specific stand taken in the grounds of appeal, we are of the view that the interest of justice would be met if the order of the District Forum is set at naught and the matter is remitted to District Forum to consider the matter afresh. One more aspect that has to be seen is that, as already stated, the respondent who was opposite party before the District Forum has remained exparte before the order dated 13.11.2013, on which date the complaint was dismissed for default.
6. For the reasons stated above, we are constrained to set aside the order passed by the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Puducherry in Consumer Complaint No.18/2012, dated 13.11.2013 and the appeal stands allowed. The matter is remitted to the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Puducherry, wherein the respondent being opposite party, has to file his reply version. The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Puducherry is directed to send notice to both the parties by fixing the date for enquiry and requiring the respondent to file reply version thereafter the matter shall be disposed of by the District Forum in accordance with law. However, the respondent/opposite party shall not drag on endlessly by taking time to file reply version. Equally, the appellant/complainant shall co-operate before the District Forum in disposing the matter at the earliest. It is further ordered that the appellant/complainant shall pay a sum of Rs.2,000/- (Rupees Two Thousand only) to the counsel appearing for the respondent/opposite party towards cost in the revision petition. The cost shall be payable within two weeks from this date, failing which, the appeal stands dismissed automatically.
7. The appeal is ordered accordingly.
Dated this the 13th day of March, 2014
(Justice K.VENKATARAMAN)
PRESIDENT
(K.K.RITHA)
MEMBER
(K.ELUMALAI)
MEMBER
