| Final Order / Judgement | DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION, BATHINDA C.C. No. 52 of 08-03-2019 Decided on : 27-05-2022 Major Singh, aged about 72 years S/o Sh. Bachan Singh, resident of Vill. Jaid, Tehsil Phul, Distt. Bathinda. ........Complainant Versus M/s Gurdev Cold Store, Pitho-Badiala Road, Vill. Pitho, Tehsil Phul, Distt. Bathinda through its Partners Gurjant Singh & Jinder Singh Gurjant Singh son of Sh. Nachattar Singh son of Sh. Gurdev Singh, Partner of M/s Gurdev Cold Store, Pitho-Badiala Road, Vill. Pitho, Tehsil Phul, Distt. Bathinda. Jinder Singh son of Sh. Jarnail Singh son of Sh. Gurdev Singh , Partner of M/s Gurdev Cold Store, Pitho-Badiala Road, Vill. Pitho, Tehsil Phul, Distt. Bathinda.
.......Opposite parties Complaint under Section 12 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 QUORUM Sh. Kanwar Sandeep Singh, President Sh. Shivdev Singh, Member Smt. Paramjeet Kaur, Member Present: For the complainant : Sh. Gian Chand Bansal, Advocate. For opposite parties : Sh. Sandeep Singh Sidhu,Advocate for OP No.1 Opposite Party No.2 &3 deleted. O R D E R Kanwar Sandeep Singh, President The complainant Major Singh (here-in-after referred to as complainant) has filed this complaint U/s 12 of Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (Now C.P. Act, 2019, here-in after referred to as 'Act') before this Forum (Now Commission) against opposite parties M/s Gurdev Cold Store and Others (here-in-after referred to as opposite parties). Briefly stated, the case of the complainant is that he is permanent resident of Village Jaid, Tehsil Phul, Distt. Bathinda and he is a small farmer. The complainant and his brother Jarnail Singh are living in joint family, having joint mess and cultivation. It is stated that in order to protect his potatoes from the damage, the complainant wanted to preserve the same in the Cold Store and as such the complainant and his brother Jarnail Singh approached the opposite parties no.2&3 who are running a Cold Store under the name of Gurdev Cold Store, Vill. Pitho and the complainant alongwith his brother Jarnail Singh enquired about the Store of the potatoes in the said Cold Store and the opposite parties no.2&3 demanded a sum of Rs.100.00 per bag (50 Kgs.) as charges for keeping the bags of potatoes in their Store which was to be paid by the complainantat the time of taking delivery of the bags from the cold store which was agreed to be taken upto 1.11.2018. It is stated that accordingly, complainant stored total 475 bags of Potatoes in the aforesaid cold store of the opposite parties on different dates from 19.3.2018 against proper receipts which are being enclosed herewith as Ex.C2 to Ex.C8. At the time of Store of the potatoes in the aforesaid Cold Store of opposite parties had specifically assured the complainant and his brother Jarnail Singh that they need not to worry about their stock and now it is the responsiblity of the opposite parties to maintain/protest and preserve the same by taking proper care of the stock, at required temperature. It is stated that the complainant visited the opposite parties no.2&3 in the first week of October 2018 for taking delivery of Stock of potatoes stored with the opposite parties but the opposite parties no.2&3 kept on putting the matter off under one or the other false pretext and failed to hand over the stock of potatoes to the complainant. It is stated that the opposite parties started alluring the complainant and his brother Jarnail Singh to wait for some time as they will get sold the potatoes of the complainant for a handsome price and will give the amount of sale proceed to the complainant in the near future but neither the opposite parties released the stock of potatoes to the compalinant nor made payment of the sale proceed as assured by the opposite parties rather the opposite parties kept on putting the matter off under one or the other false pretext. It is stated that the complainant and his brother Jarnail Singh also convened various panchayats consisting of respectable persons of the village and requested the opposite parties to give the bags of potatoes lying stored in the Cold Store of opposite parties but the opposite parties started proclaiming that the particular bags of the complainant bearing Lot number mentioned on the invoices issued by opposite parties, are not traceable and assured the complainant either to hand over the said bags of the complainant in the near future or to pay the amount of sale proceed as per the market rate but to no effect and now for the last about one week, the opposite parties have started proclaiming that there is no stock in their Cold Storage and have refused to give any stock of potatoes to the complainant and also to pay amount of the same. It is further stated that due to the abovesaid act of the opposite parties, the complainant has suffered from great mental tension, agony botheration, harrasment, humiliation and huge financial loss on account of damage to the aforesaid bags of the potatoes i.e. 475 bags @ Rs.500/- per bag and the complainant suffered a total loss of Rs.2,37,500/- As such the complainant is entitled to recover the said amount from the opposite parties. Further more, the complainant is also entitled to the compensation to the tune of Rs.50,000/- on account of harrasment, humiliation, botheration, mental tension and agony suffered by him at the hands of opposite parties besides costs of the present complaint to the tune of Rs.11,000/-. On this backdrop of facts, the complainant has alleged deficiency in service and unfair trade practice on the opposite parties. By filing this complaint, the complainant has prayed for direction to the opposite parties to honour the claim of the complainant to the tune of Rs.2,37,500/- on account of damage to the potatoes of the complainant and further prayed for direction to opposite parties pay compensation to the tune of Rs. 50,000/- to the complainant on account of mental tension, agony, botheration and harrasment suffered by him and also costs of the present complaint to the tune of Rs.11,000/-. The complainant has also prayed for award of any other additional or alteranative releif for which he may be found entitled to. The name of OP no.2 & 3 were deleted from the array of opposite parties on the statement of counsel for complainant. Registered A.D Notice of complaint was sent to opposite party who appeared through counsel and contested the complaint raising legal objections that the complainant is not maintainble, that the complainant has no locus standi or causes of action to file the complaint, that the complainant never stored his potatoes in the Cold Store of the opposite parties as falsely alleged. It is submitted that the opposite parties No. 2 and 3 had appointed Vijay Kumar son of Chatar Singh resident of Dr. Kang Wali Gali, Bhucho Mandi, Distt. Bathinda as Manager of opposite party no. 1 and some back they found that Vijay Kumar has committed forgery in the record of Cold Stores and has committed cheating with them by issuing bogus receipts for storage of potatoes and he also cheated various persons and in all he committed cheating of more than Rs. 15 lacs with the opposite parties. Thereafter case FIR No. 104 dated 13.10.2018 u//s 420/406 IPC was got registered by them against Vijay Kumar Manager at PS Sadar, Rampura, District Bathinda. Photo copy of FIR is attached . The present complainant in connivance with Vijay Kumar Manager has filed this complaint on the basis of bogus receipts which have not been issued by the opposite parties rather it may have been issued by Vijay Kumar Manager. As such complainant is not entitled to compensation from the opposite parties. On merit, after controverting all other averments of complainant, the opposite party prayed for dismissal. In support of his complaint, complainant tendered affidavit of Major Singh
(Ex. C-1), photocopy of stock receipts (Ex.C2-C8) and affidavit of Jarnail Singh (Ex. C-9). Complainant has also tendered into additional evidence photocopy of rate lists (Ex.C-9 (re-marked) and Ex.C-10). In order to rebut the evidence of complainant opposite party tendered into evidence affidavit of Gurjant Singh (Ex. OP-1/1), Photocopy of FIR (Ex. OP-1/2), Photocopy of General Power Of Attorney (Ex. OP-1/3) and Photocopies of Receipts (Ex. OP-1/4). We have heard learned counsel for parties and gone through the file carefully. Learned counsel for complainant has reiterated his stand as taken in the complaint and detailed above. It is further submitted by learned counsel for complainant that the complainant and his brother Jarnail Singh stored total 475 bags of potatoes in the Cold Store of opposite parties in the month of March, 2018 vide receipts Ex. C-2 to Ex. C-8 and rent of Rs. 100 per bag (50kgs) was to be paid by complainant at the time of taking delivery of bags from Cold Store which was agreed to be taken upto 1.11.2018 but opposite parties did not handover the stock of potatoes on their asking in the first week of November, 2018. Hence, complainant is entitled to claimed releif. On the otherhand learned counsel for the opposite party submitted that complainant has never stored his potatoes in the cold store of the opposite parties and further submitted that the opposite parties No. 2 and 3 had appointed Vijay Kumar son of Chatar Singh resident of Dr. Kang Wali Gali, Bhucho Mandi, Distt. Bathinda as Manager of opposite party no. 1 and some time back they found that Vijay Kumar has committed forgery in the record of Cold Stores and has committed cheating with them by issuing bogus receipts for storage of potatoes and he also cheated various persons and in all he committed cheating of more than Rs. 15 lacs with the opposite parties. Thereafter case FIR No. 104 dated 13.10.2018 u//s 420/406 IPC was got registered by them against Vijay Kumar Manager at PS Sadar, Rampura, District Bathinda. Photo copy of FIR is attached . The present complainant in connivance with Vijay Kumar Manager has filed this complaint on the basis of bogus receipts which have not been issued by the opposite parties rather it may have been issued by Vijay Kumar Manager. As such complainant is not entitled to compensation from the opposite parties. We have given careful consideration to these rival submissions and minutely gone through the record on file. Persual of the receipts Ex. C-2 to Ex. C-8 reveals that complainant deposited 475 bags in the Cold Store of the opposite parties and as per conditions mention in these documents, rent was to be paid by the complainant on receipt of potato bags from Store of opposite parties and delivery was to be taken upto 1st November 2018. On the other hand it is argument of the opposite parties that these receipts produced by the complainant are forged and fabricated but opposite parties failed to bring on file any expert opinion to prove forgery as alleged. Moreover, receipts produced and relied upon by the opposite parties themselves are having later serial numbers and are of later dates. Perusal of receipts produced by complainant (Ex. C-2 to Ex. C-8) and receipts produced by opposite parties (Ex. OP 1/4 to OP 1/7) Further reveals that all the receipts are bearing stamps of market committee Rampura Phul which itself proves that receipts are genuine. So from the persual of receipts Ex. C-2 to Ex. C-8 it has become clear that complainant deposited 475 bags of potatoes in Cold Store of opposite parties. On one hand opposite parties pleaded that The Complainant has not deposited bags of potaoes with them and on the other hand pleaded that their Manager had cheated various persons as well as opposite parties. So this commission is of the considered view that non- return of potato bags by the opposite parties to the complainant is deficiency in service and unfair trade practise on the part of opposite parties. Opposite parties further place reliance upon FIR (Ex.OP 1/2 ) which has been registered against one Vijay Kumar who is not party to present case. So this FIR has no bearing on the rights of complainant. Now the question arises that at what rate the claim of complainant is to be calculated. Complainant brought on file rate lists issued by Secretary Market
Committee Rampura Phul as Ex. C-9 & C-10. On the other hand Opposite parties did not bring any other evidence to rebut these rate lists. Perusal of Ex. C-10 reveals that rate of potatoes in the Month of November, 2018 were Rs.500/-. Though it is not cleared from the rate list that rate of Rs.500/- is of how much quantity but this commission is of the opinion that this rate of Rs.500/- of must be a Quintal . For the reasons recorded above, the complaint is partly accepted with Rs.10,000/- as cost and compensation against opposite parties. The opposite parties are directed to Pay price of 475 bags (50 Kg each) @ Rs.5 per Kg (after deducting Rs.100/- per bag as rent) along with interest @ 9% per annum from 1 November, 2018 till realization. The compliance of this order be made within 45 days from the date of receipt of copy of this order. The complaint could not be decided within the statutory period due to heavy pendency of cases and vacancy of post of members. Copy of order be sent to the parties concerned free of cost and file be consigned to the record.
Announced:- 27-05-2022 (Kanwar Sandeep Singh) President (Shivdev Singh) Member (Paramjeet Kaur) Member
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