NCDRC upholds police for failure to issue warrants to the partners of KDS Infra Buildcons.

In view of the inability of the police to provide non-bailable warrants to the three partners of Kondhwa-based real estate company (Pune) KDS Infra Buildcons for non-compliance of its order, the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) took a strong note of it.

In the four years, total, 132 home buyers — mainly retired Ammunition Factory workers, Khadki, armed forces and central government establishments — have failed to get their money back that ranges from Rs 75,000 to Rs 1.50 lakh, which was charged to book apartments in KDS Dham and KDS Angan at Charholi Budruk near Vishrantwadi between 2009 and 2010. The project never began and the company sold the land to a third party.

In response to the complaint made in 2012 by consumer body Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat, NCDRC on 17 February 2016 asked for a refund of Rs 1.34 crore with 18% annual interest and Rs 4 lakh each as damages to 132 homebuyers from the real estate firm and its associates – Bhupendrasingh Dhillon, Maruti Budhaji Kadale and Abhijit Maruti Kadale.

The ‘Grahak panchayat’ preferred a plea to carry out the order in June 2016. Since then, the commission has directed NBWs several times against the KDS partners. But the proceedings were evaded by them. The complainant- Lawyer Vijay Kharmale said: “They paid Rs 10 lakh of the order amount, which goes to almost Rs 4 crore.”

In the order issued on 16 January, the NCDRC bench of presiding member, Anup K Thakur, and the member, S M Kantikar, stated: “After a clear statement of the decree dated 10 April 2019, the civil police authorities’ cooperation in the issuance of NBWs on the debtors (partners) was insufficient.”

The bench said that the DCP (involved) was going to appear before it directly and the notice of the appearance was to be sent by the policeman if the Kondhwa police were unable to serve the warrants. “However, on behalf of officials mentioned in that order there is no appearance or any submission,” the bench said.

The commission has “again given the police a chance to make fresh attempts in serving NBWs through the DCP and, in case of incapacity, to send a clear report to the next hearing on 16 April.” If nothing happens on April 16, we shall move a plea of stigma in the Supreme Court,” Kharmale said.

“NBWs could not be enforced, as existing addresses for these three partners were not identified. We issued new instructions to the Kondhwa police to find the addresses and carry out the warrants,” said, DCP (Zone V) Suhas Bawache.

Source: Magicbricks