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TMI Blog2019 (5) TMI 2006X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ave agreed for payment of damages at the rate of Rs. 10/- per sq. ft. per month. Once the parties agreed for a particular consequence of delay in handing over of possession then, there has to be exceptional and strong reasons for the SCDRC/NCDRC to award compensation at more than the agreed rate. Though the 1986 Act empowers the authorities to award compensation for any loss or injury including building damages but the order of NCDRC or that of SCDRC of awarding compensation is without any foundation being laid down by the complainant on judicially recognised principles and is by Rule of thumb. Therefore, grant of compensation under various heads granted by the NCDRC cannot be sustained. The complainant is entitled to interest from the Appellant for not handing over possession as projected as is offered by it but it is not a case to award special punitive damages as the one of the causes for late delivery of possession was beyond the control of the Appellant. Appeal allowed. - DR. D.Y. CHANDRACHUD AND HEMANT GUPTA, JJ. For the Appellant : Chander Uday Singh, Sr. Adv., Ruby Singh Ahuja, Seema Sundd, Prabhat Ranjan, Alabhya Dhamija, Shreyansi Goel, Pravin Bahadur, Nakul Gandhi, Sau ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... pay compensation by way of interest @12% p.a. on the deposited amount, due to the complainant w.e.f. 01.06.2016, onwards (per month) by the 10th of the following month, failing which, the same shall also carry penal interest @ 15% p.a., instead of 12% p.a., from the date of default, till the delivery of possession. 5. To pay compensation by way of interest @12% p.a. on the deposited amount, due to the complainant w.e.f. 01.06.2016, onwards (per month) by the 10th of the following month, failing which, the same shall also carry penal interest @ 15% p.a., instead of 12% p.a., from the date of default, till the delivery of possession. 6. To pay cost of litigation, to the tune of Rs. 50,000/-, to the complainant, within two months from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order, failing which, the same shall also carry interest @12% p.a., from the date of filing the complaint till realization. 3. The Appellant preferred appeal against such order passed by SCDRC before the NCDRC. The NCDRC issued inter-alia the following directions: (C) Compensation: The compensation for loss and injury, for mental agony and physical harassment, hardship and difficulty, uncertainty and helple ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d be adopted. Rounding of simplification etc. to make the computation doable could be adopted. We feel it appropriate that, considering that the subject units in question are dwelling units, in a residential housing project, the rate of interest for house building loan for the corresponding period in a scheduled nationalized bank (take, State Bank of India) would be appropriate and logical, and, if 'floating'/varying/different rates of interest were/are prescribed, the higher rate of interest should be taken for this instant computation. We also feet it appropriate and logical that the lumpsum amount awarded should be commensurate with the period for which there has been delay in possession beyond the milestone date, and be objectively and logically computed so. In our considered view, a sum of Rs. 1 lakh per year from the assured date of handing over possession to the actual date of possession (pro-rata to the nearest whole month, with part month to be taken as one month) would be objective, logical, just and equitable in the facts and specificities of the case. (D) Cost of litigation: In respect of cost of litigation, too, just and equitable cost is necessary (this, by it ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of deposits from the day they were made till the date of refund. (b) In cases where, upon transfer, a subsequent purchaser had stepped into the shoes of the original allottee and had prayed for Refund, the reckoning date for computing the interest be from the date of his transfer in respect of all the amounts that were deposited by the original allottee and if any subsequent deposits were made by the transferee, from the dates of such deposits; (c) In cases where Possession was sought, the period available to the Developer under the agreement being three years (that is to say original period of two years which was extendable, at the option of the Developer, by further period of one year) ought not to be computed while calculating compensation in the form of interest. Therefore, the period to be reckoned shall be after expiry of three years from the date of agreement and in respect of such period the compensation shall be at the same rate of 9%. (d) In Possession cases, if there was any transfer and the transferee had stepped into the shoes of the original allottee, the compensation shall be paid from the date of expiry of three years from the agreement as aforesaid or from the dat ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of handing over possession available to the Appellant i.e. 36 months. By virtue of such extended period, the possession was required to be handed over on or about 11.02.2014. The present set of appeals relates to the Complainants claiming possession of the fats allotted to them in the DLF Valley. It is categorical stand of the Appellant that the fats have been completed and occupation certificate obtained from the Office of Director, Town and Country Planning Department of State of Haryana. 14. The learned NCDRC rightly held that compensation for loss, mental agony, litigation expenses and hardship, uncertainty and helplessness can neither be meagre nor exorbitant but has to be just and commensurate with the loss and injury. After holding so, the learned NCDRC found that the Complainants are not entitled to stipulated amount on account of delay in handing over possession but damages on the amount deposited apart from interest on the amount so deposited. 15. A perusal of the order passed by NCDRC shows that it approved the directions of the SCDRC granting interest on the amount deposited from the assured date and a lumpsum compensation on the deposited amount from the assured date o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... o be compensated for the deprivation which may be called interest, compensation or damages. Thus, keeping in view the said principle laid down in the aforesaid judgment, the amount of the interest is the compensation to the beneficiary deprived of the use of the investment made by the complainant. Therefore, such interest will take into its ambit, the consequences of delay in not handing over his possession. In fact, we find that the learned SCDRC as well as NCDRC has awarded compensation under different heads on account of singular default of not handing over possession. Such award under various heads in respect of the same default is not sustainable. 19. Thus, we find that the complainant is entitled to interest from the Appellant for not handing over possession as projected as is offered by it but it is not a case to award special punitive damages as the one of the causes for late delivery of possession was beyond the control of the Appellant. Therefore, in view of the settlement proposal submitted by the Appellant in earlier two set of appeals in respect of same project, and to settle any further controversy, the Appellant is directed as follows: i) To send a copy of the occupa ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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