Agartala, Jul 29 (PTI) A consumer court in West Tripura district has sentenced a woman real estate promoter to three years of imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 1 lakh for failing to hand over a flat to a buyer and not refunding the amount paid.
Consumer Court judge Gautam Sarkar delivered the verdict on Monday and held promoter Nivedita Baidya guilty of breaching the buyer-seller agreement.
The court asked the DGP to arrest the promoter and present her before the court.
The case dates back to an agreement signed on October 28, 2016, between Narayan Chandra Das, a resident of Joynagar in Agartala, and the promoter.
According to the agreement, Baidya was to allot Das a flat on the third floor of a building under construction for a total transaction value of Rs 18.7 lakh.
The order said Das paid Rs 3.74 lakh as the first instalment in 2017 and later handed over an additional Rs 2 lakh.
However, construction work was stopped abruptly in 2018, and no further progress was made, the counsel of Das told the court during the hearing.
Despite repeated attempts, the promoter neither delivered the flat nor refunded the money, he claimed.
In 2019, Das filed a complaint with the consumer court, which ordered Baidya to return the money with appropriate compensation. But the promoter failed to comply with the court’s directive.
As a result, Das filed another petition seeking enforcement of the earlier order.
“Based on this, the court has now sentenced the promoter to three years in jail and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh. The court further stated that failure to pay the fine will result in an additional three months of imprisonment,” the order said.
The court’s judgment is being seen as a major win for consumer rights and a warning to unscrupulous promoters who fail to honour their commitments. PTI JOY BDC
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