Sukhm Infrastructure Held Liable for Failure to Deliver Commercial Plot; Punjab Commission Orders Refund with 9.30% Interest and Compensation
Pranav B Prem
The Punjab State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Chandigarh, has held M/s Sukhm Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. liable for deficiency in service for failing to deliver possession of a commercial plot and has ordered a full refund with interest, along with compensation and litigation costs. The Bench comprised Justice Daya Chaudhary (President), Simarjot Kaur (Member), and Vishav Kant Garg (Member). The complaint was filed by Dr. Harshdeep Singh Nat and Rosy Nat, both NRIs, who booked a commercial SCO plot in Yellowstone Landmark Infocity, Mohali in 2015 with the objective of establishing a specialized hospital. A letter of allotment was issued on 19 November 2015, followed by the execution of a Buyer-Seller Agreement on 29 April 2017 with Sukhm Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd., under which possession of the property was contractually required to be delivered within 12–15 months of execution. The complainants paid the full sale consideration of ₹1,71,46,500.
Despite multiple years passing after the agreement, possession was never offered. During this period, the original builder entity underwent multiple mergers — first into Sukhm Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd., and later into Aeropolis Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. — but even after restructuring, no physical handover of the plot took place.
In February 2021, the complainants approached RERA, which directed the builders to pay interest at 9.30% on the deposited amount w.e.f. 29 July 2020 until delivery of possession after obtaining the Completion Certificate. That order remained uncomplied with. The complainants subsequently invoked the jurisdiction of the Consumer Commission seeking refund, compensation and litigation costs.
Sukhm Infrastructure did not dispute the delay and argued that the project could not be completed due to regulatory hurdles, administrative bottlenecks and corporate mergers. The company submitted that possession was not likely to be handed over in the foreseeable future due to pending approvals and stated its willingness to refund the amount collected from the complainants along with reasonable interest.
Commission’s Findings
The Commission noted that despite full payment of the sale consideration and the lapse of several years from the execution of the Buyer-Seller Agreement, the opposite parties had neither delivered possession nor complied with the RERA order. It held that such prolonged delay clearly amounted to deficiency in service and unfair trade practice. Relying on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Pioneer Urban Land & Infrastructure Ltd. v. Govindan Raghavan, the Commission reiterated that a purchaser cannot be compelled to wait indefinitely for possession and is legally entitled to seek refund when the builder fails to comply with contractual timelines. The Commission further addressed the maintainability of the complaint on the basis that the purchased unit was a commercial property. It accepted the complainants’ contention that the property was booked to establish a specialized hospital to earn their livelihood through self-employment in India. Referring to the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, it held that since purchases made exclusively for livelihood through self-employment do not fall within the ambit of “commercial purpose”, the complainants qualified as consumers.
Final Order
The Commission allowed the complaint and issued the following directions to the opposite parties:
Refund ₹1,71,46,500 (full amount deposited by the complainants)
Pay interest at 9.30% per annum from the respective dates of deposit until realization
Pay ₹1,00,000 as compensation for harassment and mental agony
Pay ₹50,000 as litigation costs
If the said amounts are not paid within three months from receipt of the certified copy of the order, the opposite parties will be liable to pay interest at 12% per annum on the outstanding payable amounts.
Cause Title: Dr.Harshdeep Singh Nat vs Sukhm Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd
Case No: CC No.28 of 2023
Coram: Justice Daya Chaudhary (President), Simarjot Kaur (Member), Vishav Kant Garg (Member)
