The Supreme Court on 14-5-08 ruled that monopoly watchdog MRTP Commission is not empowered to direct authorities to allot plots to claimants and can only award compensation for such lapses. A bench comprising Justice Tarun Chatterjee and Justice HS Bedia said that under the MRTP Act, there are provisions for conducting inquiries. Section 36D read with Section 12A and 12B lay down powers of the MRTP Commission in dealing with instances of unfair trade practices. However, none of the provisions seem to indicate that the Commission has the power to direct an authority to deliver possession to a claimant, the court has said.
In this case, the Commission had directed the Ghaziabad Development Authority to deliver possession of a plot to a complainant in its Govindpuram Scheme or any adjacent scheme at a price prevalent in the year 1988.
The court said that the commission has the power to impose damages or give compensation to the complainant as a mode of redressal for harm caused by unfair trade practices, but it certainly cannot assume the powers of a civil court.
The dispute in this appeal was regarding the allotment of certain land by the GDA in its Govindpuram Scheme. In a complaint filed by one Ved Prakash Aggrawal before the MRTP Commission, it was alleged that the GDA had first allotted certain land to him and after many years, cancelled the allotment arbitrarily. He also claimed the refund of the invested amount. Challenging the cancellation of allotment as arbitrary and also for refund of the invested money, a proceeding was initiated before the Commission.
source http://epaper.timesofindia.com
