The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission recently declined to provide relief to the Haji Ali Dargah Trust on grounds of deficiency of service by Reliance Solar Energy.
The Trust claimed that the solar poles installed by Reliance Solar Energy were not functioning and the ones which were working, broke down within a couple of months of being installed. Accordingly, the Trust approached the Commission in 2015 claiming compensation of around ₹24 lakh. The amount included the refund of the contractual amount, what the Trust had to pay to BEST for electricity charges, and litigation costs. The complainant said they had sent a notice to the company, which failed to respond.
The Bench comprising P.B. Joshi and A.K. Zade held that a Trust would not come under the definition of ‘consumer’ as per the Consumer Protection Act and hence, the complaint had no legal standing. The Bench thus held the Trust cannot file a consumer dispute, and the complaint was dismissed.