In the Matter of S.Dominic Savio and Anr. vs. Phoenix Serene Spaces Pvt. Ltd. Complaint no.Appeal No. 64 of 2019 decided on 28.02.2020 before Tamil Nadu Real Estate Appellate Tribunal
The Appellant entered into an agreement with the Respondent for a flat in the project of the Respondent. The apartment was to be completed by 31.12.2015 with a grace period of six months. However, the unit was not delivered on time and the Respondent agreed to cancel the allotment on 05.05.2018, refunding the principal amount in three installments. In December 2018, the Appellants approached Respondents for refund of interest, for which the Respondent refused. Being aggrieved, complaint was filed before Adjudicating Officer for interest and compensation. The said complaint was dismissed by the Adjudicating Officer. In the present Appeal, it is contented by the Appellants that Respondent visited their offices and homes to deliberate on the refund process and due to the mental pressure and undue influence exerted by the Respondents, they were forced to accept foregoing interest and compensation and agreed for refund of principal only to free themselves from the mental agony. The Tribunal after going through the communication between the Appellant and the Respondent over a period of time held that there was no undue influence or undress. The said communication clearly reflected that Appellants voluntarily asked the Respondents to cancel the allotment, refund the money without any deduction, promising to forego their claim of interest and compensation. Further, it was held that the action of the Appellants was an afterthought, since they had waived their right of interest and compensation due to their agreement with the Respondent. The Appellants in this case, having accepted a part of benefit could not to be permitted to approbate and reprobate nor can they be permitted to resile from their earlier stand. Therefore, the Appellant was estopped from claiming again.
