Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust vs M/S Unique Shanti Developers

In the meanwhile, an interim Board of Trustees was constituted by this Court by order dated 21.5.2014 in SLP No. 3772/2014, which is a separate litigation concerning dispute over control of the appellant trust between different groups of trustees. The aforesaid interim Board of Trustees called for a structural report from M/s Raje Consultants, which submitted their report in 2 September 2015 finding that the cost of repairs would be more than the cost of reconstruction. The appellant also claims that Respondent No. 1 obtained the occupation certificate for the flats by playing fraud upon the local municipal corporation. Hence the appellant filed Consumer Complaint No. 117/2016 before the National Commission claiming Rs 7,65,95,400/- in compensation on account of annual loss of rent from 2002 to 2015, cost of reconstruction of building ‘Madhuvan’ and future loss of rent of Rs 35,00,000/- per year, along with Rs 5,00,000/- in damages.

Initially, the National Commission by order dated 1.3.2016 dismissed the complaint as barred by limitation on the ground that cause of action for raising the complaint arose in 2004, the year since when the flats are lying unused; however the complaint was filed in 2016. Under Section 24A of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (‘1986 Act’) the period of limitation for filing a complaint is two years, hence the complaint was time-barred. The National Commission further held that the pending litigation between the trustees in SLP No. 3772/2014 (supra) is not sufficient to explain the delay as the dispute concerning constitution of Board of Trustees of the appellant trust arose in 3 2014 whereas it was not the appellant’s case that there was no competent Board of Trustees in 2004 when the cause of action arose.

Subsequently the National Commission in the impugned judgment, hearing Review Application No. 76 of 2016 against the order dated 1.3.2016 (supra), found that it had incorrectly recorded in the aforesaid order that ‘conveyance deeds’ of the 29 flats were registered on 16.3.1996, whereas what was registered by the appellants was actually agreements to sell. Hence on account of this error on the face of the record, the National Commission recalled the order dated 1.3.2016. However the National Commission again proceeded to dismiss the complaint, this time on the ground that the appellant trust was not a ‘consumer’ within the meaning of Section 2(1)(d) of the 1986 Act as the aforesaid section excludes a person who obtains goods and services for a ‘commercial purpose’; that since providing hostel facility to the nurses is directly connected to the commercial purpose of running the hospital, and is consideration for the work done by them in the hospital, the appellant would not be a ‘consumer’ under the 1986 Act. Hence this appeal. 4

employment’ need not be looked into.

Nurses help in the speedy recovery of patients and are a vital resource for hospitals and medical centres inasmuch as they are the only resource available 24/7 for catering to patients’ needs. They are directly involved in all aspects of hospital service quality, be it in the form of monitoring patients’ recovery, bedside medication management or assistance with surgeries and other 19 major operations. In some situations they are responsible for performing immediate interventions to prevent medical complications. They are on the frontlines of administering and evaluating treatment, and provide invaluable emotional support as they are best placed to understand the complexities and implications of having a serious illness.

9. Hence we find that the Appellant trust is a ‘consumer’ under Section 2(1)(d) of the 1986 Act for the present transaction under consideration. In light of the above discussion, we consider it appropriate to remand the matter to the National Commission for consideration in accordance with law. The appeal is allowed and restored before the National Commission, and the impugned judgment is set aside, in the aforesaid terms. The parties are 20 relegated to record their evidence before the National Commission, and the National Commission is requested to hear the matter on merits and decide the same expeditiously, at an early date.

November 14, 2019.