GURGAON: Competition Commission of India (CCI) has dismissed the flat owner's petition alleging abuse of dominant position by private builder, Dwarkadhis Projects, on the account that the builder is not a dominant player in the market.
The petitioner, A K Jain, had moved to CCI against the builder alleging abuse of dominant position in contravention of Section 4 of the act. The petitioner had claimed that he had purchased a flat in the group housing project, "Aravali Heights at Sector-24, Dharuhera in Rewari. The petitioner had alleged that five years have passed and 95% of the price has been collected from the flat owners. The builder had not secured the mandatory occupation/completion certificate from the director general, Town and Country Planning, Haryana.
The petitioner sent final demand notice seeking payment of Rs 3,29,012 as charges for conducting improvement work before handing over the possession. The builder also forwarded 'buyer's agreement' in which the petitioner alleged contain several unfair, objectionable and one-sided terms, for the signature of the petitioner. In the CCI, the petitioner requested that the buyer's agreement and the charges demanded by the builder should be declared illegal and penalizing it for the delay in handing over the possession of the flat.
During the hearing, the CCI held that in order to attract provisions of the section 4 of the Act, the dominant position of the enterprise needs to be examined. The CCI held that even though the builder alleged to be a leading real estate developer in the relevant market, there is no material on record to hold it a dominant enterprise in the relevant market. The CCI also held that petitioner has not given any specific data to support his contention that the builder is a dominant player in the market. In the order the CCI noted that as such, the dominance of the builder in the relevant market is prima facie not established and so there is no question of abuse of the same. The commission finds that no prima facie case was made out for directing the director general to carry out investigation into the matter under Section 26(1) of the Act.
Flat owner's plea on abuse of builder's 'dominant' position dismissed - The Times of India
19-03-12
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