The Supreme Court has dismissed a civil appeal challenging an order of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC), which had dismissed their consumer complaint against M/s Mahmood Builders Pvt. Ltd. and others.
After condoning the delay in filing the appeal, the Bench of Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma found no reason to interfere with the NCDRC’s decision and dismissed the appeal.
The case stemmed from two development agreements entered into between the appellants, who owned property at Banjara Hills, Hyderabad, and the respondent developer. Under the agreements, the developer was to demolish the existing structure and construct a new project, with the built-up area to be shared equally between the parties. An interest-free refundable deposit of ₹1 crore was also agreed upon, and the project was to be completed within a stipulated period, failing which compensation was payable.
Alleging failure to complete construction, unauthorised deviations, non-obtaining of occupation and completion certificates, structural defects, and loss of rental income, the appellants approached the NCDRC in 2016 seeking compensation exceeding ₹14 crore.
The NCDRC, by its order dated 29 August 2025, dismissed the complaint, holding that it was barred by limitation under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. The Commission further held that the appellants were not “consumers” within the meaning of Section 2(1)(d) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, observing that the arrangement between the parties was a joint commercial venture involving equal sharing of risks and benefits, rather than a consumer–service provider relationship. This led to an appeal before the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court, while declining to interfere with the findings of the NCDRC, dismissed the appeal. However, the Court clarified that if the appellants choose to pursue their remedies by instituting a civil suit, they would be entitled to seek exemption from the law of limitation under Order VII Rule 6 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, read with the relevant provisions of the Limitation Act, 1963.
Appearances
Petitioners- Mr. C. A. Sundaram, Sr. Adv. Mr. Pranab Kumar Mullick, AOR Ms. Soma Mullick, Adv. Mr. S. N. Shakeel, Adv. Mr. Abhishek Gupta, Adv. Mr. Hemant Kumar, Adv.
Respondents- Mr. Jaideep Gupta, Sr. Adv. Mr. Sridhar Potaraju, Sr. Adv. Mr. B. Shravanth Shanker, AOR Mr. Shivam Kunal, Adv. Mr. B. Yeshwanth Raj, Adv. Mr. Riddhi Bose, Adv. Ms. Racheeta Chawla, Adv. Ms. Rishi Agarwal, Adv. Ms. Sampriti Bose, Adv. Ms. Niharika Singh, Adv. Ms. Chamundeswari Pemmasani, Adv.
