MANU/SC/1063/2021

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

SLP (C) Dairy No. 24842 of 2021

Decided On: 08.11.2021

Appellants: Nandlal Lohariya Vs. Respondent: Jagdish Chand Purohit and Ors.

Hon'ble Judges/Coram:
M.R. Shah and B.V. Nagarathna

ORDER

M.R. Shah, J.

1. Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the impugned judgment and order passed by the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, New Delhi (hereinafter referred to as the 'National Commission') dated 25.11.2019 in Revision Petition No. 380/2019 and order dated 07.01.2020 passed by the learned National Commission in Review Application No. 348/2019 in Revision Petition No. 380/2019, by which the learned National Commission has dismissed the said revision petition and has confirmed the orders passed by the Rajasthan State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Jaipur (hereinafter referred to as the 'State Commission') and the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Pratapgarh (hereinafter referred to as the 'District Forum') dismissing the complaint of the Petitioner, the original complainant has preferred the present special leave petitions.

2. We have heard Shri Viraat Tripathi, learned Advocate appearing on behalf of the Petitioner.

2.1. At the outset, it is required to be noted that as such there is a huge delay of 593 days in preferring the special leave petition against order dated 25.11.2019. Still, we have considered the special leave petitions on merits also.

3. That the Petitioner herein filed three complaints being complaint Nos. 101/2014, 102/2014 and 01/2015 before the District Forum through his three advocates against BSNL. All the three complaints came to be dismissed by the District Forum on merits. That after dismissal of the complaints, the Petitioner herein filed a complaint against the three advocates who appeared on behalf of the Petitioner in the aforesaid three complaints alleging deficiency in service on their part in contesting his cases before the District Forum.

3.1. It was alleged that all the three advocates have not performed their duties properly. The said complaints were also filed with delay of 365 to 630 days. The Petitioner herein claimed for a compensation of Rs. 15 lakhs from the advocates alleging deficiency in service in contesting the three complaints which were dismissed. The said complaint filed against the three advocates came to be dismissed by the District Forum. The appeal preferred by the Petitioner herein before the State Commission also came to be dismissed, which was the subject matter of the revision petition before the National Commission. By the impugned judgment and order(s), the learned National Commission has dismissed the said revision petition, as also, the review application.

4. Having heard Shri Viraat Tripathi, learned Advocate appearing on behalf of the Petitioner and having gone through the impugned judgment and order passed by the learned National Commission and even the order passed by the District Forum dated 30.06.2016 passed in original complaint Nos. 101/2014, 102/2014 and 01/2015, we are of the firm opinion that the District Forum, the State Commission and the National Commission have rightly dismissed the complaint filed by the Petitioner herein filed against the three advocates who appeared on behalf of the Petitioner in the aforesaid three complaints, which as such were dismissed on merits. There are no observations by the District Forum against the advocates that there was any negligence on the part of the advocates in prosecuting and/or conducting the complaints. In the common order, it has been specifically observed by the District Forum that the allegations in the complaints are not proved and due to which all the three complaints are liable to be dismissed. Once the complaints came to be dismissed on merits and there was no negligence on the p........