NCR news: Ritu Maheshwari, CEO of Greater Noida Authority, sentenced to one month in jail

In an ongoing litigation between a plot allottee and the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA), the GNIDA Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ritu Maheshwari has been sentenced to one-month in jail as well as an order for her arrest has been issued.

A warrant to arrest Maheshwari has been issued to the Gautam Budh Nagar Police Commissioner Laxmi Singh. The District Consumer Forum has directed these orders on Saturday in this matter taking place for nearly 18 years.

According to the information received from the District Consumer Forum, a person named Mahesh Mitra had applied for the allotment of a plot of land in 2001. However, the Greater Noida Development Authority did not allot the land to Mitra after which the latter had filed a case in the District Consumer Forum in 2005. On December 18, 2006, the District Forum pronounced its judgment on this matter.

The District Consumer Forum ordered the GNIDA to allot a plot of area between 1,000 to 2,500 square metre to Mitra as per his requirement upon which the terms and conditions of the GNIDA will continue to apply.

Apart from this, the Greater Noida Development Authority was also ordered to pay the entire legal fee of the matter. The Greater Noida Authority then approached the State Consumer Commission after which the former filed an appeal in the State Consumer Commission against the order pronounced by the District Consumer Forum.

On December 21, 2010, the State Consumer Commission pronounced a judgment on this appeal. The State Commission ruled that the registration amount of Rs 20,000 deposited with the Development Authority by Mitra would be returned. This amount was deposited on January 6, 2001 and six per cent interest will also have to be paid from January 6, 2001, till the date of payment. The development Authority received a major relief from this decision of the State Commission.

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Mitra approached the National Consumer Commission against this order of the State Consumer Commission. After hearing the entire matter, the National Consumer Commission gave its judgment on May 30, 2014. The National Consumer Commission said that Mitra`s position regarding the matter was correct and the State Consumer Commission`s decision was wrong.

The decision given by the District Consumer Forum is correct. However, the National Consumer Commission made minor changes in the decision announced by the District Consumer Forum.

The National Consumer Commission in its decision said that any plot of land between 500 to 2,500 square metre can be allotted to Mitra. This will be decided on the basis of their project report and requirement.

The GNIDA did not implement the decision of the National Consumer Commission against which Mitra once again approached the District Consumer Forum. The District Consumer Forum has several times directed the GNIDA to comply with the decision of the National Consumer Commission.

On July 14, 2017, the District Consumer Forum attached the bank accounts of the GNIDA. Opposing this action, the Greater Noida Development Authority filed an appeal in the State Consumer Commission. The State Commission then quashed the judgment announced by the District Consumer Forum.

The District Consumer Forum on August 18, 2017, ordered the Greater Noida Authority CEO to appear before the forum in person. Against this order also, the Authority obtained the cancellation order from the State Consumer Commission.

The District Consumer Forum has said in the court judgment passed on Saturday that for the last nine years the Greater Noida Development Authority has been delaying the orders of the District Forum and the National Consumer Commission.

The District Consumer Forum President, Anil Kumar Pundir and forum member Dayashankar Pandey have passed a new order on Saturday while hearing the entire matter in which the GNIDA CEO has been sentenced to one-month in jail.

She has been fined Rs 2,000 and a warrant has been sent to the Gautam Budh Nagar Police Commissioner to arrest the CEO. On behalf of the District Forum, the CEO has been directed to follow the order of the National Consumer Commission in the next 15 days.

(Source: IANS)