Mohali, Oct 30: After years of waiting for justice, two Mohali homebuyers have finally seen action against a builder who ignored refund orders for nearly a decade. The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, SAS Nagar (Mohali), has sentenced Navjeet Singh, president of Sky Rock City Welfare Society, to six years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹2 lakh.
The orders came in two separate cases filed by complainants Kavita Devi Sharma and Satish Kumar, who had booked flats in the developer’s project but never received possession. Both later approached the consumer forum for refunds, which were granted in 2017.
A bench of president S.K. Aggarwal and member Paramjeet Kaur noted that Singh’s prolonged failure to implement the orders demonstrated “complete disregard for consumer rights.”
In Sharma’s case, the commission had directed the builder in August 2017 to refund ₹3.47 lakh with 12% annual interest, ₹25,000 in compensation, and ₹10,000 for litigation expenses. The developer did not comply. As a result, the commission awarded a three-year sentence and a fine of ₹1 lakh, with ₹40,000 of it payable to the complainant.
In a similar case, the same bench had ordered a refund of ₹3.70 lakh to Satish Kumar along with 12% annual interest and ₹35,000 in compensation. Singh again failed to pay, leading to another three-year sentence and an additional fine of ₹1 lakh, with ₹40,000 to be transferred to the complainant.
“The accused has shown no plausible justification for ignoring orders passed eight years ago,” the commission noted. “People like the complainant continue to suffer as orders remain unimplemented. No lenient view can be taken.”
The bench remarked that such defiance “undermines the objective of the Consumer Protection Act” and that repeated false promises of delivering possession were made only to avoid paying refunds.
Singh, who is currently lodged in Ropar district jail, will now serve a total of six years in prison. The order further states that failure to pay the fines will invite an additional three months of imprisonment in each case.
