NEW DELHI, June 27 -- The Supreme Court has said that a homebuyer can seek adjudication of his claim for compensation for the delay in delivery of the flat even after getting its possession.

The apex court set aside a 2016 order of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC), which said that the appellant was not a consumer at the time of filing his complaint alleging a deficiency in service on account of the delay in handing over the possession of the flat, since he had already taken its possession without protest.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and V Mohana passed the order on a plea by a homebuyer, who became a member of a cooperative group housing society in Delhi in January 2003 and was allotted a flat, challenging t...