Chandigarh, July 14 -- Holding that a public authority cannot retain a consumer's money after failing to provide the promised service, the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission-II, Chandigarh, has directed the UT municipal corporation (MC) to refund the remaining amount collected for a water connection that was later found to be technically unfeasible and to pay compensation for the prolonged delay.

The commission, comprising president Amrinder Singh Sidhu and member BM Sharma, partly allowed a complaint filed by Sector 7 C resident Geeta Kapoor and directed the MC to refund the balance amount of Rs.2,237 along with Rs.10,000 as compensation towards mental harassment and litigation expenses within 45 days.

According to the ord...