Mohali, July 14 -- The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has directed ATS Estates to hand over possession of a flat in ATS Golf Meadows, Dera Bassi,within two months, nine years after a Gurugram homebuyer paid nearly half the cost. It also directed the builder to pay 9% interest on Rs.27.74 lakh from July 2021 until possession, and compensate the buyer with Rs.2.5 lakh for harassment and litigation costs. The order was passed by a bench comprising commission president SK Aggarwal, member Paramjeet Kaur and member Lt Col Jasbir Singh Bath. The complaint was filed by Sanjay Srivastava, who booked a ground-floor apartment measuring about 1,900 sq ft with a 1,374 sq ft lawn in ATS Golf Meadows Lifestyle Village at Madhopur, Dera Bassi. According to the complaint, the buyer executed the apartment buyer's agreement on July 31, 2017, and paid Rs.27.74 lakh nearly 50% of the basic sale price, after the developer allegedly assured that possession would be delivered within three years. The agreement fixed the total price at about Rs.62 lakh. The complainant told the commission that despite seeking updates through repeated emails between 2020 and 2022, the developer neither completed construction nor handed over possession. He also produced photographs claiming the tower remained incomplete. ATS Estates, in its defence, argued that the complainant was an investor and therefore not a 'consumer' under the Consumer Protection Act. It also contended that the matter involved complicated questions that should be decided by a civil court. The commission rejected all three defences. It observed that ATS failed to produce any evidence showing that the complainant purchased the apartment for commercial investment. The commission noted that despite assuring the buyer through an email in November 2020 that possession would be offered in January 2021, the developer neither completed the apartment nor produced any evidence. Holding the delay to be a clear deficiency in service, the commission directed ATS Estates to hand over possession of the apartment after receiving the balance amount, if any, complete in all respects along with the completion and occupation certificates within two months. It also ordered the builder to pay 9% annual interest on the deposited amount of Rs.27.74 lakh from July 16, 2021, until actual possession is handed over, besides paying Rs.2.5 lakh as compensation and litigation costs. All opposite parties were held jointly liable to comply with the order....