HARYANA URBAN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY vs NIRMAL MITTAL

The Supreme Court held that interest at the rate of 18% per annum cannot be uniformly granted in consumer cases, as established in Ghaziabad Development Authority vs. Balbir Singh (2004) 5 SCC 65. The Court emphasized that compensation for mental agony must correlate with actual loss or injury and must be based on a finding of deficiency in service or misfeasance in public office. The National Commission's order increasing the interest rate to 18% was set aside, and the Court indicated that interest at 10% would be sufficient in such cases.