In Brief
A medical trust purchased residential flats from a developer for its nursing staff's accommodation. The developer raised a jurisdictional objection that the trust is not a 'consumer' under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, since it acts for institutional purposes. The Supreme Court held that the trust is indeed a consumer. Although the flats indirectly support hospital operations, they lack direct nexus to profit-generating activities. Providing hostel facilities to nurses is a welfare duty to maintain care quality, not a commercial enterprise. The matter was remanded to the National Commission for re-examination on merits.
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