Sri Shyamal Gupta, Member

Present Appeal is directed against the Order dated 29-12-2017, passed by the Ld. District Forum, Kolkata-I (North) in CC/14/2016.

Notwithstanding the complaint case is decreed in favour of the Appellant, being dissatisfied with the quantum of award, this Appeal is moved. 

Heard both sides in the matter and gone through the documents on record.

The grievance of the Appellant against the Respondents is that, they did not take timely step to repair the defective keyboard of her laptop for which her research work at IIT, Kharagpur suffered tremendously. 

It appears from the documents on record that the defective laptop was handed over to the Respondent No. 2 for the first time on 06-07-2015.  Thereafter, on 19-07-2015, although  the laptop was returned to her, within a very short span of time, similar problem cropped up.  Therefore, a complaint was lodged on 30-07-2015 and after getting service request no. and claim ID on 05-08-2015 , the laptop was again delivered to the Respondent No. 2 for doing the needful on 10-08-2015.  After lot of persuasion, the said laptop was returned with a keyboard of different specification on 08-09-2015. It is alleged by the Appellant that although the Respondent No. 2 promised to arrange proper keyboard for the laptop by 28-09-2015, till date no positive step has been taken by it.

Probably, there can be no differing view as to the fact that, being a service provider, it was incumbent on the part of the Respondent No. 2 to repair the laptop properly within a reasonable period of time.  In this case, citing non-availability of keyboard of similar specification, the Respondent No. 2 simply kept quiet. 

It is noteworthy here that though the Respondent No. 2 attributed the delay to non-availability of suitable keyboard, it appears from the documents on record that the same was readily available in the market.

It is though contended by the Respondent No. 2 that it maintained close liaison with the laptop manufacturer for sourcing the appropriate keyboard, no such documentary proof is forthcoming before us to show that it indeed acted diligently. 

In any case, even if it is assumed for the sake of argument, as admitted by the Respondent No. 2 itself in its reply to the questionnaire of the Appellant, that the backlit keyboard was available with the laptop manufacturer in the month of October, 2015, one really wonders, what prevented it from procuring the same on a war footing and fitting it into the laptop of the Appellant. 

What is also quite intriguing is that fact that without resolving the complaint of the Appellant, service requests of the Appellant were abruptly foreclosed on repeated occasions compounding the misery of the Appellant further. 

Brand conscious people opt for branded items at a premium out of their ardent desire of getting proper after sales service.  Alas, the Respondents proved themselves to be nothing but square peg in a round hole.   As a bona fide consumer, the Appellant certainly did not deserve all these ordeals.  Gross deficiency in service on the part of the Respondents is palpable without any iota of doubt. 

In view of this, the instant case was very rightly allowed by the Ld. District Forum.  Unfortunately, on due consideration of the entire facts and circumstances of the case, particularly the mental/physical stress and agony of the Appellant vis-à-vis the award being passed by the Ld. District Forum, it seems, the same was quite out of array.  On due consideration of the entire spectrum of the case, the Appeal is allowed in part. The impugned order is modified as under:

Respondent No. 2 shall fit the backlit keyboard into the laptop of the Appellant within forty days hence free of cost.  Respondents shall also jointly/severally pay compensation and litigation cost to the tune of Rs. 20,000/- and Rs. 10,000/-, respectively, within the aforesaid stipulated period. Non-compliance of this modified order in toto shall entail payment of simple interest @ 9% p.a. to the Appellant by the Respondents over the sum of Rs. 20,000/- from the date of filing of the complaint case till full and final payment is made.