Punjab

Rupnagar

CC/19/116

Dharampal - Complainant(s)

Versus

Reliance Retail Limited - Opp.Party(s)

Harish Kumar

19 Nov 2020

ORDER

BEFORE THE DISTT. CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION, ROPAR

                                  Consumer Complaint No.  116 of 18.09.2019

                                  Date of decision           :    19.11.2020

 

Dharam Pal son of Sh. Dasondhi Ram, resident of House No.4, Gali No.3, Piara Singh Colony, Rupnagar, Tehsil & District Rupnagar

                                                                    ......Complainant

                                             Versus

1. Reliance Retail Limited, RLJS Tower Near GS Estate Palace, Haveli Bela Road, Rupnagar, Tehsil & District Rupnagar.

2. Manager Reliance Retail Limited, RLJS Tower Near GS Estate Palace, Haveli Bela Road, Rupnagar, Tehsil & District Rupnagar.

   ....Opposite Parties

                          Complaint under Section 12 of the                                                Consumer Protection Act, 1986

QUORUM

 

                         SH. KULJIT SINGH, PRESIDENT

                         CAPT. YUVINDER SINGH MATTA, MEMBER
 

COUNSEL FOR THE PARTIES:

 

For complainant   : Sh. Harish Kumar, Advocate

For O.Ps.           : Sh. Sarvpreet Singh Baweja, Advocate

 

                                             ORDER

PER KULJIT SINGH, PRESIDENT 

1. The present complaint has been filed by the complainant under Section 12 of the Consumer Protection Act (now amended as Consumer Protection Act, 2019) against the O.P. on the averments that on August/September 2019, the O.P. opened its Retail Store for all house hold and other item, scheme for minimum 5% discount on all the items and other gifts for purchasing for Rs.999/- or more. He, as per advertisement and assured by the O.P. purchased from the Store of the O.P. item and after payment requested for a carry bag. The employee of the O.Ps. supplied the carry bag charged Rs.4/- and he filed a complaint dated 18.9.2019 before learned this Court against unfair trade practice of O.Ps. The complainant again visited the store of the O.Ps. on 11.09.2019 and purchased some items and requested for a carry bag, the O.Ps. supplied carry bag having advertisement of O.Ps. and charged Rs.4/- for the carry bag, the other shops in the Bazar never charged for the carry bag and provide the same free of cost nor the carry bag have advertisement material. Due to this unfair trade practice of the O.Ps, the complainant has filed the present complaint and prayed that the O.Ps. be directed to refund Rs.4/- i.e. the amount of carry bag charged from the complainant, to pay Rs.20,000/- as compensation, Rs.10,000/- as cost of complaint.
2. Upon notice, O.Ps. appeared through counsel and filed written reply and contested the complaint of the complainant by raising preliminary objections; that the present complaint is not maintainable; that the complaint is totally false, vague and has been filed just to get wrongful gains. On merits, it is averred that the charges of the carry bag were only taken after the consent of the complainant. The customer can bring their own carry bag to carry the shopped items after the billing of the items purchased by the customer. To carry forward the intent of the legislation and also with the intention of contributing towards saving our beautiful planet for our future generations, the O.ps. have placed information display board at several places at our stores and especially at Billing Counter wherein the O.Ps. through the said information display board have requested our esteemed customers to carry their own bags. It is further averred that there is no law as such which directs or binds any shop keeper to provide carry bags for free. Rest of the averments of the complainant were denied by the O.Ps. and it prayed for dismissal of the complaint.
3.  The learned counsel for complainant tendered in evidence affidavit of complainant Ex.C1 along with copies of documents Ex.C2 to Ex.C4 and closed the evidence. On the other hand, the learned counsel for the O.Ps. tendered in evidence affidavit of Sh. Manish Pandey, Store Manager, Reliance Retail Limited Ex.OP1 along with documents copy of phamphelates Ex.OP2 and copy of instructions Ex.OP3 and closed the evidence. 
4. We have heard the learned counsel for the parties and have gone through the record of the file, carefully.
5. Complainant counsel Sh. Harish Kumar, argued that in the month of August/September 2019, the complainant visited the Reliance Retail Limited, where the scheme was of 5% discount along with other gifts for purchasing items of Rs.999/- or more. After purchase when payment was made of goods purchased then employee of the O.P. charged Rs.4 for carry bag. When again on 11.09.2019, the complainant purchased some item and requested for carry bag then supplied the bag against payment of Rs.4/-. Learned counsel for the complainant further prayed that on the carry bag there is advertisement on behalf of Reliance and against the advertisement also charged Rs.4/- which amounts to deficiency in service on the part of O.Ps. Lastly prayed to allow the complaint with cost.
6. O.Ps. counsel Sh. Sarvpreet Singh Baweja, Advocate, argued that as per Rule 10 of the Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) rules, 2011, under the heading “Explicit pricing of carry bags, no carry bags shall be made available free of cost by retailer to consumers and the concerned Municipal Authority shall determine the minimum price for carry bags depending upon their quality and size, which covers their material and waste management costs in order to encourage their reuse so as to minimize plastic waste generation. As per rule of the Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, have been specifically barred from making plastic bags available to customers free of cost and it is mandatory for retailers to charge for plastic carry bags. Lastly prayed to dismiss the complaint with cost.

7.     Complainant is resident of District Rupnagar and O.P. Reliance Retail Limited has the Retail Shop at Bela Road, Rupnagar. Complainant placed on file Ex.C2 which is bill vide which made the payment of purchased item. Beside this complainant attached the carry bag of red colour against which he paid Rs.4/-. Under the given circumstances, this forum has the territorial jurisdiction and it is a consumer dispute which is to be tried.

8.     Coming to the real controversy, whether the complainant has been able to prove deficiency in service or not? With all concern, we must say that charging for paper carry bags is totally against consumerism. First of all, it is no where the plea of the O.Ps. that it has been displayed in the shop that the customers can bring their own carry bags to carry the goods purchased from the O.Ps.  We have seen that in these days, it is general practice prevalent in the market that if a person who goes to the shop like O.Ps. to buy some items, he/she is not allowed to enter the said shop with any carry bag. The same are kept at the entry door by the security person standing at the door. In case, the security person standing at the entry allows to do so, he staples the same so that no other product is put in the said carry bag. A person who buys some products from the shop is excepted to be provided with free carry bag to carry those articles up to his vehicle of destination or he/she should be allowed to bring his/her own carry bag inside the shop. Not only this, the counsel for the O.Ps. failed to show any provision of law/rules/regulations, which gives such an authority to the O.Ps. not to allow the customers to bring their own carry bags inside the shop premises of the O.Ps. Even, the O.Ps. sold the carry bags bear its logo on front side and the customer who is buying the same is in fact publicizing the brand of the O.Ps. and thereby becomes a brand ambassador. No doubt, as per Rule 10 of the Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011, no carry bags were to be made available free of cost by retailers to consumers but thereafter in the year 2016, the aforesaid rules were amended vide notification dated 18.3.2016 to be read as Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2016. It is pertinent to mention here that the aforesaid Rule 15 of the Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2016 was omitted vide subsequent Notification dated 27.3.2018 and as such, the O.Ps. cannot take shelter of the said rule. Since the manadate for retailers to charge the carry bags has been omitted in March 2018, therefore, its contention  that it could charge for carry bags is totally against law.

9.   The complainant support of his claim relied upon the law laid down by the Hon'ble State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, UT, Chandigarh, in Appeal No.98 of 2019, titled as Bata India Limited Vs Dinesh Parshad Raturi, decided on 22.7.2019, in the above said law, the District Forum, as well as the Hon'ble State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, UT, Chandigarh, held that O.P. is duty bound to provide free carry bag to all the customers who purchase the item from their shop and charging price amounts to unfair trade practice. After detailed discussion, the law is laid down that O.P. charged the price qua the carry bag that was ordered to be returned back with costs.

10.   After appreciating the law referred above and after appreciating the facts of the complaint, this forum has come to the conclusion that the complainant has been able to prove deficiency in service on the part of O.Ps and is entitled to the claim.

11.   In the light of discussions made above, the complaint stands allowed with the directions to the O.Ps. to refund the amount of carry bag charged by the O.Ps. from the complainant pay Rs.2000/- to the complainant as compensation along with litigation expenses Rs.500/- within the 30 days from the date of receipt of certified copy of this order. The O.Ps. are also directed to deposit Rs.1000/- as cost in the legal aid account of this forum.   

12. The certified copies of this order be supplied to the parties forthwith, free of costs, as permissible under the rules and the file be indexed and consigned to Record Room.          

 

                     ANNOUNCED                                     (KULJIT SINGH)

                     Dated.19.11.2020                     PRESIDENT
 

 

 

                                            (CAPT. YUVINDER SINGH MATTA)

                                                                       MEMBER