DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL FORUM. BOLANGIR.
………………………………………………
Presents:-
- Sri A.K.Purohit, President.
- Smt. S.Rath, Member.
Dated, Bolangir the 6th day of November 2017.
C.C.No. 15 of 2017.
Debaranjan Padhi, age-34 years son of Chakradhar Padhi, Resident of Malpara,
Bolangir Town, P.O/P.S & Dist- Bolangir, Occupation- M.R.
.. .. Complainant.
-Versus-
1.The Sarala Mobiles, At- Gandhinagar para, Bolangir town,
P.O/P.S/Dist- Bolangir.
2.The Patra Electronics (B),At- Joyshree Plaza, Badambadi,Cuttack-9.
At/P.O/P.S/Dist- Cuttack.
3.The Samsung India Electronics Pvt. Ltd. A-25,Ground Floor, Front Tower,
Mohan Co-operative Industrial Estate, New Delhi-110044.
.. .. Opp.Parties.
Advocate for the complainant- None.
Advocate for the O.P.No.1 - None.
Advocate for the O.Ps 2 & 3 - Sri S. K. Mohanty & Associates.
Date of filing of the case-18.04.2017
Date of order -06.11.2017
JUDGMENT.
Sri A.K.Purohit, President.
The case of the complainant is that, he had purchased a Samsung AC from O.P.No.2 on dt.14.09,2016 for a consideration of Rs 32,400/-. The said Air Conditioner is warranted for a period of one year and additional warranty is provided on the compressor only. During warranty period there was defect in the AC and it is not functioning .To this the complainant requested the customer care center O.P.No.1 for repair, but till date the defect has not yet been removed. The complainant alleges that, the aforesaid act of the O.Ps amounts to deficiency in service. Hence the complaint.
2 O.Ps 1 and 3 have filed their written version jointly and O.P.2 has filed his version separately. According to O.P.2 the service is provided by the concerned company and he is not responsible for the service provided by the company. On perusal of the written version filed by the O.Ps 1 & 3 ,it is not clear whether it is a version or a consumer law digest. The case law cited by the O.Ps 1 & 3, in their version are not placed before the Forum during the course of hearing of the case on merit.
3. On a bare reading of the written version filed by the O.Ps 1 & 3 it is seen that they have denied the complainant’s allegations and submitted that, the authorized service center approached the complainant for replacement of compressor, but the complainant refused the same and demanded for refund of price. The O.Ps 1 and 3 claims no deficiency in service on their part.
4, Heard both the parties. Perused the material available, on record. Before going into the merits of the case, the learned advocate for O.Ps 1 & 3 raised a preliminary objection relating to jurisdiction of this forum and submitted that, the retail invoice issued by the dealer stipulated for Cuttack jurisdiction and since the AC has been purchased from the Cuttack dealer this dispute is subject to District Forum, Cuttack and this forum has no jurisdiction to decide the case. This contention of the O.Ps 1 and 3 cannot be accepted for the simple reason that, agreement between the parties cannot confer jurisdiction on the Forum and it is the statute who will confer jurisdiction on the forum. In this case the complainant requested the O.P.1 for service at Bolangir, the O.P.1 issued the job card at Bolangir and also approached the complainant for replacement of compressor at Bolangir, and hence the cause of action for the case arose at Bolangir. Therefore this forum has jurisdiction to decide the case.
5. Coming to the merits of lthe case, it is seen from the retail invoice dated 14.09,2016 issued by the O.P.2, that the complainant had purchased a split AC contains both indoor and outdoor unit and paid the consideration of Rs 32,400/-. The complainant has not produced the warranty card. However the O.Ps have admitted that the product is warranted for a period of one year and extra warranty is provided to the compressor .It is seen from the job card issued by the service center that, the AC was found defective on dated 30.03.2017 and the compressor is pending for repair. These evidence available on record shows that during warranty period the AC was found defective and repairing of the same is pending. Therefore it is established on record that the AC of lthe complainant is not repairable and hence there must be some inherent defect. It is submitted on behalf of lthe O.Ps that, the company agrees to replace the compressor but there is no evidence available on record either by way of affidavit or otherwise to show that, after replacement of the compressor the AC will be come to a defect free one.
6. The learned advocate for lthe O.Ps submitted that, to discharge its burden the complainant has not produced any expert opinion and hence the prayer for replacement of the AC is not maintainable. On this point, it is seen from the materials available on record that, the O.Ps have admitted that the AC requires replacement of compressor. With this admitted facts, there is no requirement of any expert opinion when the O.P opined to replace the compressor of the AC, it is believed that there must be some inherent defects in the entire units of the Air Conditioner which is also evident from the affidavit evidence dated 25.09.2017, filed by the complainant.
7. With these material available on record it is concluded that, during warranty period the AC of lthe complainant is found defective and the O.Ps have not able to repair the same till now. The O.Ps are duty bound to provide service to the complainant and to provide a defect free AC. Since the AC is not repairable, replacement of lthe same will meet the ends of justice. Hence ordered.
ORDER.
The O.Ps are directed to replace the entire units, both the out-door and indoor units of lthe complainant’s AC with a defect free new one of lthe same model and same price within one month from the date of receipt of this order after receiving the defective AC from the complainant. The O.Ps are further directed to pay Rs 5,000/- (Rupees Five thousand) only to the complainant within the aforesaid time towards cost and compensation.
Accordingly the case of lthe complainant is allowed.
Order pronounced in open forum this the 6th day of November 2017.
(S.Rath) (A.K.Purohit)
MEMBER. PRESIDENT.
