The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) confirmed previous decisions from lower courts and ruled that Bisleri International Pvt Ltd must pay Rs 25,000 in compensation to a customer who bought a contaminated water bottle.
In a recent decision, the NCDRC bench led by Dr. Inder Jit Singh agreed with the State and District Commissions that Bisleri failed to provide satisfactory service, thus justifying the compensation to the customer.
However, the bench disagreed with the lower courts about a Rs 25,000 fine Bisleri was supposed to pay into the Consumer Welfare Fund. They stated that while the consumer courts could award compensation for service failures, they do not have the authority to impose additional fines for deposit into this fund.
The issue started on April 23, 2018, when Mukesh Khandelwal from Bharatpur, Rajasthan, purchased four 5-litre bottles of Bisleri water from Sanjeev Enterprises, a local distributor. He paid Rs 200 for them. After drinking from three bottles without problems, he found the fourth bottle contained dirt. When he reported this to the retailer, he was told that the bottles could not be replaced.
Mr. Khandelwal accused Bisleri of engaging in misleading advertising and endangering public health by selling contaminated water, which he said constituted unfair trade practices and poor service.
After his complaints were initially ignored, Mr. Khandelwal took his case to the Bharatpur district consumer court. On February 5, 2020, the district court sided with him, ordering Bisleri to pay a Rs 25,000 fine into the Consumer Welfare Fund, refund Rs 50 for the contaminated bottle, and pay an additional Rs 25,000 in compensation to Mr. Khandelwal.
Dissatisfied, Bisleri appealed to the Rajasthan state consumer court, which upheld the district court’s decision. Bisleri then appealed to the NCDRC, arguing that Mr. Khandelwal had not proven the bottle was contaminated because it wasn’t examined by an expert before the court. They suggested that the contamination could have been introduced into the bottle after it was opened.
Bisleri also claimed that Mr. Khandelwal bought the water for business purposes, not personal use. However, NCDRC found these arguments unconvincing. They noted that the invoice was in Mr. Khandelwal’s name, indicating personal purchase.
Dr. Singh from NCDRC noted that the retailer refused to replace the contaminated bottle, and Mr. Khandelwal had the water tested, confirming the presence of green algae, making it unsafe. He criticized Bisleri’s claim of purity in their advertising, pointing out the significant concern raised by the dirty water.
Ultimately, the NCDRC supported the lower courts’ decisions and dismissed Bisleri’s appeal, ordering them to pay the Rs 25,000 compensation for the poor service provided. This confirmed that Bisleri was at fault for selling a sealed but contaminated bottle, which was a clear service failure.
(Revision Petition No 744 of 2021 Date: April 30, 2024)
Read More: CBDT Extends PAN-Aadhaar Linking Deadline to May 31, 2024
