Maruti ordered to pay Rs 50,000 to customer

AHMEDABAD: A consumer court has directed Maruti Suzuki India Ltd to pay Rs 50,000 to a car owner in Porbandar and to replace defective parts in his car free of cost.

The Gujarat State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission, however, gave some relaxation to the company because the lower court in Porbandar had ordered the company to replace the vehicle or to return the purchase amount back to the customer. The company is now directed to repair the car, replace defective parts and return the vehicle to the customer by September 15.

According to case details, Nalinbhai Kanani purchased a Maruti Swift car in March 2011. His car stopped on the highway between Rajkot and Jamnagar in July 2012 as the vehicle developed a glitch. The car was taken to the company’s workshop and Kanani claimed that he has stopped using the car since then.

He sued the company with the Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum, Porbandar district, dealer and workshop for deficiency in service by not offering free repair during the warranty period as the car had run 17,000 kilometres only. The forum ordered the company to replace the car or return Rs 5.41 lakh to Kanani. It also ordered the company to pay Rs 3,000 to the customer for causing mental agony.

Maruti challenged the order before the commission claiming that the vehicle had a major accident due to the driver’s careless driving. However, the commission concluded that the company could not prove that the car had a major accident resulting in damage to its underbody.