LAXMI INDUSTRIES Vs. GANESHILAL MANDOLI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This revision petition under Sec. 21(b) of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (in short, the 'Act') assails the order of the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Madhya Pradesh, Bhopal (in short, 'State Commission') in Appeal No. 1607 of 2013 dtd. 29/9/2015 arising out of order dtd. 23/7/2013 of the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Bhopal (in short, 'District Forum') in Consumer Complaint No. 630 of 2010.

(2.) Briefly stated, the facts of the case, as stated by the petitioner/opposite party, are that he sold a water pump to the respondent/complainant for Rs.72,000.00 which was designed to pump 9,000 litres of water per hour without electricity or diesel power. The payment was made in two installments of Rs.55,000.00 and Rs.27,000.00 and the pump was installed. However, the pump failed to lift water to the respondent's agricultural fields. The respondent approached the District Forum in Consumer Complaint No. 630 of 2010 seeking compensation of Rs.4,97,000.00 under different heads. The petitioner herein contested the complaint on the ground that the requirement of a stop dam of 10 feet height had not been met by the respondent which led to the failure of the pump. The District Forum dismissed the complaint and held that there was no deficiency in service. Aggrieved, the respondent appealed before the State Commission which partly allowed the appeal and directed that the petitioner repay the amount of Rs.75,000.00 to the respondent and the pump be returned to the petitioner. This order is impugned before this Commission on the ground that the water level in the stop dam was low from the very beginning.

(3.) The petitioner's grounds for revision are that the order was without opportunity to him as he was placed ex parte without being served. It is averred that the pump was not proved to be defective and the impugned order is based on a mere technicality that the pump was not at the proper height despite the mechanic of the petitioner advising the respondent to make arrangements to raise the height of the dam to ensure a minimum level of 10 feet standing water.