ANKUR SEEDS P LTD Vs. KONDABROLU HASEN RAO

JUDGEMENT

(1.) AGGRIEVED by the order of the District Forum, Guntur in C. D. No. 137/1999 opposite party No. 2 preferred this appeal.

(2.) THE brief facts as set out in the complaint are that the complainant is a small farmer and purchased 20 bags of Ankur Hybrid chili seeds from opposite party No. 1 by paying 3,600 on 22. 6. 1998 for raising chili crop in his Ac. 2. 00 of land. Opposite party No. 2 is the manufacturer of the said chili seeds and the complainant submits that at the time of purchase, the opposite parties have given assurance about 90% germination and also the yield and purity of the seeds. The complainant submitted that he had taken all necessary precautions and transplanted the seedlings after 30-45 days and the complainant used fertilizers and pesticides but there was no proper yield. He informed the defective growth of the plants to the opposite parties and to the Agricultural Department. The Horticultural Officer visited his field and filed a report and the opposite parties promised to compensate the loss. As per the promise and information given by the opposite parties, the yield of the chili crop would be between 30-35 quintals per acre but was only 5-6 quintals per acre and the complainant submitted that he spent Rs. 35,000 per acre for cultivating the crop. The complainant submitted that due to supply of defective and spurious seeds, he sustained financial loss. Hence the complaint seeking a direction to the opposite parties to pay Rs. 3,600 towards cost of seeds, Rs. 20,000 towards cultivation expenses, Rs. 1,80,000 towards crop loss together with compensation and costs.

(3.) OPPOSITE party No. 1 filed written version denying that they promised 90% germination of seeds and submits that opposite party No. 2 markets the seed only after satisfactory results of required quality and parameters. The seed in question which is Ankur-228 Hybrid chilis was already tested in the Quality Control Lab before marketing. They further contended that second opposite party supplied the seeds to other distributors and dealers and they supplied the same seeds to other farmers and did not receive any complaint. They contended that it is the method of agricultural operation which was defective and not the seeds. They also stated in their counter that the low yield may be due to environmental reasons which requires lot of technical consideration and should be referred to Civil Court.