In a notable judgment, the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission of Kamrup, Assam, has ordered Sony Mobile Communication and its two affiliates to compensate a woman over Rs 50,000. This order comes as a result of the company’s failure to repair her mobile phone, which she had reported nearly nine years ago.
The commission’s decision on July 26 mandates Sony Mobile Communication, along with its retail outlet Sony Center at Christian Basti and Sony Service Center at Rajgarh Main Road, to pay the sum within 45 days. The directed compensation includes Rs 40,000 for “physical harassment and mental agony” endured by the complainant, Nina Bairagi, plus a 10% interest from the date of filing the case in 2016. Additionally, they are required to cover Rs 10,000 as the cost of proceedings.
If the respondents fail to comply within the stipulated 45 days, the commission has stipulated that they will incur a 12% interest on the decreed amount until it is fully paid.
The case, which began with Bairagi’s purchase of a Sony mobile handset for Rs 52,990 on August 10, 2015, took a turn when the phone became inoperative after accidentally being dropped a month later. When Bairagi sought repairs, she was informed by the Sony Service Center that her model could not be repaired and that a replacement would cost Rs 25,000—a response she found unsatisfactory.
Her repeated attempts to resolve the issue through the Sony Mobile’s service head at the national headquarters in New Delhi proved fruitless, despite assurances of a resolution within 48 hours. This prompted her to approach the Consumers’ Legal Protection Forum, Assam, which subsequently led to the filing of the consumer court case.
Also Read
The respondents described Bairagi’s complaint as “frivolous” and a “flagrant abuse of the benevolent provision of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986,” in their written statement. However, the consumer court’s judgment has validated Bairagi’s grievances, acknowledging the company’s service deficiency. In addition to the monetary compensation, the court also ordered Sony Mobile to repair the handset within the next 45 days.
