2 weeks Ago
Chennai: The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission , Chennai (South), has directed a chain of grocery stores in the city to pay a compensation of Rs 10,000 to a man for selling defective and substandard eggs. K Kably Taiyab Khan, 27, purchased five boxes of ‘UPF Healthy Eggs White' and one box of ‘UPF Healthy Eggs Brown' on Dec 5, 2023 from Kovai Pazhamudir Nilayam on the Monteith Road in Egmore. The eggs emitted a foul smell when they were cooked.
Upon inspection, they were found to be rotten and infested with maggots, despite having an expiry date of Dec 19, 2023. When Khan approached the store with a complaint, he was met with an indifferent response from the staff members who downplayed the issue, claiming that the presence of one defective item among several was normal. Dissatisfied, Khan sent a legal notice demanding a Rs 1 lakh compensation.
The store received the notice but did not pay the compensation he demanded. It offered to replace the eggs. Following this, Khan moved the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission.
In its defence, Kovai Pazhamudir Nilayam stated that the eggs had been sold in sealed packages and responsibility for the defect lay with the manufacturer. The store claimed that it had offered to replace the eggs but Khan had refused the offer and demanded an exorbitant sum as compensation. The store argued that the complaint was an attempt to misuse the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, for personal gains.
The commission ruled that the store had indeed sold defective eggs, as evidenced by the complainant's photographs. It held the store, as the retailer, liable under the Act for selling a defective product, despite the store's claim that the manufacturer should be held responsible. The commission noted that while the store had offered to replace the eggs, its lack of seriousness in addressing the issue and the mental agony caused to the complainant constituted a deficiency in service.
It directed Kovai Pazhamudir Nilayam to pay Rs 10,000 as compensation for selling substandard products and causing mental agony to the complainant and Rs 5,000 as legal costs..
