The Hindu Business Line : Whatever you do, don't wobble

TO LESTER Bowie, a jazz trumpet player and composer, C is the name of a pitch, a sound. "So is a cat's meow, so is a motorcycle, so is anything," he'd say.

To many motorcycle buyers, however, their vehicle and the sound it makes do matter; and so, it's not uncommon to find the owners forging a sort of bond with their bikes.

But dreams crumble when a vehicle bought with a lot of expectation fails to prove itself on the road. Which is what, I guess, should have happened to Shashi Dhar Sharma. He had purchased from Kanha Automobiles, a motor bicycle of Kinetic Engineering P Ltd in July 2001 for Rs 41,970.

But "the motor bicycle had wobbling problem since beginning," as one learns from the text of the verdict of National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC), New Delhi, in Kinetic Engineering Ltd vs Shashi Dhar Sharma and Another.

"If you walk, just walk. If you sit, just sit. But whatever you do, don't wobble," advises Master Ummon in a page of `Warrior Quotes' on www.burrese.com. Applies to bikes too, so Shashi brought the problem to the notice of Kanha.

Not once, but 10 times within the warranty period, but to no avail. Wobbling problem persisted despite all efforts made, and despite the vehicle spending 30 days in Kanha's workshop.

The Commission noted that Kanha did not produce job cards. "If the defects in the motor bicycle could not be removed despite 10 attempts made by the dealer then it would provide a very strong reason to believe that there was manufacturing defect and manufacturing defect was not removed," reads a section of the ruling.

To be suspicious all the time without coming to a conclusion is the defect, counsels Lu Xun. And there was another complaint too against Kinetic.

The company had supplied a 1999 battery when it sold the bike in July 2001, and to compound problems for the company, "the battery stopped working in July 2002".

Among the battery of quotes on battery, a risky one is from Nick Dipaolo; he has two things to say if somebody is trying to hook up a car battery to a monkey's brain to find cure for AIDS — "Red is positive and black is negative".

With a kaput battery, though, nothing works, and the company tried to excuse itself from the problem saying that it had purchased the item in bulk.

That didn't help because both the manufacturing defect in the bike and the supply of old battery were established.

"A dealer was not supposed to supply a defective motor bicycle or any other vehicle with nearly two years old battery, in place of new battery," reasoned the Commission.

At the District Forum level and also at the State Commission, the ruling was in favour of the consumer. They had awarded a refund of Rs 41,970, the cost of the vehicle, plus interest at 9 per cent per annum, along with compensation and cost of litigation of Rs 5,000.

So, what was the company arguing for in the case that was before the judges S. N. Kapoor, the Presiding Member, and P. D. Shenoy, Member, of the NCDRC? That the rate of interest was on the `very high' side.

In response, the Commission had this to say:

"In this matter interest has not been awarded at 18 or 12 per cent but just at 9 per cent per annum only. We do not see any reason for any modification required in the impugned order."

In The Merchant of Venice, Shylock's worry was that his bargains and `well-won thrift' were being called interest! "Cursed be my tribe, if I forgive him!" he'd add.

Worry is the interest paid by those who borrow trouble, cautions George Washington. That's a useful thought for manufacturers who sell defective products and buy in return trouble from customers who tenaciously pursue justice.

LawLane@TheHindu.co.in

D. Murali

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