Vijay Kumar Babbar son of Shri Mandan Lal R/O Near Hospital, Nahan, District Sirmour, H.P.


… Complainant.

Versus

1. Managing Director, Mountain Dew FPO 8835 CDB 953, Aradhana Soft Drinks Company Village Ali Asgar Pur P.O. Badarpur G.T. Road, Panipat, Haryana 172003.

2. Shri Ashok Kumar, Proprietor Quality Bakers, The Mall Nahan, District Sirmour.

3. Shri Satish Kumar son of late Shri Faquir Chand, Opposite Small Gate Ranital, Nahan, District Sirmour, H.P.


…Opposite Parties.



For the complainant: Mr. Inder Singh, Advocate.
For the Opposite Parties: Mr. Vishwa Raj Chauhan, Advocate
for OP No.1.
Mr. Ishwar Bisht, Advocate for OP
No.2.
OP No.3 exparte.



O R D E R:
Pritam Singh (District Judge) President:-This order shall dispose of complaint under section 12 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. The case of the complainant in brief is that on 15th August, 2005, he organized a party to celebrate the Independence Day and invited 50 to 70 members of different families/relatives on dinner party. That he purchased twenty four bottles of Mountain Dew soft drink from the OP No.3 to serve the same to his guests .But, after consuming the same, many of his guests fell ill and started vomiting as there were foreign material in the sealed bottles of soft drinks. It is further the case of the complainant that due to the illness of the guests, the food prepared for dinner party was not eaten by his guests and was wasted. That the aforesaid bottles of cold drinks manufactured by OP No.1 were not fit for human consumption and by manufacturing & selling contaminated soft drinks, the OPs indulged in an unfair trade practice. Hence, feeling dissatisfied and aggrieved by the act of the OPs, the complainant perforce filed this complaint against the OPs.

2. The complaint is resisted by OPs who took various preliminary objections alleging that the complaint is false and vexatious, and not maintainable, jurisdiction etc. On merits, OP No.1 alleged that they do not allow selling in the market any soft drink which contains foreign material and dirty substance or which does not conform to the prescribed standard. That the complainant has filed a false and frivolous complaint in order to compel them to pay uncalled for damages to him. That there being no deficiency in service, the complaint is sought to be dismissed. The OPs No. 2 also filed reply and admitted that he is authorized distributor of OP No.1 and OP No.3 is the retailer. The OP No.3 admitted the sale of aforesaid cold drinks to the complainant, but alleged that he sold the sealed bottles as were received by him from the OP No.2. Thereafter, the parties led oral and documentary evidence in support of their claim/counter claim.


3. We have heard the learned counsel for the parties at length and also thoroughly scanned the entire record of the complaint.


4. It may be stated that admittedly the complainant purchased twenty four bottles of Mountain Dew soft drink from the OP No.3 on 15.08.2005. According to complainant, these bottles of soft drink were not fit for human consumption as these were containing foreign material that is why most of his guest fell ill after consumption of this soft drink served to them by him on 15.08.2005. However, the specific case of the OP No.1-manufacturer of cold drink is that they never allow selling in the market the soft cold drink which either contains foreign material and dirty substance or which does not conform to the prescribed standard. But, their defence stands believed from the report of the Public Analyst dated 25th April, 2006 placed on record who in his report opined that the ‘sweetened carbonated water (Mountain Dew) is not fit for human consumption due to the presence of sufficient quantity of objectionable suspended and deposited foreign matter.’


5. On this report of the Public Analyst, Composite Testing Laboratory, Kandaghat, the contesting OPs did not file any objection thereby this report remained uncontroverted. As such, adverse inference can be safely drawn against all OPs that the aforesaid bottles of soft drink so sold to the complainant by the OP No.3 the bulk of which had been manufactured by the OP No.1, was not fit for human consumption. The OP No.2 is admittedly distributor of this soft drink in Nahan area. As such, we have no hesitation to conclude that the OP No.1 by manufacturing & selling contaminated cold drink, which was not fit for human consumption, not only committed deficiency in service, but also indulged in an unfair trade practice.


6. For the foregoing reasons, we allow this complaint and direct OPs jointly and severally to pay a sum of Rs.5,000/- as damages to the complainant for causing him physical and mental agony. In addition to this, they are also burdened with Rs.1,000/- as litigation cost. All the OPs shall comply with this order within a period of forty five days after the date of receipt of copy of this order.