The Lahore High Court (LHC) has ordered Toyota Indus Motor Company (IMC) to compensate a customer for delivering a defective vehicle that caught fire 15 days after its delivery.
“A new car is like your first girlfriend who introduces you to all the pleasant feelings of life and is missed when she is gone,” Justice Sohail Nasir stated in the preface of the 18-page verdict.
LHC highlighted that Malik Ashfaq Ahmed had purchased a new Toyota Corolla from an Indus Motors dealer in Multan in 2010 that burned down after a fuse box malfunction.
The new vehicle self-combusted in just 15 days of its delivery while he was working on his land in Muzaffargarh. Ahmed had also burnt his hand while trying to extinguish the fire.
LHC’s Verdict
Ahmed had lodged a complaint with the Dera Ghazi Khan Consumer Court that had ruled in his favor in March 2014. It had ordered Indus Motors to pay Ahmed Rs. 1.269 million in damages in addition to the money he had spent on the lawsuit.
Ahmed had driven the charred car to a dealership after filing a case with the Shah Jamal police station in Muzaffargarh. A service adviser (mechanic) had examined the vehicle and concluded that the fire was not caused by a fuse box malfunction. As per the record appended to the court ruling, the customer brought the mechanic’s report to consumer court and filed a damages claim.
The car caught fire while its engine was turned off, according to evidence presented in court during the hearing.
Automaker Blamed Local Mechanic
Conversely, IMC had appealed to the LHC against the Consumer Court’s ruling, requesting that the verdict for the reparations be set aside, blaming the owner for getting it repaired by a local mechanic.
The manufacturer stated in court that the automobile’s fuse box was not problematic and that the owner had gotten it repaired by a local electrician, which had resulted in the fire.
IMC’s Senior Instructor for Vehicles, Malik Bashir Ahmed, also presented his expert viewpoint on the incident.
Ahmed appealed to the court for it to order the manufacturer to pay Rs. 1.3 million for his losses, Rs. 100,000 for hand burn treatment, and Rs. 500,000 for mental distress, according to the plea.
Before the decision to dismiss Indus Motors’ petition and sustain the Consumer Court’s verdict, the LHC also cited an Indian Supreme Court’s ruling against an international automobile manufacturer as well as excerpts from former US President, John F. Kennedy, regarding consumer rights.
Via 24 News
