Before the Hon’ble President,
District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum,
Uttar Dinajpur at Raiganj.
(Super Market Complex, Block – 1, 1st Floor.)
Consumer Case No.: 48 / 2008.
Date of filing : 17.09.2008.
Date of final order : 30.06.2009.
Present:
A) Sri Saurish Chakraborty President.
B) Smt.Swapna Kar Member.
C) Sri Swaraj Kumar Biswas Member.
Sri Manoranjan Basak,
Son of Ahi Bhusan Basak,
Village Madhabpur, Post Office Gulandhar,
Police Station Itahar, District Uttar Dinajpur. Complainant.
vs
1) United Genetic India Private Limited,
Represented by the Director,
Shyam Kunj, 12 C Lord Sinha Road,
K O L K A T A – 7 0 0 0 7 1.
2) United Genetic India Private Limited,
527, ‘F’ – Block, 60ft. Road, Sahakaranagar,
B A N G A L O R E – 5 6 0 0 9 2.
3) Uttar Dinajpur Beej Bhandar,
Mohanbati, (In front of Court Gate),
Post Office & Police Station – Raiganj,
District – Uttar Dinajpur, West Bengal Opposite Parties.
Judgment
Date: 30.06.2009.
Manoranjan Basak, the Complainant is a cultivator by profession. He has land in Mouza Madhabpur; where he sowed Tomato Seeds during the year 2007 after purchase the same from the Opposite Party No. 3. After cultivation the Seeds were germinated and about to bear bumper crop. But it was witnessed that they are fruit bearing plants. So he contacted the Opposite Party No. 3 and representative of Opposite Party No. 2 for redress, but no result. Thereafter, he approached to the local Pradhan and Agricultural Development Officer, Itahar, who deputed KPS to conduct an enquiry on the spot and found that there was plenty of flowers in the plants, but there is no any transition of the fruit i.e. Tomato from the flower. Nursing was done in the plants as per the advice of Agricultural Officials but no fruitful result was noticed. So, the complaint is filed against United Genetic India Private Limited, having their office both in Kolkata and Bangalore and Uttar Dinajpur Beej Bhandar, which has sold the Seeds to the Complainant. Hence Complainant has come before this Forum, praying for an award of a sum amounting to Rs.28,580.00 that includes the price of the Seeds plus cultivation and allied charges. He has further prays for an award of Rs.2,00,000.00 as compensation and Rs.2,500.00 for litigation cost.
It may be noted here, at first, that Opposite Party No. 3 did not contest the present complaint, though it has received the Notice. All along the hearing the Opposite Party No. 3 was absent, so, the matter was heard ex-parte against it.
Now, the case of the Opposite Party Nos. 1 and 2 as per the written version is that, in the year 2007 – 08 the Opposite Parties supplied the Seeds to the Opposite Party No. 3 of various plants and vegetables. Among the Seeds supplied was 53.5KGs of High Breed Tomato Seeds, commercially known as DISHA, out of the said amounts of Tomato Seeds Opposite Party No. 3 was supplied 148 gms. It has vehemently denied there was any deficiency in the potentiality of the Seeds supplied to the Opposite Party No. 3. It has also denied that there was any loss sustained by the Complainant. Moreover, the person referred to by the Complainant conducted the inspection or enquiry is not Seed analyst within the meaning of the Seeds Act. It is further denied that there is any defect in the Seeds. Moreover, Complainant never gets the soil of his land tested before sowing, which can be done free of cost to the farmer all over the state of West Bengal. So, these opposite parties are not liable for any loss and there is no question of paying any consequential damages.
Decisions with reasons:
In support of his case, Complainant has filed the four blank pouches of Seeds (Ext-1), one cash-memo (Ext-2) said to have been issued by Opposite Party No. 3 on 10.09.2007 against the purchase of 40 gms. Tomato Seeds of DISHA Variety at the rate of Rs.200/- per pouch. It has been signed by one, Sabyasachi Bose as issuer of the receipt. Ext – 3 is a Certificate Issued by Pradhan of Gulandhar Gram Panchayat and Ext-4 is the Report of KPS, Gopinathpur Centre, Itahar, Uttar Dinajpure.
Much argument has been advanced by Ld. Lawyer appearing for Opposite Party Nos. 1 and 2 over the Ext-2. It must be noted that Opposite Party No. 3 is said to be the issuer of the receipt against the purchase of Tomato Seeds. No one here is representing the Opposite Party No. 3. Opposite Party No. 3 did not contest or challenge the Ext-2 or no one has been called as witness from the side of the contesting Opposite Parties to deny the receipts i.e. Ext-2. Being this position this Forum can affirmatively conclude that Ext-2 has been issued by the Opposite Party No. 3. Admittedly, Opposite Party No. 3 gets supply of Seeds etc. from Opposite Party Nos. 1 and 2; during the relevant year the contesting Opposite Parties also supplied the Tomato Seeds of DISHA variety weighing 148gms. to the Opposite Party No. 3. It goes to suggest that without going to the counter of Opposite Party No. 3, there is no any possibility for the Complainant to acquire the Tomato Seeds of DISHA Variety.
Ld. Lawyer for the contesting O.Ps. submits further with reference to the Provision of Seeds Act and one Bengali Book titled ‘L«¢o ¢S‘¡p¡’ that the Complainant did not get this Seeds refined and get his soil tested before the cultivation of Tomato Seeds. Be that as it may, we must appreciate here that a crude fact is that the Complainant is a rustic village farmer. As all the village farmers process the Seeds and soil before cultivation, this Complainant obviously did not fell that such ground work to be done or not to be done before cultivation. The report of Gram Panchayat and the KPS both marked Ext-4 and 5 respectively can not be brushed aside as both of them has a physical and visual supervision of the land and the crops of the Complainant. So, this Forum upon taking all the facts, circumstances, documents and evidence on record comes to a conclusion that the Seeds purchased by the Complainant from the Opposite Party No. 3 were defective. The basic privity of contract was between the consumer, who have got the goods for consideration and the trader, who has sold them to him as a seller or a distributor of the offending goods. The primal grievance of the Complainant was against the Seed Seller/ Trader, who had supplied the Seeds, which was inherently defective. The trader alone was thus the primal and necessary party in a complaint of that nature against whom the various reliefs envisaged by the Act and Rules may be claimed. Therefore, the submission merely attempting to shift the trader’s liability on to the shoulder of others, namely the wholesaler or distributor etc can not be accepted. Therefore, the retailer or trader, who happened to be the Opposite Party No. 3 alone, is responsible for supply of defective goods i.e. the Tomato Seeds, to the Complainant.
The Complainant has claimed here a direction to the O.Ps. to pay cost of Seeds of Rs.800.00 plus cultivation and allied charges of Rs.28,580.00. Now, Ext-2 is the receipt, wherefrom we find the price of Seeds at Rs.800.00. But there is no any breakup of accounts of the cost of cultivation and other allied charges given by the Complainant in his complaint. However, it is very much possible and probable that a cultivator, when cultivates his land, he is in mind to have certain returns from that cultivation. In this perspective if we see the case of the Complainant we may arrive at a tentative conclusion that the Complainant certainly suffered a huge pecuniary loss for not having the cherished result of the cultivation. So, we can propose that the loss that the Complainant suffered may be around Rs.10,000.00.
Further the Complainant also made a prayer for compensation of Rs.2,00,000.00, which in our view, is excessive and unjustified. It is very likely that not having the cherished result of cultivation the Complainant has suffered not only financially but also mentally. He might have dream to do something positive after harvesting the crops that he has cultivated. But, when the crop itself went out of his hand, his state of mind at that particular stage is well imaginable. Therefore, this Forum propose further that an amount of Rs.5,000.00 as compensation will be sufficient to meet the ends of justice. In addition he will get Rs.1000.00 towards the cost of litigation.
Fees paid are correct.
Hence ordered,
That this complaint is allowed ex-parte against the Opposite Party No. 3, Uttar Dinajpur Beej Bhandar and dismissed on contest without cost against Opposite Party Nos. 1 and 2.
The Complainant shall get an award of Rs.10,000.00 against the Opposite Party No. 3 and Rs.5,000.00 as compensation and Rs.1,000.00 as litigation cost, total amount Rs.16,000.00 (rupees sixteen thousand) only. The Opposite Party No. 3 is directed to pay the total amount Rs.16,000.00 (rupees sixteen thousand) only within one month from the date of the order, in default, he shall to pay interest at the rate of 6% per annum on the entire amount.
Let true photo copies of this final order be supplied to the parties free of cost.
……………..……….. ………………………. .………………………
Swaraj Kumar Biswas Swapna Kar Saurish Chakraborty
Member, Member, President,
D. C. D. R. F., D. C. D. R. F., D. C. D. R. F., Uttar Dinajpur, Raiganj. Uttar Dinajpur, Raiganj. Uttar Dinajpur, Raiganj.