New Delhi: The National Consumer Commission
has directed the Indian Oil Corporation and a gas distribution
agency to pay a compensation of Rs five lakh jointly to a man
for deficiency in service which led to a cylinder blast in
which he lost his wife.
"We direct Gopi agencies and IOC Limited to pay a sum of
Rs five lakh to the appellant with the clarification that they
will be liable for this payment jointly and severally," the
Commission bench comprising Members Justice R C Jain and
Anupam Dasgupta said.
The Commission passed the order on an appeal by a
Bangalore-resident D Shankar challenging the Karnataka State
Consumer Commission`s decision against it for his failure to
prove that the gas cylinder had been drawn from the
distributor.
The Commission said the complainant was a customer of the
agency.
The Commission said the exchange of letters between the
complainant and IOC as well as the agency till March 1995 lent
strong credence to the substance of Shankar’s contentions.
"The State Commission erred in not duly considering the
collective weight of the documents and conduct of the gas
agency and the IOC," it said.
Earlier, the complainant alleged the agency had supplied
defective cooking gas (LPG) equipment, including gas cylinder
and regulator, which led to the fire incident in 1993.
PTI
