Give 50 lakh rupees to the customer by August 10… Why did the Supreme Court give such an order to BMW car company?

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has directed luxury carmaker BMW to pay a compensation of Rs 50 lakh to a customer for delivering a car with a manufacturing defect in 2009. A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Mishra set aside the Telangana High Court order quashing prosecution against the leading carmaker and directing it to replace the defective vehicle with a new one.

What did the Supreme Court say?

In its order dated July 10, the bench said, “Considering the facts and circumstances of this case, we are of the view that the manufacturer ‘BMW India Private Limited’ should be directed to pay an amount of Rs 50 lakh in full and final settlement of all disputed claims. The manufacturer has to pay this amount to the complainant on or before August 10, 2024. The bench noted the fact that in June-July 2012 itself, the car manufacturer had offered to replace the old vehicle with a new vehicle in compliance with the order of the High Court.

Malfunction in ‘BMW 7 Series’ car

The bench said, “However, the complainant did not agree to this. If the complainant had used the vehicle, its value would have depreciated till date.” The bench said that during the hearing it was told that the complainant had returned the old vehicle to the car dealer. The complainant had bought a ‘BMW 7 Series’ car on September 25, 2009, which started malfunctioning after a few days.