Hyderabad: The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered BMW India to pay compensation of Rs 50 lakh to a Hyderabad firm for delivering a defective BMW car.
The court used Article 142 to settle a 15-year-old dispute over a BMW 7-series car.
Hyderabad firm noticed serious defect in BMW car
On September 25, 2009, the firm purchased the car from a dealer in Hyderabad. Later, a serious defect was reportedly noticed.
Although the car was repaired, the issue resurfaced three months later.
Following this, the Hyderabad buyer decided to lodge a police complaint against BMW India, its managing director, and other directors, alleging cheating by delivering the defective car.
The matter then reached the Andhra Pradesh High Court. On March 23, 2012, the court quashed the prosecution against BMW India but asked the carmaker to replace the car with a new one.
Buyer moved to Supreme Court
Though BMW India accepted the order in the car case, the Hyderabad firm moved to the Supreme Court, challenging the high court’s judgment.
When the matter reached the apex court, BMW India’s counsel offered to pay around Rs 30 lakh as compensation.
After listening to both sides, a bench at the Supreme Court consisting of Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice J.B. Pardiwala held that the HC order quashing the cheating case against BMW was legitimate and resorted to Article 142 to order the carmaker to pay a compensation of Rs 50 lakh to the Hyderabad firm.
