IOC, gas agency to pay Rs 5L for supplying defective cylinder

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.