Coca Cola must keep quality
in India- fined Rs 15,000
Coke fined for tobacco pouch in bottle
Patiala, January 28, 2008
Kanwar Manjit Singh
Editor- Punjab Today
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Fatehgarh Sahib,
camp at Patiala presided by Gurdev Singh, has directed Coca Cola
to pay Rs 15,000 after a consumer found a tobacco pouch in an
unopened bottle of Coca Cola advertised as the company's top product
in the soft drinks market.
"The sale of contaminated Coca Cola which is dangerous to
human consumption is a matter of deficiency of service.,"
District Consumer Redressal Forum said.
The complainant, Kanwar Manjit Singh, Editor of Punjab Today,
a global magazine published from Patiala, had registered the case
through his lawyer A. S. Waraich on June 8, 2006, against Coca
Cola India and M/s Gian Singh & Sons, the grocery shop from
which the complainant had purchased the contaminated drink.
In its detailed order the Consumer Forum mentioned that "The
bare perusal of the contents of the bottle reveals that the said
bottle contains a pouch of tobacco. Thus the contents of the said
Coca Cola bottle is dangerous to the human consumption and the
opposite party is expected to sell good quality of Coca Cola which
is not dangerous to human life."
"For the foregoing reasons and discussion above we accept
the complainant and direct the opposite party to make the payment
of Rs 15,000/- with interest at the rate of 9 per cent from the
date of filing the complaint till its realization for harassment,
mental agony and cost of the petition to the complainant"
directed the Forum.
The complainant had purchased six bottles of Coca Cola from the
retail outlet on May 4, 2004. On reaching home he was shocked
to see a pouch of tobacco in one of the bottles. He immediately
brought the matter to the notice of the owner of grocery shop
who passed the buck on to the local distributor of Coca Cola from
whom he gets the supply. When the local distributor could not
satisfy the complainant, he lodged his protest regarding contaminated
drinks to the President of Coca Cola India and Coca Cola Headquarters
at Atlanta through telephone calls, e-mails and registered letters.
When the matter could not be resolved despite a long correspondence
with Coca Cola authorities he lodged a complaint with consumer
court where the case (Complaint no. 204/ dt. 08/08/08) was decided
in his favour on December 14, 2007 and copy of the order was issued
on January 21, 2008 .
