Supreme Court Orders BMW To Pay Rs 50 lakh Compensation To Customer For Faulty Car

The complainant purchased a BMW 7 series vehicle on September 25, 2009. The Telangana High Court had previously quashed the prosecution against the auto major and ordered the company to deliver a new vehicle to the complainant in place of the defective one.

However, a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra set aside this order. The new order directed BMW India Private Limited to pay a consolidated amount of Rs 50 lakhs to the complainant by August 10, 2024, as a full and final settlement of all claims.

The bench also stated that upon receiving this payment, the order quashing the complaint and the direction for vehicle replacement would be set aside. The bench noted that the manufacturer had previously offered to replace the old vehicle with a new one, but the complainant did not accept.

The old vehicle was eventually returned to the dealer. The court decided that continuing the prosecution nearly fifteen years after the dispute arose would not serve the ends of justice, and thus, directed the payment of compensation to the complainant while sustaining the order quashing the complaint.

The top court found fault with the high court’s order and noted that the manufacturers had communicated with the complainant to facilitate compliance with the original order. The complainant had expressed a preference for a cash equivalent to the value of the car.

The initial complaint about the vehicle’s issues had led to the registration of an FIR, and the manufacturer and other officials were named as the accused. The story was not edited by NDTV staff and was published from a syndicated feed.