Consumer refund for defective goods may follow from continuing deficiency in service, even after the warranty period ends.

Consumer fora under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 may direct refund of the price where goods supplied suffer from repeated malfunctioning and the supplier's conduct shows continuing service or maintenance obligations. Defects arising during the warranty period, together with admitted complaint handling after expiry of warranty, supported a finding of deficiency in service and breach of warranty. The statutory power under Section 14 permitted suitable relief, including refund with interest, and the Sale of Goods Act rule that breach of warranty ordinarily sounds in damages did not exclude that consumer remedy. The limited warranty period therefore did not end liability on these facts.

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Issues: Whether the consumer fora could direct refund of the price of the EPABX system on the finding of deficiency in service and breach of warranty, and whether the appellant's liability ended with the original warranty period.

Analysis: The dispute fell within the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, and the record disclosed deficiency in service as well as repeated malfunctioning of the system from the beginning. The defects arose during the warranty period, complaints were admittedly attended to by the appellant, and its own conduct in continuing to respond to complaints even after expiry of the warranty supported the conclusion that maintenance obligations were treated as continuing. Section 14 of the Act empowered the consumer fora to order return of the price, and the rule in Section 12 of the Sale of Goods Act that breach of warranty ordinarily gives rise to damages did not exclude the statutory power of the Commission to grant suitable relief. The fora below, therefore, acted within jurisdiction in treating the defects and service failures as actionable deficiency.

Conclusion: The direction to refund the price with interest was justified, and the appellant's contention that no liability survived after the warranty period was rejected.

Ratio Decidendi: Where defects in goods supplied are accompanied by continuing deficiency in service arising during the warranty period and the supplier's conduct shows continuation of maintenance obligations, the consumer fora may grant refund of the price under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 notwithstanding the limited contractual warranty.

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