Forum slaps Rs 2.2L penalty on lift firm for faulty service

BHOPAL: District consumer dispute redressal forum has directed a lift company to pay Rs 2.2 lakh to a consumer and take off their lift which is malfunctioning.
It so happened that the lift installed at the house of ex labour commissioner M N Dubey's house in Arera Colony was malfunctioning as when Dubey pressed the button to call the lift, it ascended directly to the top most floor and then collapsed on the ground floor.This happened with his son too, after which and he moved for legal action against the company.
Dubey approached Aashish Chaudhary of Care Elevator Sservices to get the problem fixed as soon as possible and also paid him a sum of Rs 1.7 lakh as renovation charge. Renovation was completed in July 2013.
However, the complainant was suspicious about the quality of material used and brought it to the notice of Chaudhary, but he ignored and assured of proper safety. On August 23, 2013, when Dubey pressed the button to call the lift, it directly ascended on the top floor, without stopping on the desired floor and subsequently its ropes and balance plates broke down.
When Dubey informed about the incident to Chaudhary, he begged not to take the legal action and repaired the elevator, but the incident was repeated again on January 8, 2014.
Furious over the incident, a police complaint was lodged on January 9, 2014 and a case was filed at district consumer forum. Chaudhary did not appear in the forum despite several notices, he was slapped with the fine of Rs 2.2 lakh by bench of president Pranesh Kumar Pran, and expert members Monika Malik and Sunil Shrivastava, including compensation of Rs 45,000 and refund of Rs 1.7 lakh (renovation charge) along with an interest at 10% per annum from date of filing complaint. Rs 20,000 was charged for mental agony and Rs 5000 for litigation expenses.
During the hearing a report submitted by United Elevators suggested that, proper safety measures have not been taken while installation of lift and material used is of substandard quality. Company violated all the rules for installation of lift.