NAWANSHAHR: The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Punjab while setting aside the decisions of the District

Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Hoshiarpur has asked the M/s Satpaul Seeds Corporation Regd, Railway Road, Garhshanker and Wipro Highbred Seeds, New Delhi to pay compensation of Rs. one lakh each to two farmers - Karnail Singh of village Attal Mazara ( SBS Nagar) and Jasbir Singh of village Samundra ( Hoshiarpur) for supplying low quality peas seed to them. Both the farmers had purchased peas seed in October 2009. The farmers in their complaints with the District Consumer Redressal Forum had accused that at the time of selling seeds they were assured that the seed was of good quality and would bear fruit within 50 to days, but due to low quality of seeds they had to suffer loss as they had incurred expenditure on seeds, labour, irrigation, fertlisers and insecticides etc. Karnail Singh, before filing a suit in the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Hoshiarpur, had even submitted a complaint with the Chief Agriculture Officer, Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar against the supply of low quality of seed. On the basis of the complaint, the Chief Agriculture Officer asked the Agriculture Officer, Saroya to conduct spot inquiry and file a report. The Agriculture Officer, Saroya visited the peas fields and in his report to the CAO, he had clearly mentioned that there was 8 % mixing of other seed.But, the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum had dismissed his complaint on the plea that the appellant had not given any notice about the visit of the agriculture officer. Similarly the complaint of another farmer- Jasbir Singh was dismissed on the plea that he had not sent the samples of the seeds for analysis. Inderjit Kaushik, Presiding Member and Baldev Singh Sekhon, member of the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, after hearing the arguments of the counsels of both the parties and perusal of the evidence put before the Forum reached at the conclusion that the observation and finding of The District Forum was against the prevailing law. Citing the law laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case M/s National Seeds Corporation Ltd. v/s M. Madhusudan Reddy & others of 2012, The State Forum said that as per the law there was no requirement of any notice to the respondent at the time of visit of the agriculture officer and a farmer was not supposed to presrve some part of the seeds for the purpose of sending it to the laboratory.