The Tata Motors unit at Jamshedpur. Picture by Srinivas

Ranchi, Feb. 5: The district consumer forum has directed Tata Motors to pay a compensation of over Rs 1 lakh to a Ranchi-based transporter, Bhagwan Das Agarwal.

In a 10-page order, the forum ruled that the company had failed to respect the terms of sale when Agarwal bought a Turbo bus chassis.

The cost apparently included the cost of the engine, the amount paid by Agarwal for servicing and replacement of parts during the warranty period, the legal cost incurred by him and the compensation.

A shocked Tata Motors executive, when contacted in Jamshedpur, said the company had no clue about the case and this is the first time that the company has been asked to compensate for the cost of the engine.

?We will look into the matter very seriously,? the executive said, ?because the customer is very important to us.?

Agarwal claims to have bought the bus chassis in 2002 with the company providing warranty for three years or 3,00,000 kilometres, whichever comes earlier.

Eight months later, he took it to an authorised dealer at Piska More, where an allegedly defective part was replaced.

Soon thereafter the crankshaft broke after running a distance of 36,071-kms and the dealer once again replaced it. Three months later, the dealer replaced the ?turbo charger?.

After the bus had been driven 76,754-kms, it was found that the engine was consuming an abnormal quantity of oil. This time the dealer replaced the piston ring and the ?head-gas kit?.

But after 19 months of purchase and 96,290-kms, the engine gave way and collapsed altogether.

Agarwal demanded that the dealer should replace the engine, too, but his request was turned down and hence he approached the forum.

In his petition, the transporter alleged that while replacing the piston ring, water was poured into the radiator by the authorised mechanic instead of the coolant, which resulted into the engine packing up.

Repeated defects pointed to manufacturing faults, held the district forum members Bimla Mishra and C.D. Singh, and the service station?s refusal to replace the engine amounted to denial of service pledged during the period of warranty.

Agarwal, along with his two brothers, claim to own as many as 150 buses ? all of which are manufactured by Tata Motors.

?Why should I file a false case against the dealer, if I didn?t have genuine grievances?? he asked.

The dealer, he alleged, had threatened him with dire consequences if he pressed his complaint.

The dealer, Harvinder Singh, was unaware of the forum?s verdict. Denying Agarwal?s charges, he said: ?Why will we save money by filling water rather than the coolant??

Both Tata Motors and the dealer claim that it is impossible to fill the radiator with water instead of the coolant, with the dealer adding that he smelt a case of insurance fraud.