In case of an accident involving an LPG cylinder, can the oil company escape liability by pointing to the ‘dealership agreement’ which holds the dealer responsible in all matters associated with LPG customers?

This was the main issue that came up before the apex consumer court in a case involving the tragic death of a consumer in New Delhi. And the verdict of the highest consumer court was that the oil company — Hindustan Petroleum Corporation in this case — has to take responsibility for any manufacturing defect in the cylinder.

Given the tragic circumstances in which the consumer, Suresh Kumar Govilkar suffered burn injuries and died, one would expect the oil company, the dealer and the insurance company to immediately pay the bereaved family compensation. But instead, here is a case where each one of them tried to escape liability, forcing the wife and the two children to seek the intervention of the consumer court. And equally tragic is the long wait for justice that the family had to suffer. For a tragedy that happened in 1995 and the subsequent case filed in 1996, the apex consumer court’s decision has come now on October 3, 2006 — after 10 years!

The case goes back to that fateful day in August 1995, when 47-year old Govilkar went to make tea. Since the cylinder in use was empty, he replaced it with a refilled cylinder that had come from the dealer, Pelicon Gas Agency and lit the stove. Immediately, there was a major fire and Govilkar received severe burn injuries. Eventually, it was put out and Govilkar was admitted to hospital, where he breathed his last.

Describing the cylinder as defective, the complaint pointed out that (a) Even after the fire was put out, the cylinder was found burning all along the periphery at the bottom lip of the regulator with a dense yellow flame of approximately nine inches in length (b) There was no smell of leaking gas as that would have alerted the consumer (c) Even when the regulator was fixed on the cylinder, there was an unusual sound.

The apex consumer court held that in this case, the maxim ‘res ipsa loquitur’ was applicable. The only inference that could be drawn from the complaint was that there was a defect in the gas cylinder, leading to the fire. And once the defect was established, the manufacturer was liable. It therefore held that both the dealer and the oil company were jointly and severally liable to pay a compensation of Rs 10,08,000 along with interest at the rate of 9 per cent per annum and costs amounting to Rs 5000. (Mrs Madhuri Govilkar and others vs M/s Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and others, Original Petition No 289 of 1996).