CHUDIDAR FROM CHENNAI

June 23: Popular Chennai retail chain Saravana Stores has been ordered to pay a compensation of Rs 10,000 for selling a damaged churidar material to a customer. The South Chennai consumer court ruled deficiency in service and asked the shop to provide the customer new churidar or exchange the damaged material within six weeks.

According to complainant K. Murugan, he and his wife had purchased four churidars from the Saravana Stores outlet on Ranganathan Street for Rs 742 in April 2006. “At the time of purchase, we were not given an opportunity to open the material because the shop was crowded,” Mr Murugan said in his complaint. “When we opened the package at home, we found that the material for one churidar was damaged and not usable. When we approached the shop owner the next day and requested him to exchange it, he not only refused to take back the damaged cloth but the staff in the shop also abused us.”

Countering his allegations, advocates representing Saravana Stores said that dress material sold in the store was “scrupulously checked using high quality control systems”.

“The material was put to use by Murugan and therefore it was not exchanged,” the counsel said. Hearing both sides, the judge said Mr Murugan had produced the damaged material in court and since Saravana Stores had sold defective material, it was guilty of deficiency of service.

“It was said in the counter-petition that the material was not exchanged because it was used. No prudent man will accept that dress material can be used without stitching it into clothes,” the judge said in the order. “The store should pay a compensation of Rs 10,000 as compensation and Rs 1,000 as cost of complaint.”