Mumbai: What happens when a weighing machine gives a reading that is completely off target? In this interesting case of Bhagwan Karia vs Eastern Scales Ltd and others, the consumer decided to take on the company.

 

Karia decided to check his weight at Mulund  railway station. He inserted a Rupee 1 coin into the weighing machine and was surprised when he got a card stating his weight as 69 kg. Just a few days back, he had weighed himself and his weight was 55 kg.

He walked to another platform at the same station and weighed himself on another machine, this time his weight was recorded as 54 kg. Karia walked to the station superintendent’s office and filed a complaint against the owners of the machine, M/s Eastern scales ltd, and demanded that the railways take strict action against them. Karia found that the Railways were conveniently washing their hands off the episode. The company wrote to him saying nothing was wrong with the machine.

Karia then lodged a complaint with the Legal Metrology’s Weights & Measures Department, but little came of it. He then went to the district forum with his complaint against the company, CR and the Weights & Measures Department. The company said it was not proved that the person who weighed himself and got the card saying he weighed 74 kg and Karia were one and the same.

After hearing all sides, the forum came to the  conclusion that though Karia’s complaint seemed to be a genuine, he was unable to prove that the machine was defective.

Source : DNA