Mumbai: The Central Mumbai district’s consumer dispute redressal commission has ruled against mobile manufacturing company Xiaomi, ordering it to compensate Akash Gupta, a Lower Parel resident, who experienced unresolved issues with his Xiaomi handset after a repair attempt.

Gupta, who initially purchased the device on October 4, 2020, for Rs 18,500, reported discovering a manufacturing defect in the device shortly after the warranty expired.

Gupta reached out to Xiaomi’s service team for repairs and was quoted a repair cost of Rs 10,500, which he paid. However, the repair did not resolve the issue, and repeated attempts to get further assistance from the company proved futile, with the company allegedly ignoring Gupta’s concerns.

Additionally, a legal notice was sent to Xiaomi, which went unanswered. The court deemed the company’s lack of response as “willing avoidance,” as Xiaomi neither filed a defense nor presented evidence to contest Gupta’s claims, leaving his allegations and documentation uncontested.

Evidence submitted by Gupta included tax invoices and service records that documented his payments and communications with Xiaomi. He claimed the defect was triggered by an MIUI software update issued by Xiaomi, noting similar issues with the POCO X4 model, which the company reportedly replaced for affected customers. Despite repairs, Gupta’s phone remained defective, and Xiaomi did not offer a replacement.

The court found Xiaomi guilty of “deficiency in service” and “unfair trade practices.” Acknowledging Gupta’s mental distress and inconvenience, the court ordered Xiaomi to pay him Rs 18,500, with a 15% annual depreciation over two years, and an additional Rs 10,000 for mental agony and Rs 5,000 towards litigation costs. The compensation is to be paid within 60 days of the court order.