The Bombay High Court on Tuesday stayed the operation and execution of the detention order and warrant issued by the South Goa Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission against Bhavish Aggarwal, founder and CEO of Ola Electric Technologies Pvt Ltd.
Last week, the consumer commission had issued a bailable warrant against Aggarwal. It said he failed to appear before it despite being given prior notice. When the matter came up before the Bombay High Court, the court issued notice to the commission and observed that, prima facie, it appeared to have exceeded the powers vested in it by issuing such a warrant.
Bombay High Court at Goa stays warrant against Bhavish Aggarwal
“On going through the scheme of the Consumer Protection Act, it is only after the order granting compensation is passed and the same is sought to be enforced under Section 71 of the Act that the state commission is vested with the powers of a civil court pertaining to those under Section 71 of the Act, to issue a warrant of detention as a means to enforce its order,” the high court stated.
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The court further noted, “There appears to be no such powers to issue such a warrant to any party to a dispute before the consumer forum or commission during the course of hearing of the complaint,” Justice Valmiki Menezes said.
Later, Ola issued a statement saying that the High Court observed that the District Consumer Commission had gone beyond its powers under the Consumer Protection Act while issuing the warrant. “The Hon’ble High Court of Bombay at Goa has stayed the warrant issued by the District Consumer Commission, South Goa. Additionally, the Hon’ble Court found that the Commission exceeded its jurisdiction under the Consumer Protection Act in issuing the warrant,” the company said, suggesting the commission may not have had the legal authority to issue such a warrant under the law.
In its statement, Ola also appealed to media organisations to report carefully on the matter. Ola urged media organisations to “take note of the factual legal position and refrain from speculation.” For now, details about the original consumer complaint and what exactly led to the arrest warrant are not immediately available.
Why the warrant was issued
The consumer commission had earlier directed the Bengaluru policeto arrest Aggarwal and produce him before the commission in Margao on February 23 at 10.30 am. It had also said he could be released on bail of Rs 1.5 lakh. The commission had issued a notice asking Aggarwal to appear before it on February 4. He was asked to clarify the whereabouts of the complainant’s bike and explain why the vehicle had not been repaired and delivered even after a long delay.
However, Aggarwal did not appear before the commission, following which the bailable warrant was issued. For now, the high court’s order means that the detention warrant will not be acted upon until further proceedings. |
