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Section 83: Product liability action

Consumer Protection Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 2019
Section 82 All 107 Sections of Consumer Protection Act Section 84

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 83

Section 83 of the Consumer Protection Act establishes the substantive right of a consumer to bring a product liability action before any competent Consumer Commission against a manufacturer, service provider, or seller for harm caused by a defective product or deficient service.

  • Core Legal Standard: Section 83 establishes the statutory cause of action for product liability.
  • Operational Mechanism: It provides that a product liability action may be brought by a complainant before a District Commission, State Commission or National Commission for harm caused to him on account of a defective product manufactured or sold or by deficiency in services.
  • Procedural Rule: The definition of 'harm' under Section 2(22) is expansive: it includes damage to property, personal injury, illness, death, mental agony, and emotional distress resulting from such harm, excluding only damage to the product itself.

The action can be maintained concurrently against the manufacturer, the assembler, the retailer, and the service provider.

Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Pioneer Urban Land & Infrastructure Ltd. v. Govindan Raghavan (2019) 5 SCC 725: The Supreme Court highlighted that modern consumer law protects citizens against substandard and defective products, entitling injured consumers to complete indemnification and compensatory damages.
Legal Commentary:

Under Section 83, the doctrine of privity of contract is statutorily abolished for product liability. Even if a consumer received the defective product as a gift or was a bystander injured by an exploding gadget, he can maintain a product liability action directly against the manufacturer under Section 83.

Section 82 All 107 Sections of Consumer Protection Act Section 84