Suppose you buy a brand-new pressure cooker. On its third use the gasket fails, the lid blows off, hot dal scalds your hand, and a flying shard cracks the kitchen tiles. A warranty would, at best, get the cooker repaired or replaced. Product liability is a bigger right. It lets you claim money compensation for the burns, the doctor's bills, the broken tiles, and the shock, from the people who put that defective cooker in your hands.
This right sits in Chapter VI, Sections 82 to 87, of the Consumer Protection Act 2019. Section 82 says the chapter applies to every claim for compensation for “harm” caused by a defective product, and Section 83 lets you bring that action against the maker, the seller, or the service provider. You can read the bare Act on India Code: Consumer Protection Act 2019.
In one line: a warranty claim asks for the product to be fixed. A product liability claim asks for money for the harm the product caused.
This is the difference most people miss. A warranty is a promise about the product working. If it stops working, the warranty gets it repaired, replaced, or refunded. That is a contract matter, and it is what our guide on a rejected warranty claim deals with.
Product liability is about harm. The Act's definition of “harm” in Section 2(22) spells this out: it covers personal injury, illness or death, damage to your other property, the mental agony that goes with them, and related losses. It specifically does not cover damage to the faulty product itself, or a plain commercial or economic loss. So fixing the cooker is a warranty matter. Paying you for the burnt hand and cracked tiles is product liability.
| Question | Warranty claim | Product liability claim |
|---|---|---|
| What you want | Repair, replacement or refund of the product | Money for the harm the product caused |
| Legal basis | Contract and the general complaint route | Chapter VI, Sections 82 to 87 |
| Covers injury, illness or death | No | Yes |
| Covers your other damaged property | No | Yes |
| What you must show | A fault in the product | A defect that actually caused harm |
You can run both at once. A single complaint can ask for the product to be replaced and for compensation for the harm it caused.
Section 83 gives you three possible targets: the product manufacturer, the product service provider, or the product seller. You can name more than one. Here is when each becomes liable.
Product manufacturer (Section 84). The maker is liable if any one of these is true: the product has a manufacturing defect, or it is defective in design, or it deviates from the manufacturing specifications, or it does not conform to the express warranty, or it fails to carry adequate instructions for correct use or a proper warning about wrong use. Section 84 also says the manufacturer is liable even if it proves it was not negligent or fraudulent in making the express warranty. In plain words, you usually do not have to prove the company was careless, only that the product was defective and hurt you. Source: Section 84, India Code.
Product service provider (Section 85). Think of an installer, repairer, or fitter. A service provider is liable if the service was faulty, imperfect, deficient or inadequate, or if there was an act, omission, negligence, or conscious withholding of information that caused harm, or if it did not give adequate instructions or warnings, or if the service did not match the express warranty or the contract. Example: a plumber wires a geyser wrongly, it shorts, and someone gets a shock. Source: Section 85, India Code.
Product seller (Section 86). A seller who is not the manufacturer is liable in narrower situations: if it had substantial control over the designing, testing, manufacturing, packaging or labelling of the product; or altered or modified the product; or made its own express warranty that then failed; or the maker cannot be identified or cannot be reached in India; or it failed to take reasonable care in assembling, inspecting or maintaining the product, or did not pass on the maker's warnings and instructions. The point about an unknown or unreachable manufacturer matters: if you cannot find who made the product, the seller you bought from can still be on the hook. Source: Section 86, India Code.
Under a product liability action you can ask the consumer commission for compensation for the harm listed in Section 2(22): medical costs and injury, the value of your other damaged property, and the mental agony tied to it. On top of compensation, Section 39 lets the commission award money for loss or injury caused by the other side's negligence, and its proviso gives the commission the power to grant punitive damages in circumstances it thinks fit. So the payout is not capped at your repair bill.
Where you file depends on the money value. After the rules notified on 30 December 2021, the tiers are:
One thing that surprises people: the tier is set by the price you paid for the product or service, not by how much compensation you are claiming. A cheap product that causes a huge injury is still filed by its purchase price. Source: Press Information Bureau, 2021 jurisdiction rules.
A good first step, and a free one, is the National Consumer Helpline on 1915, which can push for a settlement before you file. When you are ready to file, see how to file a consumer court complaint, and to do it online use the e-Daakhil filing portal guide. For the bigger picture of using your rights against a large body, The RTI Playbook is worth a read.
Tip: file within the limitation period. Section 69 of the Act says a consumer complaint must normally be filed within two years of when the cause of action arose, though a commission can condone delay if you show a good reason.
Product liability turns on proof that a defect caused the harm, so preserve the evidence.
Section 87 lists the escape routes, so plan for them. A product liability action cannot be brought against the seller if, at the time of the harm, the product was misused, altered, or modified. So if the other side can show you tampered with the cooker or ran it against the instructions, your claim weakens.
For claims based on missing warnings or instructions, the manufacturer is not liable if: the product was bought by an employer for the workplace and the maker had warned that employer; or it was sold as a component or material and warnings were given to the buyer but the harm came from the final product it went into; or it was a product meant to be used only under an expert's supervision and the maker had reasonably warned those experts; or you were under the influence of alcohol or an unprescribed drug while using it. Finally, a maker is not liable for failing to warn about a danger that is obvious or commonly known. Source: Section 87, India Code.
None of these wipe out a genuine claim. They just mean you should keep your own conduct clean and your evidence tight.
A warranty claim is a contract remedy to get the product repaired, replaced, or refunded. Product liability, under Chapter VI, Sections 82 to 87 of the Consumer Protection Act 2019, is a claim for money compensation for the harm a defective product caused, such as injury, damage to your other property, or worse. You can pursue both together.
Yes. Product liability is not a warranty claim, so an expired warranty does not by itself end your right. What matters is that a defect caused harm. You do, however, have to file within the limitation period. Section 69 sets it at two years from when the cause of action arose, and a commission can condone delay only for a good reason.
It depends on what you paid for the product or service. Up to ₹50 lakh goes to the District Commission, more than ₹50 lakh and up to ₹2 crore to the State Commission, and above ₹2 crore to the National Commission. These figures come from the jurisdiction rules notified on 30 December 2021. The value of the compensation you seek does not decide the tier.
Possibly. Section 39 lets the consumer commission award compensation for loss or injury caused by the other side's negligence, and its proviso gives the commission power to grant punitive damages where it thinks fit. Punitive damages are not automatic. They are given at the commission's discretion in fitting cases.
Section 86 helps here. A seller who is not the manufacturer can be held liable if the maker's identity is unknown, or is known but cannot be served or reached under Indian law. So if you cannot trace the manufacturer, you can still proceed against the seller you bought from.