Sub-inspector gets compensation for lost smartphone after years of legal battle

A police sub-inspector had to wage years of legal battle to receive compensation for a smartphone misplaced by a service centre during repair. 

On June 28, 2019, Shivanand Arenad, then posted at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Hubballi, gave his Samsung S6 Edge for repair to a service centre in Raichur after it developed issues related to touch and display. 

Arenad was in Raichur on official duties. He had bought the handset for Rs 59,900 in 2015. 

Tarun Enterprises, the service centre, quoted Rs 12,000 for the repair and promised to deliver the handset in five days. However, it never returned the handset and also stopped communicating with Arenad, who had gone back to his place of posting by then. 

In 2021, the sub-inspector served a legal notice on the service centre, but it didn't respond. He then approached the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission at Dharwad. 

BS Hosakeri, the counsel for the service centre, argued that Arenad's complaint was not maintainable and should be dismissed. He denied that the policeman had given the handset for repair. 

After perusing all the evidence, a three-member team of the commission concluded that the service centre had indeed received the handset from the sub-inspector and even given an acknowledgement. 

On February 14 this year, the commission ordered Tarun Enterprises to return Arenad's smartphone after receiving Rs 12,000 as the cost of the repair within a month. In case of failure to comply with the order, it should pay Arenad Rs 25,000 as the cost of the smartphone given the depreciation in its value over the years and Rs 5,000 as the cost of litigation. 

The judgement was delivered by VA Bolashetti, a woman member of the commission. 

It took Arenad another seven months to actually receive the compensation from the service centre, he said. He now plans to file a cheating case against the service centre. 

Arenad is currently posted at the railway police station in Vijayapura.