Assertion (A): Under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, a product seller can be made to compensate a consumer for harm caused by a defective product that it sold.
Reason (R): Under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, a person who repairs or maintains a product in the course of business is also a product seller.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
Assertion (A): Under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, a product seller can be made to compensate a consumer for harm caused by a defective product that it sold. — True. Product liability covers a manufacturer or seller, and harm caused by a defective product manufactured or sold. So a seller can be made to pay.
Reason (R): Under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, a person who repairs or maintains a product in the course of business is also a product seller. — True. Repairing and maintaining in the course of business are named in the meaning of product seller.
Why R does not explain A?
R only tells who counts as a product seller. It says nothing about paying for harm. The real reason for A is product liability: the responsibility of a manufacturer or seller to compensate for any harm caused to a consumer by a defective product sold.
NCERT (2026-27 Edition): “Terms & Definitions … 10. Product Seller: Any person in the course of business imports, sells, distributes, leases, installs, prepares, labels, markets, repairs, maintains or otherwise involved in placing the product for commercial use or a service provider. |