Defects in Goods and Deficiency in Service — MCQs

All questions with answers and explanations

Read the full set here, or use the practice card above to test yourself one question at a time.

1. Under Section 2(10) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, 'defect' applies to

   • Services only
   • Goods or products (correct answer)
   • Government offices only
   • Advertisements only

   Explanation. 'Defect' under Section 2(10) is defined specifically in relation to goods or products.

2. A trader advertises a claim about a product's performance that the product does not actually meet, even though no separate law or contract required that specific standard. Can this still amount to a 'defect'?

   • No, only a legal or contractual standard can create a defect
   • Yes, because 'defect' includes falling short of any claim made by the trader about the goods (correct answer)
   • No, advertised claims are never relevant to a defect claim
   • Yes, but only if the product also violates a government regulation

   Explanation. 'Defect' under Section 2(10) expressly includes a shortfall against a standard 'claimed by the trader in any manner whatsoever' about the goods.

3. Under Section 2(11), 'deficiency' in a service expressly includes

   • Only intentional fraud by the service provider
   • Any act of negligence, omission, or commission causing loss or injury, and deliberate withholding of relevant information (correct answer)
   • Only delays exceeding six months
   • Only losses exceeding one lakh rupees

   Explanation. Section 2(11) expressly writes negligence and deliberate withholding of relevant information into the definition of 'deficiency'.

4. How does proof of a defect in goods usually differ from proof of a deficiency in a service?

   • There is no difference in proof
   • A defect in goods is often proved by a laboratory test, and a deficiency in a service by evidence, affidavits and documents (correct answer)
   • A deficiency is proved only by a laboratory test
   • A defect is proved only by oral evidence

   Explanation. Goods can be sent to an appropriate laboratory for analysis or test (section 38(2)(c)). A service is judged on the evidence, affidavits and documents.

5. In Indian Medical Association v. V.P. Shantha, what did the Supreme Court hold about medical services?

   • Medical services are entirely exempt from the Consumer Protection Act
   • Medical services rendered for consideration fall within 'service', and patients availing them are 'consumers' (correct answer)
   • Only government hospitals can be sued under the Act
   • Doctors can only be proceeded against by the Medical Council, never by a consumer forum

   Explanation. The Supreme Court held that medical services rendered for consideration fall within 'service' under the Act, making patients 'consumers' with a right to complain of deficiency.

6. In V.P. Shantha, which medical treatment did the Supreme Court hold to fall outside 'service'?

   • Treatment given at a private hospital
   • Treatment rendered entirely free of charge, with no part of it charged for (correct answer)
   • Treatment given by a specialist doctor
   • Treatment given during an emergency

   Explanation. V.P. Shantha held that medical service is a service, except where it is rendered completely free of charge to every patient, or under a contract of personal service. Section 2(42) excludes both.

7. The reasoning in V.P. Shantha, applying 'deficiency in service' to doctors, extends equally to which other category of service providers?

   • No other category — the holding applies only to doctors
   • Banks, insurers, transporters, and other persons undertaking services for consideration (correct answer)
   • Only lawyers and advocates
   • Only educational institutions

   Explanation. The same statutory logic applied to doctors in V.P. Shantha applies to any service provider — banks, insurers, transporters, builders, and so on.

8. How is a defect in goods or a deficiency in a service usually proved before a Commission?

   • Goods are often tested in a laboratory, and a service is judged on evidence, affidavits and documents (correct answer)
   • The service provider automatically bears the entire burden with no input from the consumer
   • No evidence is required in any consumer complaint
   • Only oral testimony under cross-examination is permitted, exactly as in a criminal trial

   Explanation. Under section 38(2)(c) a sample of the goods can be sent to an appropriate laboratory. For a service, the proof is by evidence, affidavits and documents.

9. A hospital argues a consumer forum has no jurisdiction over a doctor's negligent treatment because medical discipline belongs only to professional bodies. Applying V.P. Shantha, is this argument correct?

   • Yes, professional bodies have exclusive jurisdiction over doctors
   • No, professional regulatory oversight does not exclude the concurrent jurisdiction of a consumer forum for a service rendered for consideration (correct answer)
   • Yes, but only for surgeries, not for general consultations
   • No, but only government hospitals can be proceeded against

   Explanation. V.P. Shantha expressly rejected the immunity argument — professional body oversight does not exclude a consumer forum's concurrent jurisdiction over deficiency in a paid medical service.

10. A doctor administers a high-risk medication without checking the patient's known allergy history, causing permanent disability, at a fee-charging hospital. Does this satisfy the definition of 'deficiency'?

    • No, because the treatment was for a medical condition, not a commercial product
    • Yes, because it is a clear act of negligence causing injury during a service rendered for consideration (correct answer)
    • No, because only hospitals, not individual doctors, can be held liable
    • Yes, but only if the patient dies as a result

    Explanation. A negligent act causing injury during a paid service squarely satisfies 'deficiency' under Section 2(11), consistent with V.P. Shantha's extension of 'service' to fee-charging medical treatment.