Doctor's E20 Petrol Car Ordeal: 'I've Lost Faith In Maruti'

'I am now driving an electric vehicle. I have lost faith in petrol-run cars.'

For months, Dr Premraj Debta was caught in a frustrating cycle.

His new Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara hybrid SUV costing ₹20.5 lakh would suddenly stall, leaving him shuttling between the car dealership and petrol pumps, each blaming the other.

While the dealer alleged adulterated fuel, the petrol pumps insisted there was nothing wrong with the petrol they sold as no other customer complained except him.

After repeated breakdowns, mounting mental stress and no permanent solution, the Raipur-based Dr Debta, an MD with DNB in nephrology, a consultant nephrologist and kidney transplant physician, approached the consumer court.

In a significant ruling on Thursday, July 16, 2026, the consumer court held that Dr Debta's car was damaged because it was not compatible with E20 petrol and ruled in his favour.

The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Raipur ordered the car dealer to provide him a new car and an added compensation of ₹1 lakh for mental harassment caused to Dr Debta.

Noting that Dr Debta's car did not have an E20 petrol-supported engine, the Commission directed the dealership to provide a model compatible with the said fuel.

Maruti Suzuki has since said the Grand Vitara is E20-compliant and has indicated that it will challenge the verdict.

In this interview with Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff, Dr Debta recounts his months-long ordeal, why he took the matter to court, and why he believes the judgment vindicated his fight as a consumer.

When did you buy this car?

I bought this car in June 2024.

Did it start giving you trouble immediately or after some time?

When I bought that car from the Maruti dealer I was told that this was a December 2023 model car. And at that time I needed a car immediately for my needs so I bought the car instantly.

But the problem with my car started from November 11, 2024, five months after I bought the car.

What happened on November 11, 2024?

As I filled petrol and was leaving from the petrol pump the car started having trouble. There was an engine problem.

I could not figure out what was going wrong so I went to the showroom from where I bought the car.

And when they checked the car by releasing petrol from the car in a bottle there was a strange-coloured fluid settled down in the bottle and the petrol was floating above it.

I had not heard the word E20 till then and the car showroom people told me that the petrol I filled was adulterated.

So, I took that adulterated petrol and went to the petrol pump to lodge a complaint. To my surprise, later this petrol pump e-mailed me stating that there was no problem with the petrol that I filled in my car and it was not adulterated.

They further said there were many cars that filled petrol from them and none had complained that adulterated petrol was being sold from their petrol pump. They sent me back to the Maruti showroom again.

So what did you do next?

This process went on. It became a regular routine for me. I used to run around from showroom to petrol pump.

Everytime the showroom people used to empty my fuel tank and then blamed adulterated petrol that was being filled in my car and the petrol pump owners would say no other customer was complaining about their petrol except me.

Did you go on any road trip after the problem started?

No, after driving for 60 km the car used to just stall.

Again running from petrol pump to showroom became a routine task.

This situation went on till December 2024 and it got worse.

After a point of time, I used to drive only 10 km and the car would stop functioning all of a sudden.

Later, I got to see in the bottle that a curd-like liquid was formed at the bottom and petrol would float on the upper layer.

I was no expert and I had no idea what was going on.

The same was going at the Maruti showroom. No one knew what was wrong with my car.

They got an expert national team from Maruti to solve the problem in Raipur but they too could not solve it.

After December 2024 this became a monthly affair for me.

I got fed up by March next year and on March 29, 2025, I left my car at the Maruti showroom and walked out.

The Cost of the Ordeal

How much you pay for the car?

I paid Rs 2,050,000 as on-road price. But more than the cost of the car it was the mental harassment that I had to undergo.

Many times I used to visit patients the car would stall. Besides that there was a safety issue for me as a running car cannot suddenly stop.

Did you know about E20 petrol when you bought the car?

I had no idea. The judgment that went in my favour says that I was given an older car manufactured in January 2023. This was not an E20 supported car.

And further, the judgment says that my car was not an E20 supported technology car and since I was filling E20 fuel my car started giving problems.

I drive a petrol-driven car which is of 2013 make. I have not faced any problem with E20 petrol so far. So why were you having these problems?

I am quoting the consumer court judgment.

Till the judgment came in my favour I had no idea why my car was facing problems.

The court said my car got damaged because of E20 petrol.

As a customer, I only wanted my problem to get solved.

I bought the car from a reputed company. I did service regularly and if there is a problem in the car then it is the company's problem, not mine.

Fueling Doubts, and Court Victory

Did you fill petrol only from one particular petrol pump in Raipur or from other places too?

I filled petrol from different places and different companies, be it BPCL, HPCL or Indian Oil.

I faced no problem from June 2024 till November 2024. I had a hybrid car and I realised when my car stalled there was some defect in my car for sure.

I had this personal opinion that this hybrid car was giving me problems only because of the petrol that I was filling.

And the court proved my doubts right.

Maruti Suzuki has released a statement that the Grand Vitara is E20 compliant and they will contest the judgment in higher courts.

If they are saying this now, they should have solved the problem when I was facing trouble.

They also told me that my engine had gone kaput for which I will have to pay Rs 5.30 lakh as there was no warranty on that part.

And further to that they said there was no guarantee that my car will function properly in future too.

As a consumer then I had little option but to go to court because Maruti was saying even after paying Rs 5.30 lakhs they were not giving any guarantee on the engine.

Therefore, I requested them to give me a new car or refund my money.

The car was getting stalled regularly from November 2024 to March 2025 and yet I kept faith in the Maruti brand. They broke my trust and could never solve my problem.

Moving On to Electric

Which car do you drive now? Is it E20 complaint?

I am now driving an electric vehicle. I have lost faith in petrol-run cars.

The same thing is with diesel and hybrid cars. I just don't trust these cars though EV chargers are not available across different places where I go.

Sometimes I drive 300 km to see patients and I have to stop the car in between to charge my car for one hour.

But I prefer doing that rather than driving a petrol car.

What will you suggest to those who are driving E20 petrol cars?

I have lost faith in Maruti.

As far as E20 petrol is concerned I think this could be my individual problem and in my car in particular.

I cannot make a generalised statement because it was the consumer court that gave a statement on E20 petrol cars.

Will you take on Maruti as it is not going to pay you compensation?

I will fight against them if they challenge the consumer court decision. I believe in satya and truth never gets defeated. This is what I believe in.