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Sony BRAVIA warranty dispute and Rs 5 crore legal notice

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A Sony BRAVIA K-55XR70 bought in India in September 2024 developed vertical lines across its panel in July 2026, in the 22nd month of a three-year warranty.[1] He states that Sony India's authorised service technician photographed the panel, sent the images to a team that did not attend, and that the claim was refused as external damage with a repair quoted at Rs 29,130 (about US$308).[1][2] He says he asked in writing for the test or report behind the finding and received none.[1]

He says that on September 1, 2026 he received a six-page legal notice on the letterhead of the New Delhi firm Rise Legal, stated to be issued on the instructions of Sony India Private Limited, demanding that he delete the YouTube videos, the publication on his X account and the website, and tender an unconditional apology within seven days, failing which it threatens civil and criminal action with damages of at least Rs 5 crore (about US$529,000).[3][4][2] He published all six pages on his own website on a domain he registered on July 7, 2026 in the course of this dispute.[5][6]

Neither Sony India nor Rise Legal has publicly confirmed sending the notice, and no outlet that reported the dispute obtained a response from either.[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]

Purchase and the three-year warranty claim

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The owner states the television was bought on September 20, 2024 for Rs 1,50,031 (about US$1,590), and that he added a two-year extended warranty from the retailer Croma the same day.[1][2] The three-year term is documented by Sony India itself: its Special Warranty Offer article lists the K-55XR70 among the models carrying three years of comprehensive warranty on purchases between September 6 and November 10, 2024, a window that contains the stated purchase date.[16] Sony India's standard term for televisions outside its OLED series is one year.[17] Sony India's standard warranty terms exclude damage from any external cause beyond Sony's control.[17]

He says the set was wall mounted, never moved and never knocked, and that vertical lines appeared at the top left on July 2, 2026 and spread, with no dent, crack or scratch on it.[1]

Assessment from photographs

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By his account a technician attended on July 3, 2026, photographed the screen with a phone, and sent the images over WhatsApp to a team that did not come to the house; that team returned a finding of external damage.[1] He quotes the rejection wording from Sony's email as the Display panel has been damage due to external cause.[1]

He says the decision and a bill for Rs 29,130 arrived by email on July 14, 2026, that he asked how the finding was reached, and that the case was later closed on the ground that he had not confirmed, which he disputes.[1]

He recorded a second inspection on August 1, 2026 and published it.[1] In the recording the attending technician gives his name and his employer, and is asked what qualification he holds.[18]

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The published notice runs to six pages, is headed BY SPEED POST / E-MAIL, carries the Rise Legal web address, and ends with a signature over For Rise Legal, the printed name Aquib Ali and the word Partner.[19][4] Rise Legal is a New Delhi firm launched in November 2022, and its own site lists Aquib Ali as a partner.[20][21]

Its subject line pairs a demand to cease publishing content it calls defamatory with a claim over unauthorised use of the SONY BRAVIA trademark.[19] Paragraph 11 states that the recipient has prima facie committed an offence under section 356(2) of the BNS, 2023, the criminal defamation provision of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.[3][22] Paragraph 13 sets the seven-day deadline and the figure of Rs 5 crore.[4]

The notice gives an account of the service history, citing a job card dated July 3, 2026 with the reported symptom recorded as Panel Damage, naming the attending engineer and his qualification, and dating Sony's communications to July 7, July 14 and July 29, 2026.[23][24] It states that the recipient replied on August 3, 2026 attaching a YouTube link and a link to his X account, and that its client learned of the video's contents, and of the website, on opening that link.[24][25]

Across the six pages the notice names no test performed on the panel, attaches no technical report, and reproduces no photograph of the damage it says was found.[19][23][24][25][3][4]

SonyBravia.online, the site the notice names

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The notice names the offending website as SonyBravia.online four times across three pages and never names sonybravia.com, the address that carries the campaign and that the outlets covered.[23][25][3][1][10] The owner registered sonybravia.com on July 7, 2026 and sonybravia.online on July 13, 2026, on the same two nameservers.[6][26]

Press coverage

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The dispute was reported from September 3, 2026 by Times Now, News18, Digit, LatestLY, Sportskeeda and Gizbot, and in Hindi by Aaj Tak and Navbharat Times.[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] Every report worked from the owner's published record.[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] Times Now wrote that it had contacted Sony India and would update its story when it received a response; no such update has appeared.[7] Times Now also noted that the claims made by the customer have not been independently verified.[7] LatestLY added that A legal notice is not a court judgment and does not establish that either party is legally right or wrong.[10]

No outlet reproduced the six pages or stated that it had authenticated them with Sony India or Rise Legal, and most do not name the firm at all.[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]

The owner says a consumer complaint is filed and pending, that it is the forum where both sides are tested on affidavit, and that he has invited Sony to have the panel examined by a laboratory there. He says he will remove nothing and apologise for nothing.[5] None of those reports describes a suit or criminal complaint arising from the notice.[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 "The case, in full". sonybravia.com. Archived from the original on 2026-09-06. Retrieved 2026-09-06. A personal consumer-awareness website published by the television's owner.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Reference exchange rates, US dollar base, September 4, 2026". Frankfurter, from European Central Bank reference rates. 2026-09-04. Retrieved 2026-09-05. Returns 94.49 Indian rupees to the US dollar.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Legal notice of September 1, 2026, page 5 of 6". sonybravia.com. 2026-09-01. Archived from the original on 2026-09-04. Retrieved 2026-09-05. Page image published by the notice's recipient.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Legal notice of September 1, 2026, page 6 of 6". sonybravia.com. 2026-09-01. Archived from the original on 2026-09-04. Retrieved 2026-09-05. Page image published by the notice's recipient.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Sony's legal notice, and where we stand". sonybravia.com. 2026-09-02. Archived from the original on 2026-09-03. Retrieved 2026-09-05. Published by the television's owner. The live page carries all six pages of the notice as page images; the archived snapshot predates their publication.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "RDAP record for sonybravia.com". Verisign registry RDAP service. Retrieved 2026-09-05. Registration event dated July 7, 2026.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 Upadhyay, Bharat (2026-09-03). "Sony Bravia TV Worth Rs 1.5 Lakh Develops 'Green Lines' Within Warranty; Customer Gets Rs 5 Crore Notice". Times Now. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 "Sony Bravia TV Worth Rs 1.5 Lakh Get 'Green Lines' Under Warranty; Company Responds With Rs 5 Crore Legal Notice After 'Website Protest'". News18. 2026-09-03. Archived from the original on 2026-09-03. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Singh, Ashish (2026-09-03). "SorryBravia: Sony Bravia customer launches website after his Rs 1.5 lakh TV develops green lines, claims Rs 5 crore notice". Digit. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 Meera (2026-09-03). "Laxmi Kant Tiwari Buys SonyBravia.com Over TV Warranty Dispute, Then Receives INR 5 Crore Legal Notice". LatestLY. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Majumdar, Ripan (2026-09-03). "How a broken Sony Bravia TV led to an 8-figure lawsuit". Sportskeeda. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 Martin, Carlsen (2026-09-03). "Bought an Expensive Sony Bravia TV? This Warranty Dispute Raises Major After-Sales Concerns". Gizbot. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 "पहले खरीदा 1.5 लाख का Sony Bravia TV और फिर मिला 5 करोड़ का लीगल नोटिस, हैरान कर देगा ये केस". Aaj Tak (in हिन्दी). 2026-09-04. Retrieved 2026-09-05. Hindi-language report on the dispute.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 Chaurasia, Shishir (2026-09-04). "'एक आम आदमी अकेले बिलियन डॉलर की कंपनी से भिड़ गया है, अभी तक पीछे नहीं हटा है'". Navbharat Times (in हिन्दी). Retrieved 2026-09-05. Hindi-language report on the dispute.
  15. ↑ "News". riselegal.in. Retrieved 2026-09-05. The firm's own news page carries no item about Sony India or this dispute.
  16. ↑ "Special Warranty Offer for all India except Kerala (article 00346354)". Sony India. Archived from the original on 2025-10-06. Retrieved 2026-09-05. Lists, for purchases between 6 Sep 2024 and 10 Nov 2024, "43 inches and above - 3 Years Comprehensive", with K-55XR70 among the models named.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "Warranty Information (article 00206932)". Sony India. Archived from the original on 2024-02-27. Retrieved 2026-09-05. Gives the standard television term as "All other TV Models: 1 year".
  18. ↑ "Sony (Sorry) Bravia: Warranty Denied From a WhatsApp Photo. Service Visit Caught on Camera". YouTube. KGP Talkie. 2026-09-01. Retrieved 2026-09-05. Recording of the August 1, 2026 inspection, published by the television's owner.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 "Legal notice of September 1, 2026, page 1 of 6". sonybravia.com. 2026-09-01. Archived from the original on 2026-09-04. Retrieved 2026-09-05. Page image published by the notice's recipient.
  20. ↑ "Former Phoenix Legal Partner Ritika Ganju announces launch of new firm - Rise Legal". Bar and Bench. 2022-11-10. Retrieved 2026-09-05. Names Aquib Ali among the four founding partners.
  21. ↑ "Aquib Ali". riselegal.in. Retrieved 2026-09-05. The firm's own profile page gives the designation Partner.
  22. ↑ "The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (No. 45 of 2023)" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2023-12-25. Retrieved 2026-09-05. Section 356, "Of defamation".
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 "Legal notice of September 1, 2026, page 2 of 6". sonybravia.com. 2026-09-01. Archived from the original on 2026-09-04. Retrieved 2026-09-05. Page image published by the notice's recipient.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 "Legal notice of September 1, 2026, page 3 of 6". sonybravia.com. 2026-09-01. Archived from the original on 2026-09-04. Retrieved 2026-09-05. Page image published by the notice's recipient.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 "Legal notice of September 1, 2026, page 4 of 6". sonybravia.com. 2026-09-01. Archived from the original on 2026-09-04. Retrieved 2026-09-05. Page image published by the notice's recipient.
  26. ↑ "RDAP record for sonybravia.online". Radix registry RDAP service. Retrieved 2026-09-05. Registration event dated July 13, 2026.
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