Canberra, Jun 19 (IANS): An Australian court on Tuesday asked Apple to pay a fine worth $6.6 million for misleading customers who bought its devices between February 2015 and February 2016.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) filed a lawsuit in the Australian Federal Court against Apple and its subsidiary in the country after investigating hundreds of customer complaints regarding to the "error 53", reports Efe news.

This technical failure disabled some iPhones and iPads after users downloaded an update to Apple's iOS operating system.

Apple admitted that it refused to repair the devices of at least 275 affected customers in Australia, claiming the devices had already been repaired by a third party.

"If a product is faulty, customers are legally entitled to a repair or a replacement under the Australian Consumer Law, and sometimes even a refund," ACCC Commissioner Sarah Court said.

After the ACCC notified the US-based company of its investigation into the case, Apple implemented a programme to compensate the affected customers, which are estimated to be about 5,000, added the government regulator.