Consumers and Consumer Courts 

In Indian democracy, the judicial courts which have played a vital role and are regarded as “the third pillar of democracy” have, for some time come under a scanner for delaying the legal process. But there are some courts, which are changing this very definition of Indian judiciary. These are known as “Consumer Courts” and follow the philosophy of “Seller-Beware”. Jyoti Sharma of The Day After ties to find out the main reason behind the rising relevance of Consumer Courts in present time.  

Basically formulated on the Consumer Protection Act 1986, under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Consumer Courts are the handy weapon for the consumers to ensure accountability on the part of the sellers, as well as compensation for deficiency in goods and services. In the present age, where the practices of fraud and adulteration are on rise, these courts are the only rays of hope for miserable consumers. 

Unlike existing court laws, which are punitive or preventive in nature, Consumer Courts’ provisions are compensatory in nature. These courts are meant to provide simple, speedy and inexpensive redressal to the consumers’ grievances, and relief and compensation wherever needed.  

The jurisdiction of consumer court is universal and covers public, private and cooperative sectors. In spite of great reluctance and resistance from well-entrenched bureaucracies in Railways and Telecommunication departments, they have all come under the purview of the Consumer Protection Act of consumer courts. Likewise, the services of doctors, lawyers and others, as also public hospitals and housing sector also fall within the reach of the Consumer Courts.  

There are three levels of Consumer Courts. First, there is the district court, called District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum. It entertains claims up to Rs. 5 lakh. Next is the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, which is an appeal court from District Forum, and entertains claims between Rs. 5 lakh and Rs. 20 lakh. At the national level, there is National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, which has jurisdiction on claims beyond Rs 20 lakh. This court entertains appeals from State Commission. Special Leave of appeal from the National Commission is made to the Supreme Court. 

Business or commercial disputes are not entertained in Consumer Courts, though a purchaser of a machine for self-employment can approach the Consumer Court. Otherwise, only consumers of goods or services can approach the consumer court for compensation against defect in a product or deficiency in service. Consumers of totally free services, e.g., a charitable dispensary, cannot approach the court. 

The procedure for filing a complaint and seeking redressal is simple. A complaint can be filed either in National Commission, State Commission or District Forum depending on the total amount of money involved as costs and compensation. Filing fee for a consumer dispute complaint also depends on the value of goods, service and compensation claimed by complainant.   

At the District Forum, Rs. 100 is charged for up to Rs. one lakh; Rs. 200 for Rs. one lack and above but less than Rs. five lack; Rs. 400 for Rs. five lakh and above but less than Rs. ten lakh; and Rs. 500 for Rs. ten lakh and above but less than Rs. 20 lakh. At the State Commission, Rs. 500 is charged for twenty lakh and above but less than Rs.50 lakh; Rs. 2000 for Rs. 50 lakh and above but less than Rs. 1 crore and at national commission, Rs. 5000 is charged for Rs. 1 crore and above. The fee is required to be deposited at the time of filing the complaint.  

The complainant or his authorized agent are required to submit in person three to five copies of the complaint on plain paper (depending on the number or opposite parties) with all the essential information, along with supporting papers and correspondence, and also specifying the amount of compensation demanded. Application can also be sent by post to the appropriate Forum/Commission.  

Beside this, the District Forum, the State Commission or the National Commission shall not admit a complaint unless it is filed within two years from the date on which cause of action has arisen. If admitted, the court will issue a notice to the opponent or opponents who are expected to reply within 30 days. The case can be argued personally. There is no need to appoint a lawyer, though lawyers are allowed to appear before consumer courts. 

A case is supposed to be decided within 90 days but, if testing of a product is required, it may take up to 150 days. Only one adjournment is allowed during the trial.  Unfortunately, many courts give adjournments overlooking this rule, which becomes a major factor for delays in consumer courts.  

However, in most cases the consumer gets justice in the end because he approaches the court only when the quality of goods and services is sub-standard. Depending on the facts and circumstances, the Redressal Forums give order for removal of defects from the goods or services; replacement of the goods; refund of the price paid; award of compensation for the loss or injury suffered and discontinuance of unfair trade practices or restrictive trade practices or direction not to repeat them. The order of Consumer Court is enforceable by invoking Section 27, whereby a fine and imprisonment are prescribed on defaulters. 

Since Consumer Courts have been in operation for about 20 years, a number of deficiencies and shortcomings in its operation have also come to light along with its worthiness. For example, there has been lots of dissatisfaction among the claimants and defendants because of the prolonged litigation involved.  

Ninety per cent of cases went beyond the stipulated period of 90 days, with most lasting between one and five years.  Since the time of their inception till the end of 2004, National Commission disposed only 78.20 per cent of cases; State Commissions disposed 67.89 per cent and District Forum disposed 88.64 per cent cases, respectively. There are 8,036 cases still pending in National Commission, 1,19,783 in State Commissions and 2,23,380 in District Forums. 

The disposal of cases within the stipulated period of 90 to 150 days as contemplated in the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 has not met due to lack of adequate supporting staff, dearth of accommodation, insufficient financial support and other infra-structural bottlenecks.  

In order to enable the Consumer Courts to overcome the shortage of staff and infrastructure, the Central Government had sanctioned Rs. 10.2 crore to newly created Consumer Forums in 13 states during 2004-2005. These funds were meant to be utilized by the States/UTs for construction/purchase of building, office equipment, furniture, reference books, etc., for State Commission/District Forums.

Apart from this, the Government has also proposed to create additional 46 benches keeping in view the heavy workload in the State Commissions. This effort will help in overcoming pendency of cases in the Consumer Courts.  

However, the relevance of Consumer Courts in present time cannot be questioned on account of its few drawbacks. Unlike ordinary courts where a person ends up spending huge amounts of money as court fees and to lawyers, and is yet does not get speedy relief, Consumer Court’s judicial process is comparatively much better. A senior advocate, Vir Prakash, fully agrees with this fact. According to him, “Consumer Courts are much better in their performance. While in ordinary courts, people have to solemnly rely on advocates for getting justice, in a Consumer Courts, a person can directly and personally discuss his problem with judges and can seek grievance at low cost. Most importantly, the judges of Consumer Courts do not believe in delaying cases as long as possible and make every necessary effort to sort out matter on time”.     

The Consumer Court rulings on cases related to big giant companies like Coca Cola and Cadbury Chocolate on the account of impurities found in their products are some illustrations that are quite apt to describe the relevance of Consumer Courts in India.    

There is no doubt that the very threat of going to the Consumer Court has been helping many consumers in today’s era. Instead of merely grumbling, it is high time that consumers use this powerful weapon to establish their right for good quality products and efficient services. There is no substitute for self-help through the Consumer Protection Act, in spite of its minor drawbacks.