The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (in short,
‘the Act’), is a benevolent social legislation that lays down the rights of
the consumers and provides their for promotion and protection of the rights
of the consumers. The first and the only Act of its kind in India, it has
enabled ordinary consumers to secure less expensive and often speedy
redressal of their grievances. By spelling out the rights and remedies of
the consumers in a market so far dominated by organized manufacturers and
traders of goods and providers of various types of services, the Act makes
the dictum, caveat emptor
(‘buyer
beware’) a thing of the past.
The Act mandates establishment of Consumer
Protection Councils at the Centre as well as in each State and District,
with a view to promoting consumer awareness.
The Central Council is headed by Minster,
In-charge of the Department of Consumer Affairs in the Central Government
and the State Councils by the Minister In-charge of the Consumer Affairs in
the State Governments. It also provides for a 3-tier structure of the
National and State Commissions and District Forums for speedy resolution of
consumer disputes.
To provide inexpensive, speedy and summary
redressal of consumer disputes, quasi-judicial bodies have been set up in
each District and State and at the National level, called the District
Forums, the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions and the National
Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission respectively. At present,
there are 629 District Forums and 35 State Commissions with the National
Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) at the apex. NCDRC has its
office at Upbhokta Naya Bhawan, 'F' Block, GPO Complex, INA, New Delhi-110
023.
Each District Forum is headed by a person
who is or has been or is eligible to be appointed as a District Judge and
each State Commission is headed by a person who is or has been a Judge
of High Court.
The National Commission was constituted in
the year 1988. It is headed by a sitting or retired Judge of the Supreme
Court of India. The National Commission is presently headed by Hon’ble Mr.
Justice Ashok Bhan, former Judge of the Supreme Court of India as President
and has seven Members, viz. Hon’ble
Mr. Anupam Dasgupta, Hon’ble Mr. S. K. Naik, Hon’ble Mr. Justice R.C. Jain,
Hon'ble Mrs.
Vineeta Rai, Hon'ble Mr. Vinay Kumar, Hon'ble Mr. Suresh Chandra & Hon'ble Mr. Justice V.B Gupta,.
The provisions of this Act cover ‘goods’ as
well as ‘services’. The goods are those which are manufactured or produced
and sold to consumers through wholesalers and retailers. The services are
in the nature of transport, telephone, electricity, housing, banking,
insurance, medical treatment, etc.
A written complaint, can be filed before
the District Consumer Forum for pecuniary value of upto Rupees twenty lakh,
State Commission for value upto Rupees one crore and the National Commission
for value above Rupees one crore, in respect of defects in goods and or
deficiency in service. The service can be of any description and the
illustrations given above are only indicative. However, no complaint can be
filed for alleged deficiency in any service that is rendered free of charge
or under a contract of personal service.
The remedy under the Consumer Protection
Act is an alternative in addition to that already available to the aggrieved
persons/consumers by way of civil suit. In the complaint/appeal/petition
submitted under the Act, a consumer is not required to pay any court fees
but only a nominal fee.
Consumer Fora proceedings are summary in
nature. The endeavor is made to grant relief to the aggrieved consumer as
quickly as in the quickest possible, keeping in mind the provisions of the
Act which lay down time schedule for disposal of cases.
If a consumer is not satisfied by the
decision of a District Forum, he can appeal to the State Commission. Against
the order of the State Commission a consumer can come to the National
Commission.
In order to help achieve the objects of the
Consumer Protection Act, the National Commission has also been conferred
with the powers of administrative control over all the State Commissions by
calling for periodical returns regarding the institution, disposal and
pendency of cases. The National Commission is empowered to issue
instructions regarding (1) adoption of uniform procedure in the hearing of
the matters, (2) prior service of copies of documents produced by one party
to the opposite parties, (3) speedy grant of copies of documents, and (4)
generally over-seeing the functioning of the State Commissions and the
District Forums to ensure that the objects and purposes of the Act are best
served, without interfering with their quasi-judicial freedom.
The Registry of the National Commission is
at the Ground Floor, Upbhokta Nyay Bhawan, 'F' Block, GPO Complex,
INA, New Delhi-110 023
which remains open on all working days. For any enquiry with the Registry of
the National Commission, one can contact on Telephone Nos. 011-24608801,
24608802, 24608803, 24608804 and Fax No. 24658509. The filing timings are from
10.00 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. Every matter filed with the Registry is listed on
the 7th day of its filing for admission before the National
Commission. Functioning of District Forum, State Commission and National
Commission is consumer friendly, and thus a consumer can file a complaint
and also address arguments in person. In genuine cases where the
complainant / appellant / petitioner before the National Commission is
unable to engage the services of an advocate legal aid is provided by the
Commission free of charge.
Contact Address
Upbhokta Nyay Bhawan,
'F' Block, GPO Complex,
INA, New Delhi-110 023
Fax No: 24658509
PBX No : 011-24608801,
24608802, 24608803, 24608804
