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An essay on Consumer
Protection
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Even after sixty years of independence, the
consumer is the most exploited segment of
Indian society. During British rule, the colonial
rulers exploited the Indian consumer to serve
their own interests. He was cheated and fleeceds
that wealth may continue to flow into England,
the homeland of the imperialist rulers. However,
things did not change even after independence.
The consumer continued to be exploited and
cheated in various ways by the traders,
manufacturers, and industrialists in general. He
was cheated both in quantity and quality of the
goods he purchased. There was cheating at the
time of weighing the gods and fancy prices were
charged in the absence of any controls and tags
indicating the price of article he purchased. Even
when the price was indicated the words,” local
taxes extra” provided ample scope for cheating.
 Image Source: fiegerlaw.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/michigan-
consumer-protection-act.jpg

In the absence of any quality-control measures,

adulterated goods were sold to him. Essential
consumer items like milk, ghee, condiments,
pulses, rice, wheat, etc., were all adulterated and
sometimes such adulteration proved to be a
serious health hazard. Even medicines he
purchased were spurious and of inferior quality,
sometimes resulting even in the death of the
patient concerned. But no effective steps were
taken to check such exploitation. The consumer
remained helpless because he did not have any
organized body or union of his own. Even when
now and then, such organizations have been
formed, they have remained helpless before the
subtle ways and organized strength of traders,
manufacturers and industrialists.

It is only recently that it has dawned on the

power that the poor consumer has his own rights,
that he is the backbone of the national economy,
that the farmer, producer and the manufacture
flourish only because the goods are needed by the
consumer and they are sure that he would
purchase, even if they ate of an inferior quality
and exorbitantly priced. It is only recently that it
has been recognized that the consumer has his
own rights which need to be protected. These
rights are (i) the right of safety and the right to be
protected against the marketing of goods which
are health hazards or pose a danger to life itself.
(ii) The right to be informed, so that he may
protect himself against fraudulent, deceitful or
misleading information, advertising, labeling, or
other such practices, and to be given the facts he
needs to make a suitable choice. (iii) The right to
choose and to be assured, as far as possible,
access to a variety of products and services at
competitive prices and in cases of industries in
which free competition is not workable to be
assured of satisfactory quality and service at fair
prices, and (iv) the right to be heard and thus to
be assured that the will be protected by law and
his interests receive full and sympathetic
consideration in the formulation of government
policy.

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It is only after decades of continued exploitation,

that attention has been focused on the
consumer’s plight. Several steps have been
recently taken to protect his interests. To check
hoarding and black marketing, both retailers and
wholesalers were ordered to display a list of the
stock with them. The use of labels and price tags
was made a legal necessity. Now it is also
proposed that the cliché “Local Taxes extra”
should go as it leads to over-charging and
avoidable exploitation of the consumer.

The Weights and Measures Act, ensures that only

the correct and standard measures are to be used
by the traders. But even if correct weight and
Measures are used it in no way provides enough
safeguard against cheating by under-weighing in
various subtle ways. There is also the Monopolies
and Restrictive Trade Practices Act. It is expected
to take care of the interests of the consumers, but
in practice it has remained ineffective, and of no
help at all to the consumer.

Efforts have also been made to ensure that only

goods of a standard quality are sold. There is an
act to check adulteration of milk, ghee, and other
consumer items, but the law has remained
ineffective in this respect also. The inspectors
appointed for the purpose are bribed and they
easily certify that the goods sold are of standard
quality. Separate courts to try economic offences
have been established but they too have failed to
provide any effective protection to the consumer.
However the Indian standard Institute has been
more successful in this respect. Goods marked
ISI have been more successful in this respect.
Goods marked ISI are certainly of a better quality
than the goods which do not bear this mark.
Consumers in increasing numbers are now
purchasing ISI marked goods.

The Consumers Protection Act was passed in

December 1986. It seeks, “to provide for better
protection of the interests of consumers and for
that purpose to make provision for the
establishment of consumer councils and other
authorities for the settlement of consumer’s
disputes and for matters corrected therewith”
(Preamble). This act is enacted to strengthen the
already present legislations in order to protect
the interest of consumers in a better way. It was
hailed as a very important legislation for
protecting the consumers against exploitation by
traders. For the first time the Government
brought within the purview of such legislation
even the public sector enterprises enabling
consumers to complain against both the private
and public sectors in respect of any defect in a
product or deficiency in service,. Areas of the
public sector including banking, insurance,
transport, information dissemination etc., were
opened up for consumer’s complaints. It was for
these reasons that the enactment of this Act was
hailed by the consumers.

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The Act provides for the setting up of

quasijuducial machinery for redressed of
consumer-grievances. This machinery is in the
shape of “courts” at the district level presided
over by officers of the status of district judges,
higher “courts” at the level of states and Union
Territories presided over by officers of the status
of High Court Judges, and at the national level,
the National Commission, presided over by a
person of the status of a Supreme Court Judge.
Each of these “courts” is to have additional
personalities of eminence in the field of trade,
education etc., to assist the judges.

But, the position has not much improved. The

States and Union Territories have filed affidavits
before the Supreme Court showing the progress,
“They have made in setting up these “courts” ”.
The affidavits in fact reveal a pretty grim picture
showing an utter lack of seriousness on the part
of the States to fulfill their statutory obligations.
One common complaint appearing in these
affidavits to justify the failure of States in not
having set up the various redressal bodies,
particularly at the district levels, where they are
most needed—is that of financial constraint.

As there is not much substance in such

complaints, the Supreme Court took notice of
these commissions of the State Government and
issued stiff directives to them to fulfill their
obligations within six weeks. This was in
September 1989. In November, the States were
given another six weeks. The directives did help
to shake up the State Government and since then
they have been filing ling affidavits about the
action taken. The operations of these courts,
wherever they have become really functional;
have generated quite an awakening among the
consumers. ‘The consumers’ organizations all
over the country should file writ petitions in their
High Courts for further compelling the States to
expeditiously deal with this important matter.

It has been recognized that competition is

necessary for consumer-protection and the
elimination of various malpractices. To provide
such a competition a network of Co-operative
stores has been established throughout the
country, in all major towns and cities. It was
hoped that such competition would check price
rise as also compel the traders to sell goods only
of standard quality. But such Co-operative stores
have, by and large, remained ineffective largely
owing to Bureaucratic delays and the inefficiency
which is the bane of all Government
departments, in general.

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More recently, a consumer protection

department has been established in Bombay. It
organized raids and the shops and god owns of
hoarders and black marketers indulging in
malpractices were raided. Now the Department
has its sub-offices functioning in co-operation
with other government departments, in such
major cities as Delhi. The department has also
tried to create consumer awareness. It has been
publishing articles in newspapers, popular
Journals, and distributing pamphlets etc., to
educate the consumer and make him conscious of
his rights and the ways in which he can seek
redress. With growing awareness among the
consumers, the consumer justice is making
progress steadily.

In short, consumer protection is possible even in

India. Government Acts, consumer-
organizations, concerted and sustained effort I
consumer education can do much. The consumer
himself must be gradually built up. Co-operation
of all is needed to better the lot of the poor
consumer and save him from exploitation at
every step.

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