Consumer Forum
Consumer Forum
Consumer Forum
Abstract: Consumer Court is the special purpose court, mainly in India that deals with cases regarding
consumer disputes and grievances. These are judiciary set ups by the government to protect the consumer
rights. Its main function is to maintain the fair practices by the sellers towards consumers. Consumers can file a
case against a seller if they are harassed or exploited by sellers. The court will only give a verdict in favour of
the consumers/customers if they have proof of exploitation, i.e., bills or other documents. If a consumer does not
have the proper documents required for filing a case then it would be very difficult for the consumer to win or
even file a case. A nation level court works for the whole country and deals with amount more than Rs 1 crore.
A state level court works at the state level with cases valuing less than 20 lakhs and : A district level court
works at the district level with cases valuing upto 20 lakhs. The District Consumer Forum is established in all
the District of India, The State Consumer Commission is established in all the State Capitals of India, The
“National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission” situated in New Delhi and the governing law is
"Consumer Protection Act, in India". It is important to note that the goods purchased or services availed for
commercial purposes cannot be challenged under the Consumer Protection Act of India.
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Date of Submission: 28-05-2019 Date of acceptance: 10-06-2019
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I. Introduction
Consumer protection is a group of laws and organizations designed to ensure the rights of consumers as
well as fair trade competition and the free flow of truthful information in the marketplace. The laws are designed
to prevent businesses that engage in fraud or specified unfair practices from gaining an advantage over
competitors; they may also provide additional protection for the weak and those unable to take care of
themselves. Consumer protection laws are a form of government regulation, which aim to protect the rights
of consumer.
In India, Consumer Protection Act of 1986 is the law governing consumer protection. Under this law,
Separate Consumer tribunals have been set up throughout India in each and every district in which a consumer
[complaint can be filed by both the consumer of a goods as well as of the services] can file his complaint on a
simple paper without paying any court fees and his complaint will be decided by the Presiding Officer of the
District Level. Appeal could be filed to the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions and after that to
the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC). The procedures in these tribunals are
relatively less formal and more people friendly and they also take less time to decide upon a consumer
dispute when compared to the years long time taken by the traditional Indian Judiciary. In recent years, many
effective judgement have been passed by some state and National Consumer Forums.
The Grievance redressal mechanism of an organization is the gauge to measure its efficiency and
effectiveness as it provides important feedback on the working of the Organization. The main purpose of a
Grievance Policy is to place an appropriate mechanism whereby the Customer who believe(s) that he/ she has
been wronged by any act of the Company is afforded a fair opportunity to redress his/ her Grievance. Putting the
importance and necessity of consumer protection and redressal of grievances in mind, this chapter reviews the
frameworks for consumer dispute resolution and redress in India.
on the paucity of laws in a particular area, the consumer protection groups can lobby for new laws or
amendments in existing law.
Reddy and Ramesh (1998)2 conducted a study on the role of an independent agency to protect the
consumer interest in twin cities of Hyderabad and Secundrabad. Hyderabad forum received 12,116 cases since
its inception, of which 8,051 (66%) have been dispensed of and 4,065 (34%) cases were pending. Study also
reported that only 19 per cent of them were fully aware of the Consumer Protection Acts and more than half of
the respondents were partially aware of the consumer rights and 30 per cent were not aware of it. Awareness of
consumer protection was more among men than the women. From the above studies reviewed it was clear that
maximum number of respondents were aware of consumer welfare programmers i.e., Consumer Protection Act
but very few consumers utilized the facilities.
Sreevidya (1993)3 in her dissertation work entitled „Consumer Justice and Public Utility Services‟
assesses the working formula under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 for rendering justice to the public utility
Services.
Lizzy (1996)4 in her PhD thesis entitled „Women and Consumer Protection‟ highlights the role of
women in promoting consumerism in Kerala. She also suggests various measures for the speedy functioning of
the consumer disputes redressal agencies in Kerala.
Sreevidya (1993)5 in her dissertation work entitled „Consumer Justice and Public Utility Services‟
assesses the working formula under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 for rendering justice to the public utility
Services.
Research Methodology:
The Data were classified, tabulated and arranged according to the needs of the study. The Annual
Reports from 31.12 2014 to 31.12.18 were analyzed. The present study has incorporated with the collection of
Secondary information from different relevant books, journals, published report of Government, articles, and
information has been collected from different websites for the study.
Techniques of analysis of data:
The collected data has been presented with the tables and descriptive analysis techniques like percentage etc.
Limitations of the Study:
This study totally based on evaluates the performance of Consumer Disputes Redressal Agencies regarding
number of cases filed/disposed of/ pending. The data were collected for Five years (2014-2018).
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Consumer Disputes And Consumer Redressal Forums In India
12 Banking Services
13 Sale and purchase of consumables and any other goods
14 Manufacturer of any goods
15 Any other service provider
16 Deficiency in service
17 Defect in goods
18 Main Service Providers in our country are:
19 Telecommunication companies
20 Electricity Distribution Companies
21 Builders
22 Shopkeepers
23 Manufacturer of Goods
24 Auto Companies
25 Banks
26 Transport Companies or Government including Railways
27 Service Stations
28 Repair Centers
The above mentioned list is not exhaustive. The categorization of disputes will depend upon the facts.
It is essential that public authorities have a place and play an active role in consumer policy and justice. The
simple fact that one or several authorities are responsible for consumer policy has an influence on consumer
protection and the role of consumer organizations. Some Member States have a single public authority that deals
with consumer law; some have several public authorities that are competent. Yet, in other Member States,
consumer organizations are the only body responsible for enforcement of consumer protection law.
Ta ble 1 .1
FUN C TI O N A L A ND N O N - F UN CT IO NA L
( S TA T E CO M M ISS IO NS /D I S TR IC T FO R UM S)
Sr. States As on Wh e t h e r No.of Functional Non-
No. SC District Functional
Fu n c t i o n a l fora
or Non -
Fu n c t i o n a l
1 An d h r a P r a d e s h 30.09.2017 Yes 17 17 0
2 A & N Is l a n d s 30.06.2015 Yes 1 1 0
3 Arunachal Pradesh 30.06.2017 Yes 18 18 0
4 Assam 30.09.2017 Yes 23 21 2
5 Bihar 30.06.2014 Yes 38 33 5
6 Chandigarh 30.09.2017 Yes 23 21 2
7 Chattisgarh 30.09.2017 Yes 27 20 7
8 Daman & Diu 31.03.2011 Yes 2 2 0
9 Dadra &Na gar 31.03.2011 Yes 1 1 0
Haveli
10 Delhi 30.06.2017 Yes 11 10 1
11 Goa 30.09.2017 Yes 2 2 0
12 Gu j r a t 31.12.2016 Yes 38 38 0
13 Haryana 30.09.2017 Yes 21 21 0
14 Himachal Pradesh 30.09.2017 Yes 12 8 4
15 Jammu & Kashmir 30.06.2014 Yes 2 2 0
16 Jharkhand 30.06.2017 Yes 24 24 0
17 Ka r n a t a k a 30.09.2017 Yes 31 31 0
18 Kerala 30.09.2015 Yes 14 14 0
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Consumer Disputes And Consumer Redressal Forums In India
19 Lakshad weep 30.09.2017 Yes 1 1 0
20 M a d h ya P r a d e s h 30.09.2017 Yes 51 51 0
21 Maharashtra 31.12.2015 Yes 40 40 0
22 Manipur 31.12.2015 Yes 9 4 5
23 M e g h a l a ya 31.03.2015 Yes 11 7 4
24 Mizoram 30.06.2015 Yes 8 8 0
25 Nagaland 30.09.2015 Yes 11 11 0
26 Orissa 31.03.2015 Yes 31 31 0
27 Pondicherry 30.09.2017 Yes 1 1 0
28 Punjab 30.09.2017 Yes 20 20 0
29 Rajasthan 30.09.2017 Yes 37 37 0
30 Sikkim 31.03.2015 Yes 4 4 0
31 Tami l Nadu 30.06.2017 Yes 31 31 0
32 Telangana 30.09.2017 Yes 12 12 0
33 Tripura 30.09.2017 Yes 4 4 0
34 Uttar Pradesh 30.09.2017 Yes 79 79 0
35 Uttarakhand 30.11.2017 Yes 13 11 2
36 West Bengal 30.09.2017 Yes 23 23 0
TOTAL 691 659 32
T he N at io nal Co n s u me r Co ur t ha nd l e s fi v e t yp es o f co mp l ai n ts :
Ap p ea ls fr o m St ate Co n s u mer D isp u te s Red r es s al Co m mi s s io n s
Co n s u mer co mp la i nt s t ha t o cc urr ed i n I nd ia , exc ep t i n t h e S tat e o f J a m mu a nd
Ka s h mir
Ca se s fr o m S ta te Co ns u me r Co m mi s s io n s wh er e th e re h a s b ee n acc u s ati o n s o r p ro o f o f
ma ter ia l ir r e g ul ar i t y o r i lle g al act i vi ti es
Ca se s wh e r e e x -p ar t e ( wh er e ve rd ic t s h a ve b ee n p a ss ed i n t h e ab s en ce o f e it her
p arti es ) o r d er s h a ve to b e s et as id e.
Co mp lai n t s t h at h a s b ee n so u g h t o r ne ed to b e tra n s ferr ed fro m o n e St ate Co n s u me r
Co m mi s s io n to a no t h er i n t he i nte re st o f j u st ice .
If yo u ar e no t s at is f ied b y t he verd ic t fro m t h e Nat io na l Co ns u mer Co u rt, yo u ca n
ap p eal i n t he S up r e me Co ur t, wi t h i n a p erio d o f 3 0 d a ys . I f a v erd i c t ha s b ee n gi ve n
ag ai n st t h e co mp a n y, i t can ap p e al o nl y a fter d ep o s it i n g 5 0 % o f t he c o mp e n s at io n to b e
p aid to yo u o r R s.5 0 0 0 0 / -, wh i c h e ver is le s ser .
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Consumer Disputes And Consumer Redressal Forums In India
Ta ble 1 .2
Deta i l o f Co ns u mer co mp l a i nt s f il ed, d is po se d o ff a n d Pe n di ng a t t h e Na t io na l, Sta t e
a nd D ist ri ct Fo r u ms (U pda t ed o n 2 8 .0 1 .2 0 1 8 )
Cases since inception
Sr.
N a me o f A g e n c y % of total
No. Filed Disposed off Pending
Disposal
National
1 117430 100419 17011 85.51%
Commission
2 State Commissions 757887 649606 108281 85.71%
3 District Forums 4062476 3759249 303227 92.54%
TOTAL 4937793 4509274 428519 91.32%
Ta ble 1 .3
T he sta te - w i s e d et a i l s o f ca s es f i le d, di s po s ed o ff a n d pe nd ing i n t he sta te co mmi s s io n
ha s b ee n sho w n i n Ta bl e1 .3 .
Sr.No Name of State As on Cases Cases Cases % of
filed disposed Pending Dispo
of sal
National Commission 30.09.2018 124418 105070 19348 84.45
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Consumer Disputes And Consumer Redressal Forums In India
13 Himachal Pradesh 30.09.2018 10137 9762 375 96.30
14 Jammu & Kashmir 31.05.2016 9038 7549 1489 83.53
15 Jharkhand 30.06.2018 6460 5649 811 87.45
16 Ka r n a t a k a 31.08.2018 59129 49152 9977 83.13
17 Kerala 31.05.2018 31180 28139 3041 90.25
18 Lakshad weep 31.08.2018 18 16 2 88.89
19 M a d h ya P r a d e s h 31.08.2018 54074 44132 9942 81.61
20 Maharashtra 31.05.2018 92356 73948 18408 80.07
21 Manipur 31.08.2018 170 164 6 96.47
22 M e g h a l a ya 31.12.2015 300 285 15 95.00
23 Mizoram 31.03.2015 242 218 24 90.08
24 Nagaland 30.09.2015 165 136 29 82.42
25 Odisha 30.06.2018 26055 19069 6986 73.19
26 Puducherry 30.09.2018 1331 1081 50 95.58
27 Punjab 31.07.2018 39259 38043 1216 96.90
28 Rajasthan 31.08.2018 67739 63069 4670 93.11
29 Sikkim 30.09.2018 77 69 8 89.61
30 Tami l Nadu 31.08.2018 29226 25060 4166 85.75
31 Telangana 31.08.2018 3717 1625 2092 43.72
32 Tripura 30.09.2018 1834 1814 20 98.91
33 Uttar Pradesh 30.06.2018 85843 60529 25314 70.51
34 Uttarakhand 30.06.2018 6267 5282 985 84.28
35 West Bengal 30.09.2017 32422 27314 5108 84.25
Total 812044 696466 115578 85.77
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Consumer Disputes And Consumer Redressal Forums In India
If a v erd i ct ha s b ee n g i ve n a ga i n st t he co mp a n y, i t c a n ap p ea l o n l y a ft er d ep o si ti n g 5 0 %
o f t he co mp e n sa tio n to b e p aid to yo u o r Rs.2 5 0 0 0 / -, wh i c h e ver is le s ser .
T here are i mp o r t a nt d i f fer e nce s r e gard i n g t he ( le ga l) p o si tio n o f co n s u me r o r ga n iza tio n s
in re lat io n to d i f f er e nt a ut ho r i tie s. T he r i g ht s a nd p o ss ib i li ti es wh ic h co n s u mer
o rga n iz at io ns ha v e at t h eir d i sp o sa l ma y var y s ig n i fica n tl y fro m co u n tr y to co u n tr y, b ut
al so wit h i n t he nat io na l co n te x t. Co n s u mer o r ga ni za tio n s ma y b e e xp li ci tl y d es i g na ted a nd
gra n ted t he sta t u s o f an “i nter e sted p ar t y” i n t he p ro ced u re s i nit ia ted b y a cer ta i n
au t ho ri t y, e. g. a “co n s u me r p r o tec tio n” a u t ho ri t y. T he y ma y b e e n ti tl ed to r eq ue st cer ta i n
me a s ure s to b e ta ke n , t o r ecei ve r e sp o n se s to co mp la i nt s t he y filed wi t h t he a ut ho r it y
wi t h i n a cer ta i n ti me p e r io d and t he y ma y e ve n ha v e t he ri g h t to c hal le n ge d e ci sio n s ta k e n
b y t he a ut ho r it y b e fo r e co ur t s. T hi s sp e ci al st at u s ma y b e gra n te d i n re la tio n to a
co n s u me r a ut ho r it y, b ut no t i n r e la tio n to a co mp e ti tio n a ut ho r it y fo r ex a mp l e. Co ns u mer
o rga n iz at io ns ca n u se s uc h a “q ual i fied ” p o si tio n to p ut mo r e p res s ure o n p ub li c
au t ho ri ti es a nd to r e nd er t he e n f o r ce me n t s ys t e m mo r e e ffic ie n t.
Sta te - wi se d et ai ls o f c a se s fi led , d isp o s ed o ff and p e nd i n g i n d i str ict fo r u ms ha s b e e n
gi v e n i n T ab le 1 .4 .
Ta ble 1 .4
Sta te W is e d et a i l s o f ca se s f il le d, di s po s ed o ff a nd p en di ng in D ist ri ct Fo ru ms
Sr.No Name of State As on Cases Cases Cases % of
filed disposed Pending Dispo
of sal
1 An d h r a P r a d e s h 31.08.2018 120453 118803 1650 98.63
2 A & N Is l a n d s 30.06.2015 767 720 47 93.87
3 Arunachal Pradesh 30.09.2017 515 486 29 94.37
4 Assam 31.08.2016 16157 14736 1421 91.21
5 Bihar 31.08.2018 103003 88050 14953 85.48
6 Chandigarh 31.08.2018 59713 58446 1267 97.88
7 Chattisgarh 30.09.2018 53975 47614 6361 88.21
8 Oaman & Diu and 31.03.2011 56704 55070 1634 97.12
DNH
9 Delhi 31.05.2018 49039 41795 7244 85.23
10 Goa 30.09.2018 7499 7374 125 98.33
11 Gu j a r a t 31.08.2018 232413 213429 18984 91.83
12 Haryana 31.08.2018 263956 256513 7443 97.18
13 Himachal Pradesh 30.09.2018 66727 64256 2471 96.30
14 Jammu & Kashmir 31.12.2017 20729 18855 1937 90.68
15 Jharkhand 30.06.2018 40756 36698 4058 90.04
16 Ka r n a t a k a 31.08.2018 203231 194485 8746 95.70
17 Kerala 31.05.2018 213628 203490 10138 95.25
18 Lakshad weep 31.08.2018 89 79 10 88.76
19 M a d h ya P r a d e s h 31.08.2018 243777 222065 21712 91.09
20 Maharashtra 30.06.2018 409830 369712 40117 90.21
21 Manipur 31.12.2015 1297 1240 57 95.61
22 M e g h a l a ya 31.03.2015 1005 925 80 92.04
23 Mizoram 30.06.2015 3771 3733 38 98.99
24 Nagaland 30.09.2015 652 598 54 91.72
25 Odisha 30.06.2018 113352 105682 7670 93.23
26 Puducherry 30.09.2018 3282 3096 186 94.33
27 Punjab 31.07.2018 200451 193226 7225 96.40
28 Rajasthan 31.08.2018 385326 350936 34390 91.08
29 Sikkim 30.09.2018 416 387 29 93.03
30 Tami l Nadu 31.08.2018 119544 110562 8982 92.49
31 Telangana 31.08.2018 93532 88523 5009 94.64
32 Tripura 31.07.2018 3863 3748 115 97.02
33 Uttar Pradesh 30.06.2018 700458 622173 78285 88.82
34 Uttarakhand 30.06.2018 42092 38898 3194 92.41
35 West Bengal 30.09.2017 117350 109547 7803 93.35
Total 3949415 3645951 303464 92.32
If a consumer is not satisfied by the decision of the District Forum, he/she can challenge the same
before the State Commission and against the order of the State Commission a consumer can come to the
National Commission.
To provide speedy and simple redressal to consumer disputes, a quasi-judicial machinery is sought to
be set up at the District, State and Central levels. These quasi-judicial bodies will observe the principles of
natural justice and have been empowered to give reliefs of a specific nature and to award, wherever appropriate,
compensation to consumers. Penalties for non-compliance of the orders given by the quasi-judicial bodies have
also been provided.
Su m Up
Consumer Court is the special purpose court, mainly in India that deals with cases regarding consumer
disputes and grievances. These are judiciary set ups by the government to protect the consumer rights. Its main
function is to maintain the fair practices by the sellers towards consumers. Consumers can file a case against a
seller if they are harassed or exploited by sellers. The court will only give a verdict in favour of the
consumers/customers if they have proof of exploitation, i.e., bills or other documents. If a consumer does not
have the proper documents required for filing a case then it would be very difficult for the consumer to win or
even file a case. A nation level court works for the whole country and deals with amount more than Rs 1 crore.
A state level court works at the state level with cases valuing less than 20 lakhs and : A district level court
works at the district level with cases valuing upto 20 lakhs. The District Consumer Forum is established in all
the District of India, The State Consumer Commission is established in all the State Capitals of India, The
“National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission” situated in New Delhi and the governing law is
"Consumer Protection Act, in India". It is important to note that the goods purchased or services availed for
commercial purposes cannot be challenged under the Consumer Protection Act of India.
Ref erences
[1]. K. Sreevidya (1993), Consumer Justice and Public Utility Services, Dissertation work, Law Department, Cochin University, pp. 88-
95.
[2]. E. A. Lizzy (1996), Women and Consumer Protection, Ph. D Thesis, Cochin University, pp. 352-385.
[3]. Sreevidya (1993), Consumer Justice and Public Utility Services, Dissertation work, Law Department, Cochin University, pp. 88-95.
[4]. “ W e s t E n c y c l o p e d i a o f A m e r i c a n La w. C o n s u m e r . An s w e r s . c o m . R e t r i e v e d o n J a n u a r y 3 1 , 2 0 1 0 .
[5]. V. Balakrishna Eradi, "Consumer Protection and National Consumer Dispu tes Redressal
Commission". New Delhi: Nat ional Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. Accessed 25 June
2013.
[6]. N.P. Reddy and A.N. Ramesh (1998), “The role of an independent agency to protect the consumer interest on empirical study”,
Indian Journal of Marketing, 28, pp. 2-11.
Dr. Shammi Minhas" Consumer Disputes and Consumer Redressal Forums in India"
International Journal of Engineering Science Invention (IJESI), Vol. 08, No. 06, 2019, PP 01-
08
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