Rakesh Pathak |
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Act with list of Forums in New Delhi INDIA -
addresses. phone numbers, jurisdictions- territorial and pecuniary
1. Short title, extent,
commencement and application
An Act 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 consumers' disputes and for matters
connected therewith.
Be it enacted by
Parliament in the Thirty-seventh Year of the Republic of India as follows: —
CHAPTER I PRELIMINARY
1. Short title,
extent, commencement and application. —
(1) This Act may be called the Consumer Protection Act, 1986.
(2) It extends to
the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
(3) It shall come
into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification,
appoint and different dates may be appointed for different States and for
different provisions of this Act.
(4) Save as
otherwise expressly provided by the Central Government by notification, this
Act shall apply to all goods and services.
2.
Definitions
.
— (1)
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, —
(a)
“appropriate laboratory” means a laboratory or organisation —
(i) recognised by
the Central Government;
(ii) recognised
by a State Government, subject to such guidelines as may be prescribed by
the Central Government in this behalf; or
(iii) any such
laboratory or organisation established by or under any law for the time
being in force, which is maintained, financed or aided by the Central
Government or a State Government for carrying out analysis or test of any
goods with a view to determining whether such goods suffer from any defect;]
(aa)
“branch office” means —
(i) any
establishment described as a branch by the opposite party; or
(ii) any
establishment carrying on either the same or substantially the same activity
as that carried on by the head office of the establishment;]
(b)
“complainant” means —
(i) a consumer;
or
(ii) any
voluntary consumer association registered under the Companies Act, 1956 or
under any other law for the time being in force; or
(iii) the Central
Government or any State Government, who or which makes a complaint;
(iv)
one or more consumers, where there are numerous consumers having the same
interest;]
(c) “complaint”
means any allegation in writing made by a complainant that —
(i)
an unfair trade practice or a restrictive trade practice has been adopted by
any trader;]
(ii)
the goods bought by him or agreed to be bought by him;] suffer from one or
more defects;
(iii) the services hired or availed of or agreed to be hired or availed of
by him] suffer from deficiency in any respect;
(iv) a trader has
charged for the goods mentioned in the complaint a price in excess of the
price fixed by or under any law for the time being in force or displayed on
the goods or any package containing such goods with a view to obtaining any
relief provided by or under this Act;
(v)
goods which will be hazardous to life and safety when used, are being
offered for sale to the public in contravention of the provisions of any law
for the time being in force requiring traders to display information in
regard to the contents, manner and effect of use of such goods.]
(d) “consumer”
means any person who —
(i) buys any
goods for a consideration which has been paid or promised or partly paid and
partly promised, or under any system of deferred payment and includes any
user of such goods other than the person who buys such goods for
consideration paid or promised, or under any system of deferred payment when
such use is made with the approval of such person, but does not include a
person who obtains such goods for resale or for any commercial purpose; or Comment
The word
`consumer' is a comprehensive expression. It extends from a person who buys
any commodity to consume either as eatable or otherwise from a shop,
business house, corporation, store, fair price shop to use of private or
public services. (Lucknow Development Authority v. M.K. Gupta, AIR
1994 S.C. 786: 1994 (1) SCC 243).
(ii) hires
or avails of] any services for a consideration which has been paid or
promised or partly paid and partly promised, or under any system of deferred
payment and includes any beneficiary of such services other than the person
who
[hires
or avails of] the services for consideration paid or promised, or partly
paid and partly promised, or under any system of deferred payment, when such
services are availed of with the approval of the first mentioned person;
Explanation
— For
the purpose of sub-clause (i), “commercial purpose” does not include use by
consumer of goods bought and used by him exclusively for the purpose of
earning his livelihood, by means of self-employment;] Comments
If the
relationship of buyer and seller comes into existence, mere non-delivery of
the car already bought will not deprive the buyer of the status of the
Consumer. (Dr. Bhavna Chinubhai Shah v. M/s Cargo Motors (Guj) Ltd.
1992 (1) CPJ 23).
Persons who are
allotted plots or houses by the Housing Development Board for consideration
are consumer under the Act. (U.P. Avas Evam Vikas Parishad v. Garima
Shukal, 1991 (1) CPR 387).
Purchase of a
vehicle not for commercial purposes is a consumer (Sojan Paul v. T.V.
Sundaram Iyenkar & Sons, 1993(3) CPR 512).
When the goods
are exchanged between a buyer and the seller for commercial purposes or
re-sale, such a commercial transaction is excluded from the purview of the
Act. (Rajeev Metal Works & Ors v. The Mineral and Metal Trading
Corporation of India Ltd, 1996(1) Supreme Today 140).
Telephone
subscriber is a consumer (Union of India v. Nilesh Agarwal, 1991(1)
CPJ 203).
Education does
not come within the Scope of Consumer Protection Act 1986 and District
Consumer Forum has no jurisdiction to enter into complaint in respect of
educational institution. (AIR 1992 Cal 95)
(e) “consumer
dispute” means a dispute where the person against whom a complaint has been
made, denies or disputes the allegations contained in the complaint.
(f) “defect”
means any fault, imperfection or shortcoming in the quality, quantity,
potency, purity or standard which is required to be maintained by or under
any law for the time being in force
[11][under
any contract, express or implied or] as is claimed by the trader in any
manner whatsoever in relation to any goods;
(g)
“deficiency” means any fault, imperfection, shortcoming or inadequacy in the
quality, nature and manner of performance which is required to be maintained
by or under any law for the time being in force or has been undertaken to be
performed by a person in pursuance of a contract or otherwise in relation to
any service ; Comments
(i) Allotment of
plot and its cancellation without notice is deficiency in service (P.
Parthasarathy v. The Tamil Nadu Housing Board, 1993(3) CPR 64).
(ii) Bank not
obeying direction of complainant and passing a forged cheque is deficiency
in service. (Filmalaya (P) Ltd v. Corporation Bank, 1992(1) CPJ 117).
(iii) Delay in
settlement of insurance claim is deficiency in service. (Smt. Kusumben J.
Badiani v. United India Insurance Co. Ltd., 1993(1) CPR 381).
(h) “District
Forum” means a Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum established under clause
(a) of Section 9;
(i) “goods”
means goods as defined in the Sale of Goods Act, 1930; Comments
Expression
service includes service provided in the government hospital also (Indian
Medical Association v. V.P. Shantha, JT. 1995 (8) S.C. 119: 1995 (6) SCC
651).
Allotment of
plots after development and allotting the same to public is a service (Subhash
Chand Jindal & Anr v. Vice Chairman, DDA, 1992(3) CPJ 582 and U.P.
Avas Evam, Vikas Parishad v. Garima Shukla & Ors, 1991(1) CPJ 1).
(j)
“manufacturer” means a person who —
(i) makes or
manufactures any goods or parts thereof; or
(ii) does not
make or manufacture any goods but assembles parts thereof made or
manufactured by others and claims the end-product to be goods manufactured
by himself; or
(iii) puts or
causes to be put his own mark on any goods made or manufactured by any other
manufacturer and claims such goods to be goods made or manufactured by
himself.
Explanation.
— Where a manufacturer despatches any goods or part thereof to any branch
office maintained by him, such branch office shall not be deemed to be the
manufacturer even though the parts so despatched to it are assembled at
such branch office and are sold or distributed from such branch office;
(jj)
“member” includes the President and a member of the National Commissioner
or a State Commission or a District Forum, as the case may be;]
(k) “National
Commission” means the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
established under clause (c) of Section 9;
(l)
“notification” means a notification published in the Official Gazette;
(m) “person”
includes, —
(i) a firm
whether registered or not;
(ii) a Hindu
undivided family;
(iii) a
co-operative society;
(iv) every other
association of persons whether registered under the Societies Registration
Act, 1860 or not;
(n)
“prescribed” means prescribed by rules made by the State Government, or as
the case may be, by the Central Government under this Act;
(nn)
“restrictive trade practice” means any trade practice which requires a
consumer to buy, hire or avail of any goods or, as the case may be, services
as a condition precedent for buying, hiring or availing of any other goods
or services;]
(o) “service”
means service of any description which is made available to potential users
and includes the provision of facilities in connection with banking,
financing insurance, transport, processing, supply of electrical or other
energy, board or lodging or both, housing
construction] entertainment, amusement or the purveying of news or other
information, but does not include the rendering of any service free of
charge or under a contract of personal service;
(p) “State
Commission” means a Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission established in a
State under clause (b) of Section 9;
(q) “trader” in
relation to any goods means a person who sells or distributes any goods for
sale and includes the manufacturer thereof, and where such goods are sold or
distributed in package form, includes the packer thereof;
[15][(r)
“unfair trade practice” means a trade practice which, for the puropose of
promoting the sale, use or supply of any goods or for the provision of any
service, adopts any unfair method or unfair or deceptive practice including
any of the following practices, namely: —
(1) the practice
of making any statement, whether orally or in writing or by visible
representation which, —
(i) falsely
represents that the goods are of a particular standard, quality, quantity,
grade, composition, style or model;
(ii) falsely
represents that the services are of a particular standard, quality or grade;
(iii) falsely
represents any re-built, second-hand, renovated, reconditioned or old goods
as new goods;
(iv) represents
that the goods or services have sponsorship, approval performance,
characteristics, accessories, uses or benefits which such goods or services
do not have;
(v) represents
that the seller or the supplier has a sponsorship or approval or affiliation
which such seller or supplier does not have;
(vi) makes a
false or misleading representation concerning the need for, or the
usefulness of, any goods or services;
(vii) gives to
the public any warranty or guarantee of the performance, efficacy or length
of life of a product or of any goods that is not based on an adequate or
proper test thereof; Provided that where a defence is raised to the effect
that such warranty or guarantee is based on adequate or proper test, the
burden of proof of such defence shall lie on the person raising such
defence;
(viii) makes to
the public a representation in a form that purports to be —
(i) a warranty or
guarantee of a product or of any goods or services; or
(ii) a promise to
replace, maintain or repair an article or any part thereof or to repeat or
continue a service until it has achieved a specified result, if such
purported warranty or guarantee or promise is materially misleading or if
there is no reasonable prospect that such warranty, guarantee or promise
will be carried out;
(ix) materially
misleads the public concerning the price at which a product or like products
or goods or services, have been or are, ordinarily sold or provided, and,
for this purpose, a representation as to price shall be deemed to refer to
the price at which the product or goods or services has or have been sold by
sellers or provided by suppliers generally in the relevant market unless it
is clearly specified to be the price at which the product has been sold or
services have been provided by the person by whom or on whose behalf the
representation is made;
(x) gives false
or misleading facts disparaging the goods, services or trade of another
person.
Explanation.
— For the purposes of clause (1), a statement that is —
(a) expressed
on an article offered or displayed for sale, or on its wrapper or container;
or
(b) expressed
on anything attached to, inserted in, or accompanying, an article offered or
displayed for sale, or on anything on which the article is mounted for
display or sale; or
(c) contained
in or on anything that is sold, sent, delivered, transmitted or in any other
manner whatsoever made available to a member of the public,
shall be deemed
to be a statement made to the public by, and only by, the person who had
caused the statement to be so expressed, made or contained;
(2) permits the
publication of any advertisement whether in any newspaper or otherwise, for
the sale or supply at a bargaining price, of goods or services that are not
intended to be offered for sale or supply at the bargain price, or for a
period that is, and in quantities that are, reasonable, having regard to the
nature of the market in which the business is carried on, the nature and
size of business, and the nature of the advertisement.
Explanation.
— For the purpose of clause (2), “bargaining price” means —
(a) a price
that is stated in any advertisement to be a bargain price, by reference to
an ordinary price or otherwise, or
(b) a price
that a person who reads, hears or sees the advertisement, would reasonably
understand to be a bargain price having regard to the prices at which the
product advertised or like products are ordinarily sold;
(3) permits —
(a) the
offering of gifts, prizes or other items with the intention of not providing
them as offered or creating impression that something is being given or
offered free of charge when it is fully or partly covered by the amount
charged in the transaction as a whole;
(b) the conduct
of any contest, lottery, game of chance or skill, for the purposes of
promoting, directly or indirectly, the sale, use or supply of any product or
any business interest;
(4) permits the
sale or supply of goods intended to be used, or are of a kind likely to be
used, by consumers, knowing or having reason to believe that the goods do
not comply with the standards prescribed by competent authority relating to
performance, composition, contents, design, constructions, finishing or
packaging as are necessary to prevent or reduce the risk of injury to the
person using the goods;
(5) permits the
hoarding or destruction of goods, or refuses to sell the goods or to make
them available for sale or to provide any service, if such hoarding or
destruction or refusal raised or tends to raise or is intended to raise, the
cost of those or other similar goods or services.]
(2) Any reference
in this Act to any other Act or provision thereof which is not in force in
any area to which this Act applies shall be construed to have a reference to
the corresponding Act or provision thereof in force in such area.
3. Act not in
derogation of any other law. —
The provisions of this Act shall be in addition to and not in derogation of
the provisions of any other law for the time being in force. CHAPTER II CONSUMER PROTECTION
COUNCILS
4. The Central
Consumer Protection Council. —
(1) The Central Government may, by notification, establish with effect from
such date as it may specify in such notification, a Council to be known as
the Central Consumer Protection Council (hereinafter referred to as the
Central Council.)
(2) The Central
Council shall consist of the following members, namely:
(a) the
Minister in charge of the consumer
affairs] in the Central Government, who shall be its Chairman, and
(b) such number
of other official or non-official members representing such interests as may
be prescribed.
5. Procedure for
meetings of the Central Council. —
(1) The Central Council shall meet as and when necessary,
[17][at
least one meeting] of the Council shall be held every year.
(2) The Central
Council shall meet at such time and place as the Chairman may think fit and
shall observe such procedure in regard to the transaction of its business as
may be prescribed.
6. Objects of the
Central Council. —
The objects of the Central Council shall be to promote and protect the
rights of the consumers such as, —
(a) the right
to be protected against the marketing of goods and
services] which are hazardous to life and property;
(b) the right
to be informed about the quality, quantity, potency, purity, standard and
price of goods
[19][or
services, as the case may be] so as to protect the consumer against unfair
trade practices;
(c) the right
to be assured, wherever possible, access to a variety of goods and
services] at competitive prices;
(d) the right
to be heard and to be assured that consumer's interests will receive due
consideration at appropriate forums;
(e) the right
to seek redressal against unfair trade practices or
restrictive trade practices] or unscrupulous exploitation of consumers; and
(f) the right
to consumer education.
7. The State
Consumer Protection Councils. —
(1) The State Government may, by notification, establish with effect from
such date as it may specify in such notification, a Council to be known as
the Consumer Protection Council for . . . . . . (hereinafter referred to as
the State Council).
[22][(2)
The State Council shall consist of the following members, namely :
(a) the
Minister incharge of consumer affairs in the State Government who shall be
its Chairman;
(b) such number
of other official or non-official members representing such interests as may
be prescribed by the State Government.
(3) The State
Council shall meet as and when necessary but not less than two meetings
shall be held every year.
(4) The State
Council shall meet at such time and place as the Chairman may think fit and
shall observe such procedure in regard to the transaction of its business as
may be prescribed by the State Government.]
8. Objects of the
State Council. —
The objects of every State Council shall be to promote and protect within
the State the rights of the consumers laid down in clauses (a) to (f) of
Section 6. CHAPTER III CONSUMER DISPUTES
REDRESSAL AGENCIES
9. Establishment
of Consumer Disputes Redressal Agencies. —
There shall be established for the purposes of this Act, the following
agencies, namely:
(a) a Consumer
Disputes Redressal Forum to be known as the “District Forum” established by
the State Government in each district of the State by notification: Provided
that the State Government may, if it deems fit, establish more than one
District Forum in a district.]
(b) a Consumer
Disputes Redressal Commission to be known as the “State Commission”
established by the State Government in the State by notification; and
(c) a National
Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission established by the Central Government
by notification.
10. Composition
of the District Forum. —
(1)
Each District Forum shall consist of, —
(a) a person
who is, or who has been, or is qualified to be a District Judge, who shall
be its President;
(b) two other
members who shall be persons of ability, integrity and standing, and have
adequate knowledge or experience of, or have shown capacity in dealing with,
problems relating to economics, law, commerce, accountancy, industry, public
affairs or administration, one of whom shall be a woman.]
[(1A)
Every appointment under sub-section (1) shall be made by the State
Government on the recommendation of a selection committee consisting of the
following, namely :
(i) the President
of the State Commission — Chairman.
(ii) Secretary,
Law Department of the State — Member. (iii) Secretary incharge of the Department dealing with consumer affairs in the State — Member.
(2) Every member
of the District Forum shall hold office for a term of five years or up to
the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier, and shall not be eligible for
re-appointment;
Provided that a
member may resign his office in writing under his hand addressed to the
State Government and on such resignation being accepted, his offfice shall
become vacant and may be filled by the appointment of a person possessing
any of the qualifications mentioned in sub-section (1) in relation to the
category of the member who has resigned.
(3) The salary or
honorarium and other allowances payable to, and the other terms and
conditions of service of the members of the District Forum shall be such as
may be prescribed by the State Government.
11. Jurisdiction
of the District Forum. —
(1) Subject to the other provisions of this Act, the District Forum shall
have jurisdiction to entertain complaints where the value of the goods or
services and the compensation, if any, claimed does
not exceed rupees five lakhs].
(2) A complaint
shall be instituted in a District Forum within the local limits of whose
jurisdiction, —
(a) the
opposite party or each of the opposite parties, where there are more than
one, at the time of the institution of the complaint, actually and
voluntarily resides or carries
on business or has a branch office or] personally works for gain, or
(b) any of the
opposite parties, where there are more than one, at the time of the
institution of the complaint, actually and voluntarily resides, or carries
on business or has a branch office], or personally works for gain, provided
that in such case either the permission of the District Forum is given, or
the opposite parties who do not reside, or carry
on business or have a branch office], or personally work for gain, as the
case may be, acquiesce in such institution; or
(c) the cause
of action, wholly or in part, arises.
[12.
Manner in which complaint shall be made. —
A complaint in relation to any goods sold or delivered or agreed to be sold
or delivered or any service provided or agreed to be provided may be filed
with a District Forum by —
(a) the
consumer to whom such goods are sold or delivered or agreed to be sold or
delivered or such service provided or agreed to be provided;
(b) any
recognised consumer association whether the consumer to whom the goods sold
or delivered or agreed to be sold or delivered or service provided or agreed
to be provided is a member of such association or not;
(c) one or more
consumers, where there are numerous consumers having the same interest, with
the permission of the District Forum, on behalf of, or for the benefit of,
all consumers so interested; or
(d) the Central
or the State Government.
Explanation.
— For the purpose of this section, “recognised consumer association” means
any voluntary consumer association registered under the Companies Act, 1956
(1 of 1956) or any other law for the time being in force.]
13. Procedure on
receipt of complaint . —
(1) The District Forum shall, on receipt of a complaint, if it relates to
any goods, —
(a) refer a
copy of the complaint to the opposite party mentioned in the complaint
directing him to give his version of the case within a period of thirty days
or such extended period not exceeding fifteen days as may be granted by the
District Forum;
(b) where the
opposite party on receipt of a complaint referred to him under clause (a)
denies or disputes the allegations contained in the complaint, or omits or
fails to take any action to represent his case within the time given by the
District Forum, the District Forum shall proceed to settle the consumer
dispute in the manner specified in clause (c) to (g);
(c) where the
complaint alleges a defect in the goods which cannot be determined without
proper analysis or test of the goods, the District Forum shall obtain a
sample of the goods from the complainant, seal it and authenticate it in the
manner prescribed and refer the sample so sealed to the appropriate
laboratory along with a direction that such laboratory make an analysis or
test, whichever may be necessary, with a view to finding out whether such
goods suffer from any defect alleged in the complaint or from any other
defect and to report its findings thereon to the District Forum within a
period of fifty-five days of the receipt of the reference or within such
extended period as may be granted by the District Forum;
(d) before any
sample of the goods is referred to any appropriate Iaboratory under clause
(c), the District Forum may require the complaint to deposit to the credit
of the Forum such fees as may be specified, for payment to the appropriate
laboratory for carrying out the necessary analysis or test in relation to
the goods in question;
(e) the
District Forum shall remit the amount deposited to its credit under clause
(d) to the appropriated laboratory to enable it to carry out the analysis or
test mentioned in clause (c) and on receipt of the report from the
appropriate laboratory, the District Forum shall forward a copy of the
report along with such remarks as the District Forum may feel appropriate
to the opposite party;
(f) if any of
the parties disputes the correctness of the findings of the appropriate
laboratory, or disputed the correctness of the methods of analysis or test
adopted by the appropriate laboratory, the District Forum shall require the
opposite party or the complainant to submit in writing his objections in
regard to the report made by the appropriate laboratory;
(g) the
District Forum shall thereafter give a reasonable opportunity to the
complainant as well as the opposite party of being heard as to the
correctness or otherwise of the report made by the appropriate laboratory
and also as to the objection made in relation thereto under clause (f) and
issue an appropriate order under Section 14.
(2) the District
Forum shall, if the complaint received by it under Section 12 relates to
goods in respect of which the procedure specified in sub-section (1) cannot
be followed, or if the complaint relates to any services —
(a) refer a
copy of such complaint to the opposite party directing him to give his
version of the case within a period of thirty days or such extended period
not exceeding fifteen days as may be granted by the District Forum;
(b) where the
opposite party, on receipt of a copy of the complaint, referred to him under
clause (a) denies or disputes the allegations contained in the complaint, or
omits or fails to take any action to represent his case within the time
given by the District Forum, the District Forum shall proceed to settle the
consumer dispute, —
(i) on the basis
of evidence brought to its notice by the complainant and the opposite party,
where the opposite party denies or disputed the allegations contained in
the complaint, or
(ii) on the basis
of evidence brought to its notice by the complainant where the opposite
party omits or fails to take any action to represent his case within the
time given by the Forum.
(3) No
proceedings complying with the procedure laid down in sub-section (1) and
(2) shall be called in question in any court on the ground that the
principles of natural justice have not been complied with.
(4) For the
purposes of this section, the District Forum shall have the same powers as
are vested in a civil court under Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 while trying
a suit in respect of the following matters, namely —
(i) the
summoning and enforcing the attendance of any defendant or witness and
examining the witness on oath;
(ii) the
discovery and production of any document or other material object producible
as evidence;
(iii) the
reception of evidence on affidavits;
(iv) the
requisitioning of the report of the concerned analysis or test from the
appropriate laboratory or from any other relevant source;
(v) issuing of
any commission for the examination of any witness; and
(vi) any other
matter which may be prescribed. Comments
The technical
provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure are not applicable to the
proceedings before the Consumer Forum/Commission constituted under the
Consumer Protection Act. (K.M. Singh v. Sir Ganga Ram Hospital,
1992(1) CPR 307).
The Commission
has the jurisdiction not only to examine a witness on oath but also to
receive evidence in the form of Affidavit. (Indian Bank v. M/s Satyam
Fibres (India) Pvt. Ltd., JT 1996 (7) S.C. 135).
(5) Every
proceeding before the District Forum shall be deemed to be a judicial
proceeding within the meaning of Sections 193 ans 228 of the Indian Penal
Code, and the District Forum shall be deemed to be a civil court for the
purposes of Section 195, and Chapter XXVI of the Code of Criminal Procedure,
1973.
[(6)
Where the complainant is a consumer referred to in sub-clause (iv) of clause
(b) of sub-section (1) of Section 2, the provisions of rule 8 of Order 1 of
the First Schedule to the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 shall apply subject
to the modification that every reference therein to a suit or decree shall
be construed as a reference to a complaint or the order of the District
Forum thereon.]
14. Finding of
the District Forum. —
(1) if, after the proceeding conducted under Section 13, the District Forum
is satisfied that the goods complained against suffer from any of the
defects specified in the complaint or that any of the allegations contained
in the complaint about the services are proved, it shall issue an order to
the opposite party directing him to
[32][do]
one or more of the following things, namely: —
(a) to remove
the defect pointed out by the appropriate laboratory from the goods in
question;
(b) to replace
the goods with new goods of similar description which shall be free from any
defect;
(c) to return
to the complainant the price, or, as the case may be, the charges paid by
the complainant;
(d) to pay such
amount as may be awarded by it as compensation to the consumer for any loss
or injury suffered by the consumer due to the negligence of the opposite
party;
[(e)
to remove the defects or deficiencies in the services in question;
(f) to
discontinue the unfair trade practice or the restrictive trade practice or
not to repeat it;
(g) not to
offer the hazardous goods for sale;
(h) to withdraw
the hazardous goods from being offered for sale;
(i) to provide
for adequate costs to parties.]
[(2)
Every proceeding referred to in sub-section (1) shall be conducted by the
President of the District Forum and at least one member thereof sitting
together:
Provided that
where the member, for any reason, is unable to conduct the proceeding till
it is completed, the President and the other member shall conduct such
proceeding de novo.
(2A) Every order
made by the District Forum under sub-section (1) shall be signed by its
President and the member or member who conducted the proceeding:
Provided that
where the proceeding is conducted by the President and one member and they
differ on any point or points, they shall state the point or points on
which they differ and refer the same to the other member for hearing on such
point or points and the opinion of the majority shall be the order of the
District Forum.
(3) Subject to
the foregoing provisions, the procedure relating to the conduct of the
meetings of the District Forum, it sittings and other matters shall be such
as may be prescribed by the State Government. Comments
The Consumer
Forum is not vested with the power to grant temporary injunction as
available to the Civil Court under Order 39, Rules 1 & 2 read with Section
151 of the Civil Procedure Code. (Members of Water Supply Committee v.
Samabhu Maharaj, 1992(2) CPR 686 — Also see The New India Assurance Co.
Ltd. v. Dr. R. Venkateswara Rao, 1993(1) CPR 105).
15. Appeal. —
Any person aggrieved by an order made by the District Forum may prefer an
appeal against such order to the State Commission within a period of thirty
days from the date of the order, in such form and manner as may be
prescribed:
Provided that the
State Commission may entertain an appeal after the expiry of the said period
of thirty days if it is satisfied that there was sufficient cause for not
filing it within that period.
16. Composition
of the State Commission. —
(1) Each State Commission shall consist of —
(a) a person
who is or has been a Judge of a High Court, appointed by the State
Government, who shall be its President:
[Provided
that no appointment under this clause shall be made except after
consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court;]
(b) two other
members, who shall be persons of ability, integrity and standing and have
adequate knowledge or experience of, or have shown capacity in dealing with,
problems relating to economics, law, commerce, accountancy, industry, public
affairs or administration, one of whom shall be a woman:
[Provided
that every appointment made under this clause shall be made by the State
Government on the recommendation of a selection committee consisting of the
following, namely —
(i) President
of the State Commission — Chairman.
(ii) Secretary
of the Law Department of the State — Member.
(iii)
Secretary, incharge of Department dealing with consumer affairs in the State
— Member.]
(2) The salary or
honorarium and other allowances payable to, and the other terms and
conditions of service
[37][of,
the members of the State Commission shall be such as may be prescribed by
the State Government.
[38][(3)
Every member of the State Commission shall hold Office for a term of five
years or up to the age of sixty-seven years, whichever is earlier and shall
not be eligible for re-appointment.
(4)
Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (3). A person appointed as
a President or as a member before the commencement of the Consumer
Protection (Amendment) Act, 1993, shall continue to hold such office as
President or member, as the case may be, till the completion of his term.]
17. Jurisdiction
of the State Commission. —
Subject to the other provisions of this Act, the State Commission shall have
jurisdiction —
(a) to
entertain —
(i) complaints
where the value of the goods or services and compensation, if any, claimed
exceeds rupees five
lakhs but does not exceed rupees twenty lakhs]; and
(ii) appeals
against the orders of any District Forum within the State; and
(b) to call for
the records and pass appropriate orders in any consumer dispute which is
pending before or has been decided by any District Forum within the State,
where it appears to the State Commission that such District Forum has
exercised a jurisdiction not vested in it by law, or has failed to exercise
a jurisdiction so vested or has acted in exercise of its jurisdiction
illegally or with material irrregularity.
18. Procedure
applicable to State Commissions. —
The
provisions of Section 12, 13 and 14 and the rules made thereunder] for the
disposal of complaints by the District Forum shall, with such modifications
as may be necessary, be applicable to the disposal of disputes by the State
Commission. Comments
During pendency
of civil case, State Commission will not entertain the complaint. (Rajendra
Chemical v. naresh Chandra C. Parikh & Ors, 1991(1) CPR 649).
[18A.
Vacancy in the office of the President. —
When the office of the President of the District Forum or of the State
Commission, as the case may be, is vacant or when any such President is, by
reason of absence or otherwise, unable to perform the duties of his office,
the duties of the office shall be performed by such person, who is qualified
to be appointed as President of the District Forum or, as the case may be,
of the State Commission, as the State Government may appoint for the
purpose.]
19. Appeals. —
Any person aggrieved by an order made by the State Commission in exercise of
its powers conferred by sub-clause (i) of clause (a) of Section 17 may
prefer an appeal against such order to the National Commission within a
period of thirty days from the date of the order in such form and manner as
may be prescribed:
Provided that the
National Commission may entertain an appeal after the expiry of the said
period of thirty days if it is satisfied that there was sufficient cause
for not filing it within that period.
20. Composition
of the National Commission. —
(1) The National Commission shall consist of:
(a) a person
who is or has been a Judge of the Supreme Court to be appointed by the
Central Government, who shall be its President;
Provided
that no appointment under this clause shall be made except after
consultation with the Chief Justice of India;]
(b) four other
members who shall be persons of ability, integrity and standing and have
adequate knowledge or experience of, or have shown capacity in dealing with,
problems relating to economics, law, commerce, accountancy, industry, public
affairs or administration, one of whom shall be a woman:
Provided
that every appointment under this clause shall be made by the Central
Government on the recommendation of a selection committee consisting of the
following, namely —
(a) a person
who is a Judge of the Supreme Court, to be nominated by the Chief Justice of
India — Chairman.
(b) the
Secretary in the Department of Legal Affairs in the Government of India —
Member.
(c) Secretary
of the Department dealing with consumer affairs in the Government of India —
Member.]
(2) The salary or
honorarium and other allowances payable to and the other terms and
conditions of service of the members of the National Commission shall be such as may be
prescribed by the Central Government.
(3)
Every member of the National Commission shall hold office for a term of five
years or up to the age of seventy years, whichever is earlier and shall not
be eligible for re-appointment.
(4)
Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (3), a person appointed as
a President or a member before the Commencement of the Consumer Protection
(Amendment) Act, 1993, shall continue to hold such office as President or
member, as the case may be, till the completion of his term.] 21. Jurisdiction of the National Commission. — Subject to the other provisions of this Act, the National Commission shall have jurisdiction
(a) to
entertain —
(i) complaints
where the value of the goods or services and compensation, if any, claimed
exceeds rupees twenty
lakhs]; and
(ii) appeals
against the orders of any State Commission; and
(b) to call for
the records and pass appropriate orders in any consumer dispute which is
pending before or has been decided by any State Commission where it appears
to the National Commission that such State Commission has exercised a
jurisdiction not vested in it by law, or has failed to exercise a
jurisdiction so vested; or has acted in the exercise of its jurisdiction
illegally or with material irregularity.
[47][22.
Power of and procedure applicable t o the National Commission. —
The National Commission shall, in the disposal of any complaints or any
proceedings before it, have —
(a) the powers
of a civil court as specified in sub-section (4), (5) and (6) of Section 13;
(b) the power
to issue an order to the opposite party directing him to do any one or more
of the things referred to in clauses (a) to (i) of sub-section (1) of
Section 14,
and follow such
procedure as may be prescribed by the Central Government].
23. Appeal. —
Any person, aggrieved by an order made by the National Commission in
exercise of its powers conferred by sub-clause (i) of clause (a) of Section
21, may prefer an appeal against such order of the Supreme Court within a
period of thirty days from the date of the order:
Provided that the
Supreme Court may entertain an appeal after the expiry of the said period of
thirty days if it is satisfied that there was sufficient cause for not
filing it within that period.
24. Finality of
orders. —
Every order of a District Forum, the State Commission or the National
Commission shall, if no appeal has been preferred against such order under
the provisions of this Act, be final.
24A.
Limitation period. —
(1) 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 the cause of action has arisen.
(2)
Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), a complaint may be
entertained after the period specified in sub-section (1), if the
complainant satisfies the District Forum, the State Commission or the
National Commission, as the case may be, that he had sufficient cause for
not filing the complaint within such period:
Provided that no
such complaint shall be entertained unless the National Commission, the
State Commission or the District Forum, as the case may be, records its
reasons for condoning such delay.]
24B.
Administrative control. —
(1) The National Commission shall have administrative control over all the
State Commissions in the following matters, namely: —
(i) calling for
periodical return regarding the institution, disposal, pendency of cases;
(ii) issuance
of instructions regarding adoption of uniform procedure in the hearing of
matters, prior service of copies of documents produced by one party to the
opposite parties, furnishing of English translation of judgments written in
any language, speedy grant of copies of documents;
(iii) generally
overseeing the functioning of the State Commissions or the District Fora
ensure that the objects and purposes of the Act are best served without in
any way interfering with their quasi-judicial freedom.
(2) The State
Commission shall have administrative control over all the District Fora
within its jurisdiction in all matters referred to in sub-section (1)].
25. Enforcement
of orders by the Forum, the State Commission or the National Commission —
Every order made by the District Forum, the State Commission or the National
Commission may be enforced by the District Forum, the State Commission or
the National Commission, as the case may be, in the same manner as if it
were decree or order made by a court in a suit pending therein and it shall
be lawful for the District Forum, the State Commission or the National
Commission to send, in the event of its inability to execute it, such order
to the court within the local limits of whose jurisdiction: —
(a) in the case
of an order against a company, the registered office of the company is
situated, or
(b) in the case
of an order against any other person, the place where the person concerned
voluntarily resides or carries on business or personally works for gain, is
situated,
and thereupon,
the court to which the order is so sent, shall execute the order as if it
were a decree or order sent to it for execution.
26.
Dismissal of frivolous or vexatious complaints . —
Where a complaint instituted before the District Forum, the State Commission
or the National Commission, as the case may be, is found to be frivolous or
vexatious, it shall, for reasons to be recorded in writing, dismiss the
complaint and make an order that the complainant shall pay to the opposite
party such cost, not exceeding ten thousand rupees, as may be specified in
the order.].
27. Penalties . —
Where a trader or a person against whom a complaint is made or
the complainant] fails or omits to comply with any order made by the
District Forum, the State Commission or the National Commission, as the case
may be, such trader or person
[52][or
complainant] shall be punishable with imprrisonment for a term which shall
not be less than one month but which may extend to three years, or with fine
which shall not be less than two thousands rupees but which may extend to
ten thousand rupees, or with both:
Provided that the
District Forum, the State Commission or the National Commission, as the case
may be, may, if it is satisfied that the circumstances of any case so
require, impose a sentence of imprisonment or fine, or both, for a term
lesser than the minimum term and the amount lesser than the minimum amount,
specified in this section. CHAPTER IV MISCELLANEOUS
28. Protection of
action taken in good faith. —
No suit, prosecution or other legal proceedings shall lie against the
members of the District Forum, the State Commission or the National
Commission or any officer or person acting under the direction of the
District Forum, the State Commission or the National Commission for
executing any order made by it or in respect of anything which is in good
faith done or intended to be done by such member, officer or person under
this Act or under any rule or order made thereunder.
29. Power to
remove difficulties. —
(1) If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this Act,
the Central Government may, by order in the Official Gazette, make such
provisions not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act as appear to it
to be necessary or expedient for removing the difficulty:
Provided that no
such order shall be made after the expiry of a period of two years from the
commencement of this Act.
(2) Every order
made under this section shall, as soon as may be after it is made be laid
before each House of Parliament.
29A.
Vacancies or defects in appointment not to invalidate orders. —
No act or proceeding of the District Forum, the State Commission or the
National Commission shall be invalid by reason only of the existence of any
vacancy amongst its members or any defect in the constitution thereof.]
30. Power to make
rules. —
(1) The Central Government may, by notification, make rules for carrying out
the provisions contained in clause
(a) of sub-section (1) of Section 2], clause (b) of sub-section (2) of
Section 4, sub-section (2) of Section 5, clause (vi)of sub-section (4) of
Section 13, Section 19, sub-section (2) of Section 20 and Section 22 of this
Act.
(2) The State
Government may, by notification, make rules for carrying out the provisions
contained in clause
(b) of sub-section (2) and sub-section (4) of Section 7], sub-section (3) of
Section 10,clause (c) of Section 16.
31. Laying of
rules . —
(1) Every rule made by the Central Government under this Act shall be laid,
as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of Parliament, while
it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised
in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the
expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive
sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any modification in the rule
or both Houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall
thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the
case may be; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be
without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that
rule.
(2) Every rule
made by a State Government under this Act shall be laid as soon as may be
after it is made, before the State Legislature. Ministries for Consumer Affairs:
Central and for State of Delhi:
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