2. Introduction
• A consumer is any person who has purchased goods for a
certain value of money for self-consumption.
• There are times , where we are supplied with inferior,
less quantity ,or high-priced products.
• To protect consumers against such acts of traders ,
certain laws were enacted by the government .One such
special act to safeguard the interest of innocent
consumers is the “Consumer Protection Act, 1986”.
• Any consumer who is betrayed by the trader and denied
his/her rights can lodge a complaint against the trader
under this Act.
• A consumer himself can file a complaint or through a
legal representative
3. What is a consumer court?
• Consumer Court is a special purpose court which
deals with cases related to consumer disputes
and grievances.
• These are setup by the government to protect the
consumers rights .Its primary function is to
maintain fair practices by sellers.
• A consumer should have proper documents for
filing a case.
• The objective of establishing consumer courts is
to reduce the expense and time of the consumer
in the course of him seeking redresal.
4. Manner of making complaint(Sec.12)
• Section 12 has been substituted by the Consumer
Protection (Amendment) Act , 2002 There are some
important changes in the substituted provision .The
provisions are as under:—
Who can file a complaint[Section12(1)]
• 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 any of
the following:—
(a)the consumer to whom such goods are sold or delivered
or
agreed to be sold or delivered or such services provided or
agreed to be provided;
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(b) Any recognized consumer association such an
association can make a complaint even though
the consumer concerned is not its member
(c)The complaint may also be filed by one or more
consumers ,where there are numerous
consumers having the same interest
(d)The complaint may also be filed by the Central
or the State Government.
6. (2)Complaint to be accompanied by court fee [Section12(2)]
• Every complaint as mentioned above shall be accompanied with such
amount of fee and payable in such manner as may be prescribed.
(3) Admissibility of the complaint[Section12(3)]
The provision with regard to the admissibility of the complaint is as under:
(i) On receipt of the complaint, the District Forum may allow the
complaint to be proceeded with or rejected.
• Before rejecting the complaint, the complainant has to be provided
with an opportunity to explain his case.
• The admissibility of the complaint shall ordinarily be decided within 21
days from the date on which the complaint was received.
(iii) After the complaint is admitted ,it shall be proceeded within
accordance with the provisions of this Act.
7. -
• The complaint shall be heard by the District Forum which
has admitted the same, and shall not be transferred to
any other forum or court , etc.
Case law-
Deficiency in service made out on part of University for
non- delivery of opted question paper to student:—
In this case complainant was a student of
M.A.Final(Sanskrit) examination ,but was delivered a
question paper on subject other than the one he had
opted for in his application .Held, that the University
would be deficient in service in conduct of examination
when the complainant was delivered a question paper on
a subject other than the one he had opted there for.
8. Procedure on admission of complaint(Sec.13)
• This provision deals with procedure on admission of complaint.The
earlier
Provision dealt with the procedure on ‘receipt of complaint’.
The procedure prescribed is as under:—
1.WHERE LABORATORY TEST IS REQUIRED TO DETERMINE THE DEFECT
IN GOODS
• The District Forum should refer a copy of the complaint to the
opposite party directing him to give his version of the case within a
period of 30 days which can be extended to 45 days.
• The District Forum may require the complainant to deposit
specified fees for payment to the appropriate laboratory for
carrying out the necessary analysis or test in relation to the goods
in question.
• The District Forum will obtain a sample of the goods ,seal it ,
authenticate it and refer the samples sealed to the appropriate
laboratory for an analysis or test ,with a view to finding out
whether such goods suffer from any defect.
9. 2.WHERE NO LABORATORY TEST IS REQUIRED TO DETERMINE THE DEFECT IN
GOODS OR THE COMPLAINT RELATES TO SERVICES.
• The District Forum should refer a copy of the complaint to the
opposite party directing him to give his version of the case within a
period of 30 days which can be extended to 45 days.
The opposite party on receipt of a complaint referred to him may:-
• Admit the complaint
• Deny or dispute the allegations contained in the complaint , or
• Omits or fails to respond within the prescribed time
•Where the opposite party admits the allegation, the District Forum
should decide the matter on the basis of the merits of the case and
the documents before it.
• Later, The District Forum shall issue an appropriate order after
hearing the parties and taking into account available evidence.
