The Consumer Protection Act, 1986

CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL AGENCIES (i.e. Consumer Courts):

The Central Government is given the responsibility to create and maintain the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in New Delhi. The State Government is given the responsibility to create a State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission at the state level and a District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum at the district level. The statutory powers and jurisdiction of the three are summarized here. Amount of Court compensation sought Up to Rs.20 District lakh Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum Rs. 20 Lakh to State Rs. 1 crore Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission Higher than National Rs. 1 crore Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission President (i.e. Judge) Must be qualified to be a District Judge Must be a person who is or has been a Judge of a High Court Must be a person who is or has been a Judge of the Supreme Court Other Members Two other members; one must be a woman At least two other members

At least four other members

Complaint cannot be filed in a consumer court if two years have elapsed after the cause of action (such as payment of a bill or the incident that started the dispute with the company)

1) District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum: The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum (DCDRF) President and members are directly/ indirectly appointed by the state government. The President shall be eligible to be District Judge. All members of the Court can have a term of up to 5 years or upto 65 years of age, whichever is earlier. The DCDRF cannot conduct a hearing without the President and at least one other member. This Consumer Court deals with complaints where the compensation sought is less than twenty lakhs. This limit is commonly known as the pecuniary jurisdiction of the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum. DCDRF has the same powers as a civil court. The DCDRF can order the company (product/service provider) to take the following actions once it hears the complaint and decides that the company is at fault: - Correct deficiencies in the product to what they claim - Repair defects free of charges - Replace product with similar or superior product - Issue a full refund of the price - Pay compensation for damages/costs/ inconveniences - Withdraw the sale of the product altogether - Discontinue or not repeat any unfair trade practice or the restrictive trade practice - Issue corrective advertisement for any earlier misrepresentation If the complainant is not satisfied with the verdict from the DCDRF, he/ she can appeal in the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission within a period of 30 days. If a verdict has been given against a company (product/ service provider) , it can appeal only after depositing 50% of the compensation to be paid to the complainant or Rs 25,000/- whichever is lesser. 2) State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission: The Law provides that the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (SCDRC)function in the state capital, but the government has powers to move it as needed. The President of the SCDRC shall be or should have been a High Court Judge and should be appointed only after consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court with the states jurisdiction. The remaining members of the SCDRC are appointed by a committee with the President of the SCDRC as its

chairman, and they can have a term of up to 5 years or upto 67 years, whichever is earlier. The SCDRC deals with a pecuniary jurisdiction of only those complaints where the compensation sought is higher than twenty lakhs but lesser than one crore. The SCDRC usually hears following three cases : -Appeals from the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forums -case against companies that operates or a branch in the state -where the actual reason for filing the complaint (such as signing of an agreement or payment of a bill) partially or fully occurred within the state The SCDRC also has the powers to transfer a case from one District Forum to another District Forum If a Complainant is not satisfied by the verdict from the SCDRC, he /she can appeal in the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, within a period of 30 days. If a verdict has been given against the company, it can appeal only after depositing 50% of the compensation to be paid to the complainant or Rs.35,000/- whichever is lesser. 3) National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission: The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) functions in New Delhi and is presided by a person who is currently or has been in the past a Judge of the Supreme Court. The President of the NCDRC is appointed by the Central Government after consultation with Chief Justice of India. The NCDRC has a minimum of four other members and is appointed by a committee chaired by a Supreme Court Judge as recommended by the Chief Justice of India. Members of the NCDRC can have a term up to five years or up to 70 years whichever is earlier. If the Complaint seeks more than one crore rupees of compensation from a company, then the NCDRC has pecuniary jurisdiction over the complaint.

National Consumer Disputes following complaints:

Redressal

Commission

handles

the

-Appeals from State Consumer Commissions -Requests for transferring the case from one State Commission another State Commission -Consumer Complaints that occurred in India If a Complainant is not satisfied by the verdict from the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission he /she can appeal in the Supreme Court, within a period of 30 days. If a verdict has been given against the company, it can appeal only after depositing 50% of the compensation to be paid to the complainant or Rs.50,000/- whichever is lesser. ________________________________________________________