CONSUMER

PROTECTION ACT

Introduction
Before the enactment of the consumer
protection Act,1986 a person aggrieved by the
defective goods or deficiency in service had to
approach the ordinary civil court to get his
grievances redressed.
The proceeding in the ordinary civil court is very
complex, expensive and time consuming.
In order to give more protection to the interest of
consumers of goods and service the parliament
enacted the consumer protection act 1986.
The law relating to consumer protection is
contained in the Consumer Protection Act, 1986.
Aimed at providing simple, quick, and cheaper
protection of consumer interest.

Who Is A Consumer
Consumer of Goods
A person who has purchased goods for a
consideration. The consideration may be paid
or promised to pay or partly paid or partly
promised.
A person who has purchased goods under a
system of deferred payment is also a
consumer.
Consumer of Service
A person who has hired or availed of any
service for consideration .Consideration may
be paid or promised to pay or partly paid.
A person who has hired or availed of any

Objectives Of The Act

Redressal Agency

Scope Of The Act

Appliesto whole India
Appliesto all type of goodsand services,
public utilities& public sector undertakings
All
typesof
complainsrelatingto
goods,unfair trade practice
A suit pendingin civil court cannot be heard
in consumercourt

What Is A Complaint
Complaint means any allegation in writing made my a
compliant that :
I.An unfair trade practice or a restrictive trade practice has
been adopted by any trader or service provider.
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 off by him suffer from deficiency in any respect.
IV.Goods or Services which are hazardous to life.
V.A trader or service provider as the case may be has
charged for the goods or for the services mentioned in the
complaint, a price in excess of the price
a) fixed by or under any law for the time being in
force.
b) displayed on the goods or any package containing
such goods.
c) displayed on the price list exhibited by him by or
under any law for the time being in force.

Who Can File A Complaint

The consumer to whom thegoodsare soldor
delivered, or agreedto be sold or delivered,
or
theservice
hasbeen
provided,
or
agreedto be provided.
Any
recognizedconsumerassociation
,
regardless of whether theconsumer isa
memberof such association or not.
One or moreconsumer , where there are
numerousconsumerhaving thesame interest
with permission of thedistrict forum on
behalf
of
or
for
thebenefit
of
all
consumersointerested.
The state or central govt. either its individual

Consumer Dispute Redressal

Agencies

District forum headed by District judge ,

jurisdiction- district.
State Commission headed by Judge of High
Court, jurisdiction- whole state.
National Commission headed by Chief Justice Of
India, jurisdiction- entire nation.

Where to File A Complaint

If the cost of goods or services and

compensation asked for is up to Rs. 20 lakh ,the
district where the cause of action has arisen or
where the opposite party resides.
State Commission - If the cost of goods or
services and compensation asked for is more
than rupees 20 lakh , but less than rupees 1
Crore.

Procedure To File A Complaint

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

8.
9.

Notice to the Opposite Party.

Prepare the consumer complaint in the required format
Get the complaint affidavit notarized through a notary
Submit the complaint and court fee to the receiving clerk
in the consumer court who will give you the date for
admission hearing and complaint reference number
On admission hearing, you would be informed whether
your case is fit for acceptance or not. If accepted, you will
be given the date for next hearing
The court will send a notice & complaint copy to the
opposite party seeking reply within 30 days
Where complaint alleges a defect in the goods which cant
be
determined
without
proper
analysis,
the
forum/commission send it to the laboratory to find out
whether there is any defect in it or not?
The hearings will continue till the matter is decided
The complaint should be decided within 90 days

Time Limit To File A Complain

Sec.
24A
of
theAct
providesthata
consumerdispute can be filed within 2 years
from thedate on whichthecause of action
arises.
Appeals are require to be filedwithin 30 days
from thedate of receiptof the court'sorder

Relief To Consumers
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Repair of defective goods.

Replacement of defective goods
Refund of price paid for defective good/services
Removal of deficiency in service
Refund of extra money charge
Withdrawal of goods hazardous to life
Compensation for the loss due to negligence of
opposite party.

Penalties

If trader fails to follow the order then he shall be

punishable with min. 1 month up to 3yrs with fine of
min. Rs.2000 up to Rs.10000
If frivolous complaint is filed then it shall be

Chetan Prakash v/s MET Institute

Prakash was in final year of BSc when he
sought admission in the institute for MCS. The
institute had stipulated that in order to
pursue the MCS course, student has to clear
III year exams. He deposited the fees before
declaration of result. Seeing that he had
failed in exams, he tried to withdraw the
admission and requested for a refund, to
which the institute did not responded. Finally,
he sent a legal notice to the institute, and
then complaint in the consumer forum.
lodged a
Judgement: The institute had to pay the

Krishnan Kumar Bajaj vs. PepsiCo

Bajaj, a resident of Ahmedabad, had purchased a
Lays packet on 28 June 2010 and sensed its
being underweight. He wrote twice to the
manufacturer. While the first letter got no
response, in reply to the second, it offered Bajaj
gifts hamper which he refused. Bajaj approached
CERS (consumer education research society),
who wrote to PepsiCo. Company refused to
accept
their
fault
and
gave
several
unsatisfactory clarifications. CERS took the issue
to the Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum,
which also gave a favourable ruling. The
company asked for the bill of purchase which
Bajaj could not produce
Judgement: The Court overruled the argument of