Need for

Presented by-

Consumer
Protection Act in
an era where
consumer is King,
therefore King
needs protection.

Apoorva Joshi 62 Shailey Khare 72

Pallavi Kale 64 Shwetal Kohade

74
Sanket Kasture 66
Kunal Kore 76
Bhagyashree
khale 68 Naveen Kumar 78

Abhijeet Kharat Vaibhav Kursange

70 80
Sr.No Content Page No.

01 INDEX
Introduction
02 Key Terms

03 Consumer Guidance
Society Of India
04 Consumer Protection
Act
05 Needs
06 Objectives

07 Consumer Rights under

the Consumer
Protection Act, India!
08 Consumer Forum
09 Process of filing a
complain
10 Survey analysis

11 Statistical data
12 Steps taken by Govt

13 Ombudsman

14 Case studies

15 Comparison (India and

other democracy)
16 Conclusion

17 Bibliography

1
Introduction

2
Consumer is said to be the King in free economy market.

However due to changing economy, increased competition and to increase the market share,
sellers tend to indulge in certain exploitative and unfair trade practices and thus, now the slogan
beware of the seller has come into existence because the king is cheated and thus needs
protection from such malpractices.

The malpractices could be spurious goods, adulteration, false and misleading advertising,
black marketing, etc. This means consumer is exposed to risks due to unsafe products, bad health
due to adulteration or wrong decisions due to misleading advertisements. Hence to protect
customers from such issues let us discuss the consumer protection act.

3
Key Terms

4
The clause II of this Act has defined some terms used by Consumer Protection Act
like:

1. Defect:
It is any fault or shortcoming in quality, quantity, purity, potency, or standard fixed by the
government.

2. Deficiency :
It is any fault, shortcoming or imperfection in quality or performance.

3. Unfair Trade Practice:

It is unfair and deceptive procedure used to promote sale or supply of goods and services like lottery,
chit fund, conducting competitions, etc

4. Restricted trade practices

5. Consumer goods: - Consumer goods are goods that are ultimately consumed rather than used in the
production of another good. For example, a microwave oven or a bicycle which is sold to a consumer is a
final good or consumer good, whereas the components which are sold to be used in those goods are called
intermediate goods.

6. Malpractices: - Improper, illegal, or negligent professional behavior. It is an instance of improper

professional conduct.

7. Adulteration: - "Adulteration" is a legal term meaning that a food product fails to meet federal or state
standards. Adulteration usually refers to noncompliance with health or safety standards as determined, in
the United States, by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA).

Example: - Addition of Brick powder to chilly powder

8. Misleading advertisement: - False advertising or deceptive advertising is the use of false or misleading
statements in advertising, and misrepresentation of the product at hand, which may negatively affect many
stakeholders, especially consumers. As advertising has the potential to persuade people into commercial
transactions that they might otherwise avoid, many governments around the world use regulations to control false,
deceptive or misleading advertising. Truth refers to essentially the same concept, that customers have the right to
know what they are buying, and that all necessary information should be on the label

Example: - soaps claiming to contain gold coins

5
9. Consumer protection: - Consumer protection is a group of laws and organizations designed to ensure
the rights of consumers and also fair trade, competition and accurate 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

6
Consumer guidance

Society of India

7
 Consumer guidance society of India (1966)

Before CGSI wasnt introduced the consumers were not clear about what are their rights
what they get cheated by the shopkeepers and the service providers. That is why there was a need of
this type of campaign so that the consumers know their right and what to do when they get cheated.

The consumer guidance society of India, is the first guidance of our country, which was
founded in the year 1966. The Maharashtra state government gave authorization of establishing and
managing the state consumer helpline.

CGSI reaches thousands of consumers and conducts workshop and seminars for consumer
awareness on topics like food adulteration, becoming a smart investor and consumer protection.
CGSI was founded by women activists and is being running successfully for around 40 years. Its
prior aim was to protect consumers right, who dont know their rights when they get cheated and
also how to act in the situation when u find that you been cheated with defective goods, or service.

With the efforts of CGSI and other organization who protects consumer rights bought the consumer
protection act in the year 1986.

Highlights of CGSI :

1. First consumer organization in India

2. CGSI was first to demand for the consumer protection act and consumer court implementation
3. CGSI also introduced a magazine called KEEMAT with information of basic consumer goods.
4. CGSI promotes consumer education, training programs in rural areas
5. CGSI works along with the many technical committees and government decision makers

CGSI representation of various bodies:

Many government bodies like Bureau of Indian standards, telecom regulatory authority of India,
insurance regulatory and development authority of India etc. give representation to CGSI due to the
work it has done for the consumers.

8
 Due to the work done by the CGSI Maharashtra government has given consumer helpline project to
the CGSI for the 5 years.

Its main objectives are:

1. Develop a resource centre at State level which will be networked with the National Resource Centre

2. Resolve maximum no. of disputes out of the court

3. Promote active participation of companies who provide good and quick response to consumer
problems.
4. Reach out to consumers complaint
5. Provide service in regional language along with English

CGSI has also produced a documentary film name GRAHAKPAL to aware consumers with the help
of few celebrities.

9
Consumer protection
Act (1986)

10
 Consumer Protection Act (1986)

Consumer Protection Act, 1986 is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted in 1986 to protect the
interests of consumers in India. It makes provision for the establishment of consumer councils and
other authorities for the settlement of consumers' disputes and for matters.

Consumer Protection Councils are established at the national, state and district level to increase
consumer awareness.

Salient Features of Consumer protection Act:-

1. Act is applicable to goods and also to services. Services include transportation, electricity, water, etc. The goods
are manufactured by manufacturer and consumer can buy the same from the distributor or the seller.

2. It consists of a redressal forum which includes three judicial system that is set up to provide relief to the
consumers. It has been set up at various levels where consumers can easily lodge their complain.
At district level it is district redressal forum that is headed by the judicial officer who is equivalent to the
session judge and he is assisted by two members. Cases involved include compensation upto 20 lakhs
The state level redressal commission headed by the judicial judge who is equivalent to the high court
judge. He is also assisted by 2 members , cases involved here include compensation between 20 lakh to
one crore.
The national level redressal commission headed by the judge of supreme court he is assisted by 4
members and cases involved here include compensation for more the one crore. Supreme court is the
final deciding authority.

3. Under this Act there is provision to settle the complaint within three months of filing it. If the complaint needs
laboratory testing, the period is extended to five months.

4. In Consumer Protection Act, clause VI defines the rights of the consumer which will be discussed in the further
chapter.

5. There is no fee for lodging a complaint. Even poor people can get justice.

11
Need and Importance

12
Need for Consumer Protection Act

Today consumer is a victim of low income, high prices ,immoral practices of sellers and also
of scarcity . As competition is rising day by day adulteration and malpractices are also taking place.
Often consumer cannot see through the manipulations of the sellers and fail to make proper
purchase.

If we talk of the olden days the relationship between the sellers and consumer was a real one
with trust and loyalty but today that relationship has vanished because the sellers just want to have
the maximum profits and hardly bothered about the consumers loss.

Importance of consumer protection act and problems faced by consumers

It not only educate the consumers about their rights but also helps in getting their grievances
redressed. Thus, it has a wide agenda.

1. Illiteracy and Ignorance:- In the light of widespread ignorance of consumers about their rights
and reliefs it is necessary to educate them so to achieve consumer awareness.
2. Spurious Goods:- These are the goods and services which are claimed to be genuine but are
actually not , so to make the consumer aware of such spurious goods ,educate and protect them
against such fraud products.
3. Deceptive Advertising:- Advertising has a great influence on peoples perception so it comes
with a prerequisite that it should be true and ethical. If an advertisement is deliberately goes
beyond its actual duty of promoting goods and services accepting unethical means then it
becomes objectionable.
4. Malpractices of Businessmen:- There was a time when customers and sellers shared a loyal
relationship whereas today its a different scenario altogether. Today the businessman/seller
mostly is concerned of his profit and does not stay loyal to the customer.

Adulteration:- This is adding something inferior to the product. Sometimes these products may be
injurious to health.

13
Objectives

14
 Purpose and Objectives of the Act

1. Protecting basic rights of customers :- Consumer is king and he has certain rights such as
right to information, right to choose, etc. and it is necessary to protect those rights is one of
the most important purpose of consumer protection act.

2. Educating the consumers: - The act has provisions for educating the consumers about the
rights, malpractices by sellers, the necessary actions a consumer can take if he faces any
problem, etc.

3. Not to provide loopholes and excuses

4. Features of Consumer protection Act

The U.N. guidelines for consumer protection are meant to achieve the
following objectives:

I. To assist countries in achieving or maintaining adequate protection for their population

as Consumers,

II. To facilitate production and distribution patterns responsive to the needs and desires
of
consumers,

III. To encourage high levels of ethical conduct for those engaged in the production and
distribution of goods and services to consumers,

IV. To assist countries in curbing abusive business practices by all enterprises at the
national
and international levels which adversely affect consumers,

V. To facilitate the development of independent consumer groups,

VI. To further international cooperation in the field of consumer protection,

VII. To encourage the development of market conditions which provide consumers with
greater choice at lower prices.

15
Consumer Rights under the
Consumer Protection Act,
India!

16
Consumer Rights

1. Right to Safety

According to the Consumer Protection Act 1986, the consumer right is referred to as right to be protected
against marketing of goods and services which are hazardous to life and property.

It is applicable to specific areas like healthcare, pharmaceuticals and food processing; this right is spread
across the domain having a serious effect on the health of the consumers or their well-being viz.
Automobiles, Housing, Domestic Appliances, and Travel etc.

It is estimated every year that thousands or millions of citizens of India are killed or seriously injured by
immoral practices by doctors, hospitals, pharmacies and the automobile industry.

Example: It does not happen coincidently that Tata Nano is sold in India for half of what it costs in a country
which is industrially developed; this is a classic case of requirement of a cheap product that outweighs the
need for safety of family and self.

Before purchasing, consumers should insist on the quality of the products as well as on the guarantee of the
products and services.

They should preferably purchase quality marked products such as ISI, AGMARK, etc

2. Right to Information

The right to information is defined as the right to be informed about the quality, quantity, potency, purity,
standard and price of goods or services, as the case may be so as to protect the consumer against unfair trade
practices in the Consumer Protection Act of 1986.

In the market place of India, consumers get information by two ways namely advertising and word of mouth
however these sources are considered to be unreliable but still this word of mouth is quite common here.

Because of this, the Indian consumers hardly have precise and complete information for assessing the true
value, safety, suitability, reliability of any product.

Usually the hidden costs can be found, lack of suitability, quality problems and safety hazards only after the
purchase of the product.

17
There is another right claimed by Indian government on paper, this right must ideally make sure that all
consumable products have been labelled in a standard manner containing the cost, quantity, the ingredients
and instructions given to use the product safely.

It is unfortunate that even the medicines in the country do not follow a standardized labelling convention.

For providing benefit to the society through this right, advertisers must be held against the standards of
products in the advertisements.

The pharmaceuticals require disclosing potential side effects related to their drugs and manufacturers ought
to be required to publish reports from independent product testing laboratories for the purpose of comparing
the quality of their products from competitive products.

The right to information gives the power to the consumers to have an easy access to information which is
necessary for the consumer.

3. Right to Choose

The definition of Right to Choose as per the Consumer Protection Act 1986 is the right to be assured,
wherever possible, to have access to a variety of goods and services at competitive prices.

For regulating the market place, there is just one factor required and that is competition.

Fair and effective competition must be encouraged so as to provide consumers with the widest range of
products and services at the lowest cost.

In case of monopolies, it means right to be assured of satisfactory quality and service at a fair price.

What most of us don't know is that a consumer can even bargain on the MRP.

4. Right to be heard

As stated in the Consumer Protection Act 1986, the right to be heard and to be assured that consumer's
interests will receive due consideration at appropriate forums is the definition of the right to be heard.

This right helps to empower the consumers of India for putting forward their complaints and concerns
fearlessly and raising their voice against products or even companies and ensure that their issues are taken
into consideration as well as handled expeditiously.

18
The major objective of Consumer is to ensure that their voices are heard by the corporate world.

Although consumer courts are there to hear and resolve the complaints of a consumer, we still lack a
substantial outlet where consumers can voice out their opinion.

Having said that, there are many websites which aim to make sure that the voice of customers reach the
corporate world.

These websites let customers upload their grievances and file complaints. Every grievance filed gradually
lessens the overall score of the product being criticized.

Examples:

https://india.gov.in/lodge-complaint-online-national-consumer-helpline-portal

http://www.indiaconsumerforum.org/

http://www.myshikayat.com/

5. Right to Redressal

The right to seek redressal against unfair trade practices or restrictive trade practices or unscrupulous
exploitation of consumers is referred to as the right to redressal according to the Consumer Protection Act
1986.

Consumers must make complaint for their genuine grievances. Many a times their complaint may be of small
value but its impact on the society as a whole may be very large.

The Consumer courts like District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forums at district level, State Consumer
Disputes Redressal Commissions and National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions have been
incorporated with the help of the consumer protection act.

These consumer grievance redressal agencies have fiduciary as well as geographical jurisdictions which
address consumer cases between businesses and consumers.

19
About 20 lakhs Consumer cases are heard in the district consumer forum, and around one crore can be heard
in the state consumer court while more than one crore cases are heard at national consumer court.

There are around 20-30 million open cases in India which remain unsolved and would take around 320 years
to wind up.

Having such type of compromised legal system the consumer cases form just civil litigations and are carried
forward to the bottom of the priority list.

6. Right to Consumer Education

The right of every Indian citizen to have education on matters regarding consumer protection as well as
about her/his right is regarded as the last right provided by the Consumer Protection Act 1986.

The right makes sure that the consumers in the country have informational programs and materials which are
easily accessible and would enable them to make purchasing decisions which are better than before.

Consumer education might refer to formal education through college and school curriculums as well as
consumer awareness campaigns being run by non- governmental and governmental agencies both.

Consumer NGOs, having little endorsement from the government of India, basically undertake the task of
ensuring the consumer right throughout the country.

20
Consumer Forum

21
 Consumer Protection Council

The Central Consumer Protection Council.

1. The Central Government shall, 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.

Objectives of Central Council

The objectives of the Central Council are to promote and protect the rights of the consumers such as:-

1. The right to be protected against the marketing of goods and services which are hazardous to life
and property.

2. the right to be informed about the quality, quantity, potency, purity, standard and price of goods or
services,

3. the right to seek Redressal against unfair trade practices or restrictive trade practices or
unscrupulous exploitation of consumers; and

4. The right to consumer education.

5. the right against consumer exploitation.

The State Consumer Protection Councils

1. The State Government shall, 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).

2. The State Council shall consist of the following members, namely:-

a. The Minister in charge of consumer affairs in the State Government who shall be its Chairman;

22
 b. Such number of other official or non-official members representing such interests as may be
prescribed by the State Government.

c. Such number of other official or non-official members, not exceeding ten, as may be nominated
by the Central Government.

Objectives of State Council

The objectives of the State Council are to promote and protect the rights of the consumers such as:-

1 The right to be protected against the marketing of goods and services which are hazardous to life and
property.

2 The right to be informed about the quality, quantity, potency, purity, standard and price of goods or
services,

3 The right to seek Redressal against unfair trade practices or restrictive trade practices or unscrupulous
exploitation of consumers; and

4 The right to consumer education.

5 The right against consumer exploitation

CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL AGENCIES

CONSUMER FORUMS
The Consumer Protection Act provides for a 3 tier approach in resolving consumer disputes. There
are three levels of consumer courts
1) District Consumer Disputes Rederessal Forum (District Forum),
2) State Consumer Disputes Rederessal Commission (State Commission),
3) National Consumer Disputes Rederessal Commission (National Commission).
District Forum and State Commission are formed by States with the permission of the Central
Government while the National Commission is formed by the Central Government.
The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 has given powers to the Central and State Governments to
make rules with regard to various aspects of the consumer protection machinery.

23
 Establishment of Consumer Disputes Redressal Agencies.
There shall be established for the purposes of this Act, the following agencies, namely:-

a District Forum:
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.
Any person who is not satisfied with order of district forum can appeal against such order
to state commission within 30 days of order.

Composition:

The qualified person for the post of district judge or work as district judge is nominated by
state government for the President.

Other two persons from the field of education, trade and commerce. In which one should
be women.

Term of office

Every member of the District Forum is to hold office for a term of five years or up to the
age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. However, he/she shall not be eligible for re-appointment.

Pecuniary Jurisdiction

District Forum entertains the cases where the value of claim is upto Rs. 20 Lakhs. Where a
claim exceeds this limit, the matter is beyond the jurisdiction of the Forum.
This limit was increased from Rs. 5 lakhs to Rs. 20 lakhs as per Consumer Protection
(Amendment) Act, 2002.
This limit of Rs. 20 lakh is as to the value of claim filed by the party. Value of goods or services in
question or value of relief granted is not relevant for this purpose.

The complainant has a right to reduce value of his claim in order to bring his claim within the
jurisdiction of a junior forum.

Territorial Jurisdiction

Every District Forum has definite geographical limits within which it can exercise its juris-
diction. A case is supposed to fall within such territory when at the time of the institution of
the complaint

24
 (a) The party against whom the claim is made actually and voluntarily resides or carries on
business or has a branch office or personally works for gain in that area, or
(b) Where there are more than one opposite party, each such party actually and voluntarily
resides or carries on business or has a branch office or personally works for gain in that area, or
(c) Where there are more than one opposite party, and any such party actually and voluntarily
resides or carries on business or has a branch office or personally works for gain in that area,
provided the other parties not so residing or working agrees, or the District Forum gives
permission in this regard,
(d) The cause of action, wholly or in part, arises in that area.

b State Commission:

After the District Forum, State Commission is next in the hierarchy of Consumer
Rederessal Forums under the Act
Consumer Disputes Rederessal Commission to be known as the "State Commission"
established by the State Government in the State by notification.
Any person who is not satisfied with order of state commission can appeal against such
order to National commission within 30 days of order.

Composition:

The person who is judge of high court or worked as judge of high court shall be its
president.
Other two persons from which one should be women, who shall have the following qualifications,
namely: be not less than thirty-five years of age; possess a bachelor's degree from a recognised
university. Be persons of ability, integrity and standing, and have adequate knowledge and
experience of at least ten years in dealing with problems relating to economics, law, commerce,
accountancy, industry, public affairs or administration.

Term of office
Every member of the State Commission shall hold office for five years or upto the age of
67 years whichever is earlier and he shall not be eligible for re-appointment.

Pecuniary Jurisdiction
State Commission entertains the cases where the value of claim exceeds Rs. 20 lakhs. But
where value of the claim exceeds Rs. 1 crore, the matter is beyond the jurisdiction of the
Commission.
This limit was increased from Rs. 20 lakhs to Rs. 1 crore as per Consumer Protection
(Amendment) Act, 2002.

25
 Territorial Jurisdiction

The Consumer Protection Act does not specifically provides for the territorial jurisdiction of the
State Commission.

Broadly these principles are on the similar lines on which the territorial jurisdiction of District
Forum is based. Thus a suit can be instituted in the State Commission within whose local limits-

(a) the party against whom the claim is made actually and voluntarily resides or carries on
business or personally works for gain, or

(b) where there are more than one opposite party, each such party actually and voluntarily resides
or carries on business or personally works for gain, or

(c) where there are more than one opposite party, and any such party actually and voluntarily
resides or carries on business or has a branch office or personally works for gain, provided the
other parties not so residing or working agrees, or the State Commission gives permission in this
regard, or
(d) the cause of action, wholly or in part, arises.

c National Commission:

A National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission established by the Central

Government by notification.
Any person who is not satisfied with order of national commission can appeal against such
order to Supreme Court within 30 days of order.

Composition:
The person who is judge of Supreme Court or worked as judge of Supreme Court to be
appointed by central government shall be its president.
Other four persons in which one should be women.

Ammendment
As per the Consumer Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2011, a maximum of 50 per cent of the
members of the National Commission are required to be persons having a judicial background.
The Bill defines the term judicial background to include present and former judges of a High
Court or the Supreme Court of India.

Term of office

Every member of the National Commission is to hold office for a term of five years or upto the age of
seventy years, whichever is earlier and is not eligible for re-appointment.

26
 Pecuniary jurisdiction

Since National Commission is the highest level of Consumer Forums, it may entertain all
the matters where the value of claim exceeds Rs. 1 crore.

This limit was increased from Rs. 1 crore to Rs. more than 1 crore as per Consumer Protection
(Amendment) Act, 2002.

Territorial jurisdiction

The territorial jurisdiction of the National Commission is whole of India except the State of Jammu &
Kashmir.

However, the Consumer Protection Act is applicable only if the cause of action arise in India. If the
cause of action arises out of India, National Commission has no jurisdiction over the matter as it
cannot be tried in India under the Act.

Revisional jurisdiction

National Commission can call for the records and pass the appropriate orders in any consumer dispute
which is pending before or has been decided by any State Commission it is of the view that the State
Commission

- has exercised jurisdiction which it was not entitled to, or

- has failed to exercise such jurisdiction which it was entitled to, or

- has exercised its jurisdiction illegally or with material irregularity.

27
Process of filing a
Complain

28
HOW TO FILE A CONSUMER COMPLIANT

Before formally filing a Consumer Complaint, it is desired that the Consumer gives notice to the opposite
party of the fact of any deficiency in service or of unfair trade practice etc to see if the trader is willing to
make good the loss suffered by either replacing the commodity or returning the value of the purchase. If yes,
the issue resolves then and there. But if the trader refuses or neglects here that the consumers needs to
approach the Consumer Court.

STEP 1: At first identify the Jurisdiction of the Forum where the complaint is to be filed. This issue
needs to be identified from two angles of jurisdiction i.e. Territorial and Pecuniary.

The Consumer has to take into consideration both the territorial and pecuniary jurisdiction of the tribunal in
mind before filing his complaint and has to choose the correct forum.

Territorial Jurisdiction of the Consumer Forums :-

A complaint shall be instituted in a District Forum or State Commission or National within the local limits of
whose jurisdiction,

a) The opposite party resides or caries on business or has a branch office or personally works for gain, or

b) If there are more than one opposite party, then any one of the opposite parties resides, or carries on
business or has a branch office, or personally works for gain,

Provided that in such case the permission of either District Forum, State Commission or National
Commission as the case may be, or the opposite parties who do not reside in such place or carry on business
or have a branch office or personally works for gain as the case may be, must be obtained , or

c) The cause of action arose.

PECUNIARY JURISDICTION OF CONSUMER FORUMS

Sr No. Forums Amount

1 District Forum Upto Rs. 20 Lakhs

2 State Commission Rs. 20 Lakhs to Rs. 1 Crores

3 National Commission Exceeding Rs. 1 Crores

29
Step 2: You will be required to pay a prescribed fee along with your complaint before the District Forum,
State Commission & the National Commission as the case may be.

Step 3: Then you have to draft your complaint stating facts necessary to establish a cause of action.

Step 4: At the end of the complaint you have to put your signatures. In case any other person is authorised
to file the complaint then complaint has to be accompanied with authorisation letter.

Step 5: Dont forget to mention the name, description and address of the complainant and the name,
description, address of the opposite party or parties against whom relief is claimed.

Step 6: Copies of all the documents supporting your allegations. In this you can put on record the copy of
the bill of the goods bought, warranty and guarantee documents and also a copy of the written complaint and
notice made to the trader requesting him to rectify the product.

Step 7: You can also ask for compensation costs which should be specifically alleged in the complaint.
Besides compensation, a consumer can also ask for the refunds, damages, litigation costs, and interest
amount. You must give the breakup of amount claimed under different heads but do remember to claim
compensation or other relief as per the pecuniary value of the forums.

Step 8: Explain in your complaint as to how the case falls within the jurisdiction of this forum.

Step 9: Complaint must clearly state as to what relief is sought against the opposite party.

Step 10: The Act provides for limitation period of two years from the date of cause of action. In case there is
delay in filing the complaint, please explain the delay which can be can be condoned by the Tribunal.

Step 11: You are also required to file an affidavit along with the complaint that facts stated in the complaint
are true and correct.

Step 12: The complainant can present the complaint in person or by his/her authorised representative without
engaging any advocate. The complaint can be sent by registered post. A minimum of 5 copies of the
complaint is to be filed in the forum. Besides this you have to file additional copies for each opposite party.

30
Survey Analysis

31
32
Statistical data

33
 Statistical Data

Number of Consumer Complaints Filed/Disposed under Consumer Protection

Law in India (As on 01.06.2015)

Agency Case Cases Cas % of

Filed Dispose es Total
since d of Pen Disposal
Incepti since din
on Incepti g
on

National 95380 85434 994 89.57%

Commissio 6
ns

State 679742 590320 894 86.84%

Commissio 22
ns

District 356377 326376 273 92.28%

Forums 0 0 010

Total 431189 393951 372 91.36%

2 4 378

Source: National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission

34
 Expenditure Incurred on Consumer Awareness Campaign in India

Expenditure
Years
(Rs. in Crore)

2012-13 66.46

2013-14 68.07

2014-15 (Provisional) 76.42

State- wise Number of Complaints Filed / Disposed of / Pending in National and

State Commission as on 01.06.2015

C
as
C
es C
as
di a %
es
sp s o
S fil
os e f
l ed
ed s D
. Nam si
of P is
e of nc
si e p
N State e
nc n o
o in
e d s
. ce
in i a
pt
ce n l
io
pt g
n
io
n

Natio
9 8
nal 95 85
9 9.
Com 38 43
4 5
missi 0 4
6 7
on

State

35
 Com
missi
on

Andh 9
34 34 5
ra 8.
1 70 20 0
Prade 5
4 3 1
sh 6

A& 9
N 10 10 7.
2 3
Islan 9 6 2
ds 5

Arun 9
achal 4.
3 70 66 4
Prade 2
sh 9

8
3
Assa 27 24 8.
4 2
m 70 42 1
8
6

4 7
17 13
6 4.
5 Bihar 86 23
3 0
6 0
6 5

9
Chan 14 14
9 9.
6 digar 19 09
7 3
h 2 5
2

9
Chhat 11 10 6
9.
7 tisgar 00 33 6
9
h 0 1 9
2

Dama
8
n&
0.
8 Diu 25 20 5
0
and
0
DNH

4 9
40 35
9 7.
9 Delhi 56 59
6 7
6 9
7 6

36
 9
1 26 26 2 8.
Goa
0 40 11 9 9
0

4 9
51 46
1 Gujar 4 1.
37 90
1 at 6 3
1 2
9 0

9
45 44 8
1 Hary 8.
55 67 7
2 ana 0
0 5 5
8

Hima 9
25 25 1
1 chal 9.
89 70 8
3 Prade 2
0 2 8
sh 7

Jamm 9
5
1 u& 73 68 2.
3
4 Kash 44 13 7
1
mir 7

9
5
1 Jhark 55 50 0.
1
5 hand 58 41 7
7
0

4 9
48 44
1 Karn 6 0.
93 29
6 ataka 3 5
1 5
6 3

1 9
27 25
1 Keral 9 3.
68 76
7 a 1 0
0 2
8 7

8
Laks
1 8.
hadw 18 16 2
8 8
eep
9

Madh 7 8
47 39
1 ya 4 4.
36 86
9 Prade 9 1
4 6
sh 8 7

37
 1
8
Maha 65 54 0
2 3.
rashtr 96 99 9
0 3
a[1] 7 0 7
6
7

7
2 Mani 16 13 3 9.
1 pur 4 1 3 8
8

9
2 Megh 30 28 1 5.
2 alaya 0 5 5 0
0

9
2 Mizo 21 20 1 5.
3 ram 5 5 0 3
5

5
2 Nagal 15 6 9.
93
4 and 6 3 6
2

6 7
23 16
2 Odish 6 1.
62 98
5 a 4 8
2 1
1 9

9
Pondi
2 10 97 3 6.
cherr
6 02 1 1 9
y
1

3 9
33 30
2 Punja 2 0.
59 38
7 b 0 4
6 9
7 5

5 9
Rajas 61 55
2 8 0.
than[ 69 84
8 4 5
2] 7 8
9 2

9
2 Sikki 4.
57 54 3
9 m 7
4

38
 2 9
26 23
3 Tamil 3 1.
23 92
0 Nadu 0 2
0 1
9 0

5 0.
3 Tripu 54
0 4 0
1 ra 1
1 0

2
6
Uttar 74 47 6
3 4.
Prade 58 85 7
2 1
sh[3] 6 9 2
7
7

9
Uttar
3 16 16 3 7.
akhan
3 45 06 9 6
d
3

1 8
West
3 63 52 1 2.
Beng
4 16 12 0 5
al[4]
4 2

8
8
67 59 9
TOT 6.
97 03 4
AL 8
42 20 2
4
2

[1]: Maharashtra is having one additional Bench

[2]: Rajasthan is having one additional Bench

[3]: UP is having one additional Bench

[4]: WB is having two additional Benches

39
State-wise Number of Cases Filed/Disposed and Pending in District Forum in
India (As on 01.06.2015)

S Stat C C C %
r es/U as as a
. Ts es es s o

40
State-wise Number of Cases Disposed of by Lok Adalat Methods in India (As on
01.06.2015)

S
I State
District
States/ UTs Commissio
Forum
N n
o

1 Andhra Pradesh Nil Nil

Andaman &
2 N.A N.A
Nicobar Islands

3 Arunachal Pradesh Nil Nil

4 Assam Nil Nil

5 Bihar 30 385

6 Chandigarh 105 3007

7 Chhattisgarh - 80

Dadra & Nagar

8 N.A N.A
Haveli/ Daman Diu

9 Delhi 78 1959

10 Goa 3 91

41
11 Gujarat - 30

12 Haryana 705 5086

13 Himachal Pradesh Nil 889

14 Jammu & Kashmir 70 N.A

15 Jharkhand N.A 6

16 Karnataka Nil Nil

17 Kerala N.A N.A

18 Lakshadweep Nil Nil

19 Madhya Pradesh 11 3500

20 Maharashtra 143 1373

21 Manipur N.A N.A

22 Meghalaya N.A N.A

23 Mizoram 1 N.A

24 Nagaland N.A N.A

25 Odisha 106 440

26 Pondicherry N.A N.A

27 Punjab 565 5440

42
 28 Rajasthan 147 9119

29 Sikkim Nil Nil

30 Tamil Nadu Nil Nil

31 Tripura Nil Nil

32 Uttar Pradesh 390 1809

33 Uttarakhand Nil 380

34 West Bengal Nil 10

India 2354 33488

Source: National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission

43
Lok Adalat:

Lok Adalat is a system of alternative dispute resolution developed in India wide Legal Services
Authorities Act, 1987. It roughly means "People's court". India has had a long history of resolving
disputes through the mediation of village elders. The system of Lok Adalats is based on the
principles of the Panch Parmeshwar of Gram Panchayats which were also proposed by Mahatma
Gandhi. The idea of Lok Adalat was mainly advocated by Justice P.N. Bhagwati, a former Chief
Justice of India. Lok Adalat is a non-adversarial system, whereby mock courts (called Lok Adalats)
are held by the State Authority, District Authority, Supreme Court Legal Services Committee, High
Court Local Services Committee, or Taluk Legal Services Committee.

They are held periodically for exercising such jurisdiction as they determine. These are usually
presided over by retired judges, social activists, or other members of the legal profession. The Lok
Adalats can deal with all Civil Cases, Matrimonial Disputes, Land Disputes, Partition/Property
Disputes, Labour Disputes etc., and compoundable criminal Cases. The first Lok Adalat was held
on March 14, 1982 in Gujarat. Most of the cases are motor accident related disputes settled through
lok adalats. Many public sector entities like Public sector Banks, Electricity Department also took
benefit of lok adalats to settle its recovery related matters.

44
State-wise Number of Functional/Non-Functional District Forums in India (As
on 01.06.2015)

S States/ N Fu N
I UTs o nct on-
. ion Fu

45
Steps taken by
Government

46
 STEPS TAKEN BY THE GOVERNMENT

1. NATIONAL CONSUMER HELPLINE (JAGO GRAHAK JAGO)

NCH is a project of the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs operates under the Centre for
Consumer Studies at Indian Institute Of Public Administration from The Project recognizes the
need of consumers for a Telephone Helpline to deal with multitude of problems arising in their
day-to-day dealings with business and service providers.

NCH provides a National Toll Free No-1800-11-4000.

SMS can also be sent to +918130009809 (charges apply) mentioning the name and city.

A consumer can call to seek information, advice or guidance for his queries and complaints.

National Consumer Helpline supports consumers by:

- Guiding consumers in finding solutions to problems related to Products &

Services.
- Providing information related to Companies and Regulatory Authorities.
- Facilitating consumers in filing complaints against defaulting Service Providers
- Empowering consumers to use available Consumer Grievances Redressal
Mechanisms, Educating Consumers about their Rights and Responsibilities.

2. ONLINE PLATFORM TO LODGE A COMPLAIN

INSURANCE INDUSTRY

47
Integrated Grievance Management System

IRDA has launched the Integrated Grievance Management System (IGMS). Apart from creating a
central repository of industry-wide insurance grievance data, IGMS is a grievance redress
monitoring tool for IRDA.

Policyholders who have grievances should register their complaints with the Grievance Redress
Channel of the Insurance Company first. If policyholders are not able to access the insurance
company directly for any reason, IGMS provides a gateway to register complaints with insurance
companies.

Complaints shall be registered with insurance companies first and only if need be, be escalated them
to IRDA (Consumer Affairs Department). IGMS is a comprehensive solution which not only has the
ability to provide a centralized and online access to the policyholder but complete access and
control to IRDA for monitoring market conduct issues of which policyholder grievances are the
main indicators. IGMS has the ability to classify different complaint types based on pre-defined
rules. The system has the ability to assign, store and track unique complaint IDs. It also sends
intimations to various stakeholders as required, within the workflow. The system has defined target
Turnaround Times (TATs) and measures the actual TATs on all complaints. IGMS sets up alerts for
pending tasks nearing the laid down Turnaround Time. The system automatically triggers activities
at the appropriate time through rule based workflows.

A complaint registered through IGMS will flow to the insurer's system as well as the IRDA
repository. Updating of status will be mirrored in the IRDA system. IGMS enables generation of
reports on all criteria like ageing, status, nature of complaint and any other parameter that is
defined.

Thus IGMS provides a standard platform to all insurers to resolve policyholder grievances and
provides IRDA with a tool to monitor the effectiveness of the grievance redress system of insurers.

3. SECURITY MARKET

48
 a. SCORES (SEBI Complaints Redress System)

SCORES is a web based centralized grievance redress system of SEBI (http://scores.gov.in).

SCORES enables investors to lodge and follow up their complaints and track the status of redressal
of such complaints online from the above website from anywhere. This enables the market
intermediaries and listed companies to receive the complaints online from investors, redress such
complaints and report redressal online.

All the activities starting from lodging of a complaint till its closure by SEBI would be online in an
automated environment and the complainant can view the status of his complaint online. An
investor, who is not familiar with SCORES or does not have access to SCORES, can lodge
complaints in physical form at any of the offices of SEBI. Such complaints would be scanned and
also uploaded in SCORES for processing.

The salient features of SCORES are:

SCORES is web enabled and provides online access 24 x 7;

Complaints and reminders thereon can be lodged online at the above website at anytime from
anywhere;
An email is generated instantaneously acknowledging the receipt of complaint and allotting a
unique complaint registration number to the complainant for future reference and tracking;
The complaint forwarded online to the entity concerned for its redressal
The entity concerned uploads an Action Taken Report (ATR) on the complaint;
SEBI peruses the ATR and closes the complaint if it is satisfied that the complaint has been
redressed adequately;

b. Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)

The activities of BIS consist of the process of formulating, issuing and implementing standards.
Standards have always been closely connected with exchange of goods and services between suppliers
and consumers. Bureau of Indian Standards has provided traceable and tangible benefits to economy
in a number of ways - providing safe, reliable, quality goods; minimizing health hazards to
consumers; promote exports and imports substitute; control over proliferation of varieties etc. Bureau
of Indian Standards (BIS), the National Standards Body has been successfully promoting and

49
nurturing standards movement within the country since 1947. BIS came into existence on 01 April
1987 through an Act of Parliament dated 26 November 1986. It took over the staff, assets, liabilities
and functions of the erstwhile Indian Standards Institution (ISI) with an enlarged scope and enhanced
powers for harmonious development of activities of standardization, marking and quality certification
of goods and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

c. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has been established under Food Safety
and Standards Act, 2006 which consolidates various acts & orders that have hitherto handled food
related issues in various Ministries and Departments. FSSAI has been created for laying down science
based standards for articles of food and to regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and
import to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption

4. Media Publicity Campaign

Multi-media publicity campaign are being undertaken through print and electronic media on the
issues that are directly relevant to the role of the Department such as ISI, Hallmark, Labelling,
MRP, Weights and Measures etc,. Each advertisement is released through a network of national as
well as regional newspapers throughout the country. Simultaneously, major initiative are being
launched wherein issues that have come into focus on account of new emerging areas such as
telecom, real estate, credit cards, financial products, pharmaceuticals, Insurance, travel services,
medicines etc. are under taken either through joint campaigns or joint consultations with the
concerned Departments.

The Department of Consumer Affairs has video spots of 30 seconds duration on various consumer
related issues, which are being telecast through Cable and Satellite
channels. Special programmes have also been telecast onLok Sabha TV and Doordarshan to
highlight the issues relating to consumer awareness. Issues pertaining to rural and remote areas
have been given prominence in the various advertisement spots.

50
5. Meghdoot Postcards

Consumer awareness messages are also being disseminated through Meghdoot Post cards in
consultation with Department of Post to reach far-flung rural areas including North-East
States. Posters carrying messages pertaining to consumer awareness have been displayed in
1.55 lakh Rural Post Offices and more than 25000 Urban Post Offices throughout the country.

6. Core Centre

The Department has launched on March 15, 2005 Consumer on Line Resources and Empowerment
(CORE) Centre on the website www.core.nic.in for consumer advocacy and online redressal of
consumer grievances. Through the various advertisements relating to consumer awareness,
adequate publicity is being given to the activities of CORE and its website so that consumers can
take the help of online counselling/guidance being provided through it.

7. Use of Sports Events

In order to reach maximum number of consumers, the Department telecasted video spots containing
consumer related information during the popular sports events where the audience interest is
maximum.

8. Joint Publicity Campaign

As part of joint publicity campaign, various advertisements have been released on specific
consumer issues like real estate, credit cards, pharmaceuticals, insurance, food safety
etc. to educate consumers.

9. Use of Internet to generate Consumer Awareness

Realizing that more than 70% population under the age of 35 years are using the internet in a big
way, a major initiative is being taken to spread consumer awareness through the internet. All the
print advertisements as well as the Audio Video spots of the Department have been uploaded on the
website of the Ministry

51
10. Advertisements in journals of Publication Division

The Department has entered into a tie-up with Publication Division under the Ministry of
Information & Broadcasting for displaying advertisements in the journals brought out by the
Division such as Yojana, Kurukshetra, BalBharti, Aajkal and their regional
editions. Focussed articles on consumer awareness are also being published in these magazines
keeping in view their target readership.

11. Up gradation Of Standards

In helping the consumer to exercise their rights, quality and standards have a crucial role to play.
Standards provide consumers with reliable benchmarks of quality. Quality consciousness is not yet
a way of life in India as it is in the West, the Department has succeeded in putting in place an
economic framework to promote quality. The BIS has taken new initiatives in introducing a
certification scheme for foreign manufacturers and imported goods, food safety certification as per
ISO Standards. Certification Scheme for Hallmarking of Gold jewellery and Silver artefacts is an
important contribution of BIS in safeguarding consumer interests.

52
HUL Ombudsman
Initiative

53
HUL OMBUDSMEN INITIATIVE

In 2008,HUL had roped in an ombudsman to deal with consumer complaints that could spill
over into the courts, in a first of its kind initiative by an Indian company. It was restricted to end
consumers of HUL products.

In 2011 Hindustan Unilever has roped in four retired high court judges as independent
ombudsmen in different regions to resolve cases filed against the company by its suppliers,
distributors, stockists and retailers. An ombudsman looks into complaints against an organisation
and its officials and helps resolve them by mediating fair settlements out of court. "The idea is to
have an alternate dispute resolution mechanism with the whole philosophy of customer centricity
and the main reason is resolution of matters," Hindustan Unilever Executive Director - Legal Dev
Bajpai said.

The country's largest consumer products firm is currently fighting more than 100 matters by its
business partners across the country.

Legal experts applauded the initiative, saying it's unheard of in the country and would benefit the
company in the long run. "The advantage for HUL is that it can figure out in advance whether its
case is good and avoid an expensive and protracted legal process," said Advava legal partner
Ramesh K Vaidyanathan.

"The choice of an ombudsman of impeccable integrity and reputation for impartiality is critical for
any counterpart to agree to this proposal," he added.

The maker of Dove soap and Rin detergent may have achieved it by appointing retired judges of
different high courts V Panshiker in Mumbai, SK Mahajan in Delhi, K Govindrajan in Chennai
and Alok Chakraborty in Kolkata to look into all disputes in the West, North, South and East,
respectively.

54
They will take up only those commercial disputes that have no legal breaches, company officials
said. Typical cases would include distributors who have parted ways with the company and
suppliers who made goods that fell short of quality standards.

However, there is a rider. The decision arrived at dispute resolution meetings will be binding on the
company, but not on its business partners who will have the option to continue with litigation.

55
Case Studies

56
CASE I

Vinay Rajpal vs Park Hyatt Goa resort and spa

For accommodating the invitees to his wedding in Goa, Siddhartha Bhimrajka had booked
several rooms in Park Hyatt Goa Resort & Spa, a five-star hotel belonging to Blue Coast
Hotels and Resorts.
Amongst the invitees were Vinay Rajpal, a 29-year-old businessman and his wife Ravina. On
their arrival on July 7, 2005, the Rajpals were welcomed by the hotel staff and escorted to
room no. 321 on the ground floor. The Rajpals found the room to be nice and pleasant, but the
bathroom appeared to be peculiar. However, they did not say anything and accepted the room
allotted to them.
On July 9, the day of the wedding, the Rajpals attended a pool-side lunch party. Even though
alcohol was served, they did not consume it. After returning to their room, they decided to
take a shower. The bathroom had three steps to go down to the bathing area and there was a
handle bar to the right. On the second step, VinayRajpal slipped badly and fell on his face
with great force, resulting in fractures of the right mandible and left side of ramus.
Vinay was taken to Apollo Victor Hospital, where he was administered first aid. After
contacting doctors in Mumbai, he was flown by a chartered flight of Air Ambulance Service
and admitted to Jaslok Hospital in Mumbai. He was operated upon the following day and
discharged on July 16. However, his mouth was kept closed upto July 19 and he was unable
to do his normal duties for a period of one year.
Vinay had sent a legal notice to the hotel for compensation, followed up with reminders. The
hotel's insurers responded, contesting the claim and denying any negligence on the part of the
hotel.
In September 2007, Vinay filed a consumer complaint before the Goa state commission
claiming a compensation of Rs 30 lakhs. He claimed that he had suffered fractures due to a
fall because the design of the bathroom was faulty and the housekeeping personnel had failed
to maintain it properly.
The hotel defended itself by pointing out that the same room no. 321 had been in use since
the year 2002. Over the years, several guests had used it without any complaint or accident.
Even the Rajpal couple who had checked in on July 7 must have used the bathroom thrice
prior to the incident occurring. No grievance had been made by them regarding its design.
Vinay slipped and fell, but his wife Ravina had not met with such an accident. So Vinay's fall
could not be attributed to any fault in the design of the bathroom or due to any negligence of
the management or its employees. It was merely an accident. Advocates Farhan Dubash and
B D Nazareth appeared for Vinay, while the hotel was represented by Advocates Rajshekar
Rao and D V Patkar. Vinay as the complainant and Mr. Marar, the assistant director of finance
who had filed the reply on behalf of the hotel, were cross-examined. After a detailed hearing,
the commission, presided over by Justice Britto and Member Prabhudesai, passed an order on
January 25, 2012, holding the hotel liable to compensate Vinay.
The commission noted that the photographs revealed that it was a sunken bathroom which
could be used as a shower as well as a bathtub, and to reach it, three slanting steps had to be
climbed down without proper support. The floor of the bathroom cum bathtub was made of
unpolished natural stone known as 'Tumble Rock', while the steps leading to the bathroom

57
were made of polished Egyptian marble with a slant towards the bathroom to ensure that
excess water does not accumulate on the steps.

The commission did not agree with the hotel's defence that the bathroom could not be
considered faulty as no accident had occurred to the Rajpals during their first two days of
stay. The commission noted that the hand railing was short and was not available for support
while taking the second or third step. It was also inconveniently placed at a low level so that
even a person of average height would have to bend to hold it. Thus, there was no support for
getting down the slanting polished marble steps. The commission concluded that the
bathroom had been constructed and maintained disregarding the safety of the guests.
Negligence means a breach of duty to exercise due care expected of a reasonable prudent
person. It is common knowledge that the slightest wetness on a polished marble floor or on a
slanting polished floor is extremely dangerous. The hotel ought to have foreseen that the
faulty designing of the bathroom could lead to an accident, but had been negligent in this
regard, thereby entitling Vijay to claim compensation.
Accordingly, the commission awarded reimbursement of medical expenses and cost of the
chartered air ambulance. In addition, notional loss of income at Rs 3,750 per month for three
months was also awarded. For the pain and trauma which entailed the insertion of titanium
plate implants and screws requiring the jaw to be sealed for ten days, the commission
awarded a further compensation of Rs.3 lakhs. Thus, in all a total compensation of Rs
9,33,400 along with costs of Rs 10,000 was awarded.

58
CASE II

Poonam Verma vs Ashwin Patel and Others

Whether giving Allopathic treatment without possessing any degree or diploma in Allopathy
is negligence?

Dr Ashwin Patel, a registered Homeopath with Gujarat Homeopathic Medical Council,

treated Pramod Verma for viral fever and prescribed allopathic drugs, but when Vermas
condition did not improve he again prescribed Allopathic drugs, this time for typhoid fever.

When Verma did not respond to the treatment and his condition deteriorated, he was shifted
to a nursing home and then to Hinduja hospital in an unconscious state, where he died after
four hours.

Poonam Verma, (widow of Pramod Verma) filed a complaint before the National
Commission, praying for compensation and damages to be paid to her by Dr Patel and Dr
Rajiv Warty for their negligence and carelessness in the treatment of her husband. Having
dismissed her petition by the National Commission, Poonam Verma then filed an appeal
before the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court allowed Poonam Vermas appeal against Dr Ashwin Patel by setting aside
the judgement of the National Commission. It agreed to her claim against Dr Patel for Rs
300,000 payable within three months. Poonam Verma was also entitled to costs quantified at
Rs 30,000.

59
CASE III

Laxmi Engineering Works vs P S G Industrial Institute

Whether goods purchased by the appellant for use by himself exclusively for the purpose of
earning his livelihood amounts to self employment?

Whether a person who purchases an auto-rickshaw, a car or a lathe machine to be plied or

operated exclusively by another person would be a consumer?

The appellant, Laxmi Engineering Works (LEW) on placing an order with the respondent, P S
G Industrial Institute for the supply of a Universal Turning Machine, was not provided the
machinery six months after the stipulated date, but was supplied a defective piece, which
could neither be made in order nor repaired.

A complaint was lodged by the LEW before Maharashtra State Commission claiming an
amount of Rs 4,00,000 on several counts from the respondent PSG, which appeared before
the State Commission and denied LEWs claim. Inter alia, it raised an objection that since
LEW had purchased the machine for commercial purposes they were not a consumer within
the meaning as defined in the Act. The State Commission allowed the appellants claim
partly, directing PSG to pay to LEW a sum of Rs 2.48 lakhs within 30 days, failing which the
said amount was to carry interest at the rate of 18 percent per annum.

The respondent (PSG) filed an appeal before the National Commission which allowed the
said appeal on the only ground that LEW was not a consumer as defined by the Act. The
order passed by the State Commission was set aside and the petition was dismissed.

The appellant, LEW, then went in appeal before the Supreme Court.

The appeal accordingly failed and was dismissed without cost by Supreme Court holding that
expression consumer should always be decided in the facts and circumstances of each case.

60
CASE IV

Spring Meadows Hospital and Others vs Harjot

Ahluwalia through K S Ahluwalia

Where complaint is filed by parents on behalf of minor, whether parents and also minor child
are consumers and entitled to compensation?

Whether delegation of responsibility by a doctor to his junior doctor is negligence?

Harjot was admitted as an in-patient after diagnosis by Senior Consultant Paediatrician, Dr

Promila Bhutani saying that he was suffering from typhoid.

On December 30, 1993, Nurse Bina Mathew asked the patients father to purchase injection
and medicines. But Harjot, on being administered the injection, collapsed immediately.

Seeing Harjot collapsing, his parents called Dr Dhananjay, the Resident Doctor, who came
and attended the child and intimated the parents that Harjot had suffered a cardiac arrest.
Then, by manually pumping the childs chest the doctor tried to revive his heart-beat.

The anaesthetists, Dr Anil Mehta, and Dr Bhutani also put Harjot on a device called manual
respirator.

Though he was kept alive on the respirator, but his condition did not improve. As his platelets
count fell, a blood transfusion was given but still no improvement could be seen.

As the hospital did not have the necessary facilities to treat the child, Dr Mehta advised the
parents of the child to shift him to an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) equipped with an Auto
Respirator.

On his advice, the parents admitted Harjot to the Paediatric ICU of All India Institute of
Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on January 03, 1994, where the doctors examined him thoroughly,
and informed the parents of his critical condition and pronounced that the child would live
only in a vegetative state even on survival.

61
Harjot was then kept in ICU till January 24, 1994 and was thereafter discharged as there was
no improvement in his critical condition. Dr Anil Mehta and Dr Naresh Juneja of Spring
Meadows Hospital, New Delhi however, offered to admit Harjot at their hospital and to do
whatever was possible to stabilise his condition.

Accordingly, he was again admitted and treated, but he survived only in a vegetative state.

A complaint was filed by minor Harjot through his parents before the National Commission
to claim Rs 28 lakhs as compensation, which on the basis of oral and documentary evidence,
came to the conclusion that the child had suffered from cardiac arrest due to the high dose of
intravenous injection of Lariago and there had been considerable delay in reviving the heart
of the child which lead to brain haemorrhage.

The Commission, ultimately, came to the finding that the minor patient had suffered on
account of negligence, error and omission on the part of the nurse as well as Dr Dhananjay in
rendering their professional services. Since the doctor and the nurse were employees of the
hospital, the hospital is responsible for the negligence of the employees, and is liable for the
consequences.

The National Commission then determined the quantum of compensation and awarded Rs
12.5 lakhs to the minor.

In addition, the National Commission also awarded Rs 5 lakhs as compensation to be paid to

the parents for the acute mental agony that has been caused to them by reason of their only
son having been reduced to a vegetative state requiring lifelong care and attention.

The Hospital, filed an appeal to the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court held that the Commission rightly awarded compensation in favour of
parents in addition to compensation in favour of the minor child. The definition of the term
consumer given in clause (ii) of Section 2(1) (d) of COPRA, which includes not only the
person who hires the services but also the beneficiary of such services as consumer.

Therefore, compensation of Rs 12.5 lakhs awarded to the child and Rs 5 lakhs to the parents
was up held by the Supreme Court.

62
Comparative study

63
1. Comparison of Consumer Protection Act

64
a) No provision for
vulnerable customers in Countries like UK,
Indian CPA. Australia & Denmark have
this provision.

b) Third party users are Mauritius CPA doesnt

consumers according to consider third party users
Indian CPA. as consumers.

c) No right to equality in South African CPA

consumer market in provides its people with
Indian CPA. right to equality.

d) No right to privacy in Right to privacy is offered

Indian CPA. by South African CPA.

e) Clear difference between the EU CPA doesnt describe it

trader and the manufacturer. clearly.

f) No room for consumer unions Ugandan CPA allows this

& consumer associations. type of freedom to all the
consumers.

65
66
INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON

New Zealand has one of the most complete Consumer Defence systems of the
world, counting with the support of several institutions and regulations. The New
Zealand Constitution contains a variety of provisions dealing with this sensitive
subject, invariably upholding consumer rights through actions proposed by the
government. Consumer New Zealand is responsible to guide consumers in their
complaints, give information about theirs rights and verify the consumption relations.

All New Zealand state capitals have at least one Consumer New Zealand office.

67
Conclusion

68
Conclusion

Consumer Protection Act is directed to make the consumer aware of their rights and to establish high level
ethical conduct for those engaged in production and distribution of goods and services. High prices,
duplicate articles, underweight and under measurements, rough behaviour, undue conditions, artificial
scarcity are some of the ways by which consumers are exploited by manufacturers and traders.

Limited information, limited supplies and low literacy are factors causing exploitation of consumers.

The consumers have to be aware not only of the commercial aspects of sale and purchase of goods, but also
of the health and security aspects.

Consumer is an important component of society. Consumer occupies a supreme position in a free economy
and the welfare of the consumer lies in the fulfilment of his normal and legitimate expectation with regards
to the goods and services.

The advancement of technology and advent of sophisticated gadgets in the market and aggressive marketing
strategies in the era of globalization have not only thrown open a wide choice for the consumer, but all the
same also rendered the consumer vulnerable to a plethora of problems concomitant to such rapid changes.
There is an urgent and increasing necessity to educate and motivate the consumer to be wary of the quality of
the products, and also the possible deficiencies in the services of the growing sector of public utilities.

In short, the consumer should be empowered with respect to his rights as a consumer. He should be equipped
to be vigilant with a discerning eye so as to be able to protect himself from any wrongful act on the part of
the trader. In order to be able to position the consumer in such a state, there is every need not only to evolve
legal remedies but also provide reliable and exhaustive information, which he can access without much effort
and expense.

Recognizing the importance of the problem, the Government of India and State Government have initiated
steps to introduce dispute redressal mechanism by way of Consumer Protection Act, but a lot more has to be
done in the area of creating awareness on the part of the consumer to facilitate his seeking suitable remedy
wherever there is a need. This becomes more important in the rural areas, where there is wide spread
illiteracy.

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We have been all along mute spectators to those malpractices, fraudulence trade practices so for and it is time
to time this evil which spoils the society. The present day techniques by many firms to mislead the customers
by reduction of weight, quality, price differences, worthless services, lack of after sales service by ignoring
customers complaints, requests, and lethargic high handedness of monopoly practices. It is our fundamental
right to know about the safety, durability, worthiness of any product we buy.

There are many instances we insist for bills, records, warrantee cards and many times they ignore and it leads
to black money transactions, malpractices and what not. Every product has to be displayed with date of
manufacturing, weight measurements, Maximum Retail Price (M.R.P.) and warnings of its misuse.

Although there are number of laws introduced and still the traders find it easy to dodge and ultimately we are
the sufferers. Right from the beginning we have been cheated by wrong information, higher pricing, after
sales service. With regard to service providers, they take advantage of our urgency and exploit us.

The recent methods to reduce the weight and maintaining its price by biscuit manufactures, cases of cement
bags sold with lesser contents, the medical services by those corporate & private hospitals, exorbitant tuition
fees, capitations fees by educational institutions and do we have any say on their terms. Parking lot woes are
another area of disturbing for every motorist; do they charge a uniform rate. Every day we are deprived of
our mental peace and forced to tensions due to unfair practices by the trade & services as well as losing our
valuable funds in turn. Purchase of consumer goods and essential commodities always bring us bitter
experiences and regret. This has to be changed.

The reason is that we are afraid and do not take it seriously to redress our grievances due to lack of
knowledge about consumer forums, delays in claims and our well known Indian willingness to keep quiet
and not to complain. Many countries have been able to redress the customers complaints and the awareness
through constant consumer educations.

The more we are alert and conscious about selecting the goods before purchasing and knowing about their
service options thereby we stand to gain in the long run. We do believe that how FREE a country is as
much a function of consumer rights, as it is of free and fair elections. With a billion consumers, India is one
of the biggest consumer markets in the world, but has consumer protection kept pace with the burgeoning
markets? For a consumer, life has only become tougher as services have increased and as technology has
made rapid strides. It is a treacherous path we have to walk on and every development warrants a serious
debate by consumers, who must fight on many fronts to go parallel with government action, to keep checks
on the industry, to address environmental concerns, and to protect their own rights in the bargain.

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 A majority of the urban consumers were aware of the MRP and they compared the actual rate paid with
MRP.As far as rural consumers are concerned some of them were aware of MRP, only few of them compared
the price paid with MRP. A majority of the urban and rural consumers were aware of ISI and AGMARK. In
comparison to the rural consumers, most of the urban consumers preferred ISI and AGMARK product.
Majority of the people in these areas ignore if they found any adulteration in food stuff. People generally
believe that it was their fate. They do not want to involve in any legal hassle because they think it is a time
and money consuming and they will not get any return from the court.

An analysis of the data from the consumer courts in different States shows that there is a direct relationship
between literacy and consumer awareness. Statistics relating to Kerala and Bihar will justify this. The
question to be considered is what can the Government do to improve the position?

The Government wears three hats to deal with cases of three different categories.

1. The first one is dealing with the ministries and departments of government.

Recently, the Standing Committee of Parliament on Health said Government hospitals should be brought
under the purview of the Consumer Court. To this, we had pointed out the latest ruling of the Supreme Court
which lays down that the Consumer Protection Act will apply only when the consumer pays for the goods
and services and on this count the government hospital, where the services are not charged on the consumer,
will not come under the Act. For such cases the government has developed the concept of "Citizen's
Charter". All government departments dealing with the public are to publish a "Citizen's Charter" clearly
indicating the services offered and the procedure to be followed. All the information has to be made available
in a single window. This programme is in its incipient stage and has a long way to go to achieve the desired
levels of consumer satisfaction.

The general reaction of the consumer to this is what happens if what is stated in the Citizen Charter is not
adhered to? Unless and until this is clarified, the responsibility fixed and those held accountable are dealt
with, the purpose will not be achieved.

2. Services and Utilities

The second area is where the services/and utilities are provided and charged either by the government
department or the agencies under its control. At present, a number of regulatory authorities have been
constituted and the country is entering a new regime of "regulatory economies" in the services sector. It is

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heartening to note that the regulatory bodies like the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) have
given importance to the interests of consumers and this has been publicly declared as one of the main
objectives. In the field of telecom, power, transport and water supply, the consumers today are going through
a number of problems not knowing how to get their grievances redressed.

The numbers of cases relating to these sectors are increasing in the consumer courts. It must be possible for
the government to take steps to see that the areas of grievances are identified and remedial steps taken
through proper systematisation of procedure and working style.

3. Consumers and Private Sector

The third category is the protection of consumers from the private sector dealing with goods and services. It
is not to be construed that the entire business sector is keen on exploiting the consumers. These are
established business firms which really care for consumer satisfaction, their own reputation and goodwill.
Voluntary bodies like the Fair Business Practices Forum are functioning effectively and are quick in
removing the grievances of the consumers. These can go a long way in reducing the number of cases in the
consumer courts.

If the Government is to take a pro-active role in increasing consumer rights awareness, encouraging
consumer education, training and research and administering the infrastructural need of the consumer courts
- then it should have enough funds. It is not easy to get adequate budget allocations for obvious reasons. The
best way appears to be to work out methods by which the Central Consumer Welfare Fund is augmented and
a similar fund is set up at State level also. It is gratifying to note that action has been initiated in this
direction and there is every reason to hope that the future will be better.

The consumers will not fight their battles except when they become aware of public interest and grievances.
Individual battle must be fought by consumer himself for which he has to take initiative. Beside this the
government is producing maximum percentage of products and services. Most of the consumer problems
shoot from the government sectors. The consumer movement in India is weak because the so -called leaders
and social workers are busy in petty politics and they are hardly interested in solving the consumer problems.
During previous three decades, consumer awareness of their rights has increased. The whole nation now
celebrates March 15 as the National Consumer Day Efforts are being done to make the consumer movement
emergence as the people movement.

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73
The following suggestions we present for reforming laws and
amendment:

1. The Act should be amended to make the right to safety, right to information, right to choose, right to be
heard, right to against exploitation and right to consumer education six rights of consumers justifiable. In
any case; to begin with, it should be made obligatory for redressal agencies to consider them when
adjudicating a complaint.

2. The Act should be amended to empower consumer courts to publish the names of manufactures, traders
and dealers whose goods are found to be hazardous to public safety. This empowerment would as a deterrent
to the erring business community.

3. The Act should be amended as to stream line the procedure that would facilitate expeditious disposal of a
consumer cases. As regards the time frame provided in the Act, in order to adhere to this time frame, it is
necessary to prescribed a procedure wherein any compliant that is received in the consumer court at the
district level is intimately scrutinized and competent personnel to determine whether the case falls within the
Act and whether should be perused .The Act should be modified to recognize a very important right of
consumers via, the right to healthy environment.

4. Sections should be suitably amended to modify the definition of the terms consumer and services to
make it clear that consideration shall not be precedent in case of availing medical and municipal services
provided by the government. A victim of medical negligence in a government hospital should be entitled to
compensation by enlarging the definition of consumer and bringing free services provided to the public by
the government. CPA Provides only compensatory provision and not for penal provision. Some penal
provision should be incorporated under this Act.

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Bibliography

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Bibliography:

http://www.consumerrights.org.in/rights.htm

http://www.cgsiindia.org/about-us-2/

http://www.cgsiindia.org/

NCERT Class XII Business studies textbook chapter 12

http://www.scribd.com

National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission

http://www.wikipedia.com

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