Consumer is king...kind of

The Consumer Protection Act was hailed as a game changer when it was passed in the year 1986. It was expected to revolutionise the consumer rights movement in India. Three decades on, there has been a sea change in the business environment and the Act, despite receiving three amendments, is slowly moving towards becoming obsolete. The Centre is ready with its Consumer Protection Bill, which has become a talk of the town and is being propagated as a magic wand which would solve all problems of the consumers.

However, what about the 4.5 lakh cases pending under the present Act before the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC), state commissions, and district forums. The huge pendency is an indicator of the poor grievance redressal system under the Act.

Consumers are forced to endlessly wait for a judgment after filing a complaint as a case does not get more than 4-5 hearings in a year, whereas the Act, ironically, suggests that the judgment has to be delivered within three-to-five months. The time limit for delivering the judgment depends on whether a complaint requires analysis or testing of a commodity or not.

An advocate dealing with consumer cases, on condition of anonymity, told DNA that the reality of consumer commissions is far from what the Act suggests and even a simple case would easily go on for two-three years in the state commission. He went on to say that there are cases which go on for over 5 years, which defeats the purpose of the Act.

If we delve deep into the statistics related to the pendency of consumer complaints, especially in the state commissions, the situation is worst in Uttar Pradesh, having a cumulative pendency of 39,629 as on December 31, 2018. Maharashtra comes second in the list with 22,460 complaints, closely followed by Madhya Pradesh with 19,304 pending consumer complaints. The fourth and fifth position is taken by Delhi and Gujarat, respectively, with 16,058 and 5,811 pending complaints.

Apart from the state commissions, which have a cumulative pendency of 1.37 lakh consumer complaints, NCDRC has a pendency of 20,550 complaints. Similarly, when it comes to the sectors that registered the maximum number of complaints in state commissions, insurance, banking, and housing rules the roost, with the power sector another major attribute of consumer complaints.

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KEY MEASURES TO HELP CONSUMER COMMISSIONS

The Consumer Protection Act was passed to ensure quick and cheap grievance redressal system for consumers. The Centre's 'Jago Grahak Jago' campaign also played an important role in creating the much-required awareness on consumer rights. However, over the years, consumers are losing their faith on the grievance redressal system, as judgments are not delivered on time.

The following measures are required to resolve the huge backlog of cases and ensure their faster disposal:

1. No adjournment of cases slotted for final hearing: The foremost important corrective measure required is to ensure that the cases, which come for adjudication, are cleared within a stipulated time. Commissions and forums can adopt a fixed board in which the cases listed for final hearing will not be adjourned at any cost.
    
2. Fixed time limit for arguments: The commissions and forums should adopt a system of the fixed time limit for entertaining arguments of parties in petty cases. Also, the court should adopt a practice of accepting written submissions of arguments, which would greatly help in faster disposal of cases.
    
3. Promoting disposal through mediation: Several cases that have saddled the commissions and forums can be easily resolved by adopting mediation, which is unavailable in the majority of the states. Experts claimed that medication can bring down the cases filed before the forums and commissions by at least 30 per cent and the first priority should be to try to get the dispute settled through mediation.
    
4. Capacity building: While the cumulative pendency of cases across the country is growing every year, it is high time for the state governments, as well as the Centre, to consider improving the infrastructure and manpower required for dealing with such a huge backlog of cases. Also, the judicial and non-judicial members should receive regular training on how to deal with consumer cases, especially in the ever-changing business environment.
    
5. Regular monitoring: The district forums, as well as the state commissions, should be regularly monitored to keep a check on the accountability of judges as well members. Proper monitoring will ensure that the benches function properly, as is required.

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REASONS FOR THE GROWING PENDENCY OF COMPLAINTS

1. More complaints were filed: With greater awareness on consumer rights, there is a gradual rise in the number of complaints reaching the commissions as well as forums. However, the infrastructure and capacity of the quasi-judicial bodies have not increased over time, as a result of which they are saddled with a huge backlog of cases.
    
2. Retired judicial officers being hired for adjudicating complaints: Another major reason that affects the justice dispensation system is the hiring of retired judicial officers for the purpose, who are not given any training for dealing with consumer cases. Some also argued that since judges who have crossed 62 years are hired, many of them have efficiency issues due to old age.
    
3. Members are poorly paid: Members who are part of the benches in commissions and forums are poorly paid as compared to judicial members. Also, they are retired lower-rung government officials who have the least interest and caliber in the dispensation of justice.
    
4. No mediation facility: Many of the petty complaints, which add to the growing backlog, do not require any adjudication, but could be resolved through proper mediation. However, the same is unavailable at most of the district and state commissions, barring a few. Experts suggest that mediation can check the number of consumer complaints reaching the forums or district commissions by at least 30 per cent.
    
5. Lawyers seeking adjournments: One of the major factors for the growing pendency is the delay caused by lawyers by unnecessarily seeking adjournments. There are several occasions when the benches are in a mood to hear the arguments and decide a case, but lawyers keep on seeking dates, often to gain monetarily from the client.
    
6. Vacancies in forums and commissions: There are a number of vacancies, both judicial and non-judicial, in district forums, state commissions, as well as NCDRC. While the problem of vacancy has reduced to some extent in the past 4-5 years, the state governments still consider the commissions and forums a burden on them and are reluctant to spend on filling up the vacancies. As per NCDRC data, the position of 34 members in state commissions is vacant, whereas positions of 104 presidents and 414 members in district forums are vacant across the country.
    
7. No punitive damages imposed which can set a precedent: According to organisations dealing with consumer rights, the state commissions and district forums seldom come out with a judgment imposing a considerable fine on those found guilty, which could set a precedent. As a result, the offender, if it's a corporate giant or service sector major, commits the same mistake again, resulting in more cases being filed on the same issue.
    
8. Lack of accountability and monitoring: Another major factor that affects the functioning of the forums and commissions is the lack of accountability of the judicial and non-judicial members and poor monitoring over their functioning. Organisations working in this domain claimed that many of the benches do not function properly as per the prescribed time and operate only for maximum 3-4 hours a day.

EXPERT TALK

According to Consumer Education and Research Centre’s (CERC) chief general manager Pritee Shah, the highest number of consumer complaints registered across the country are related to insurance and banks. Although there is a greater awareness among people while buying insurance and availing the facilities offered by a bank, people still do not read the fine print before signing on the dotted line and their decision is based on what the agent has explained. This fine print is used by insurance companies to dishonour the claims of people, many of whom eventually file a complaint against the company.