LAWS LAID DOWN BY APEX COURT/COMMISSION IN CONSUMER MATTERS
(YEAR 2014)
There is no provision
in the law for second complaint on the same facts once it is dismissed in
default.
An interesting thing
had happened before the National Commission when original complainant Indian
Machinery Company discloses this fact that this was his second complaint filed
before the consumer forum when first complaint
filed on 29.8.2007 was dismissed in
default in complaint no 307 of 2007. It was further submitted to consider earlier complaint no
307/2007 as part and parcel of this case for the sake of documents attached and
proceed this case from the satge the earlier complaint had been dismissed.Question
before the commission was to decide whether second complaint on the same fact
can be maintained under the given circumstances.It is held that there is no
provision in the law for second complaint on the same facts once it is
dismissed in default.At the most there could be a appeal before the higher
court for setting aside the said order.
Challenge to the
authority of national commission for framing regulation
Surinder Mohan Arora
V/S HDFC Bank, –Surinder Mohan challenges the authority of National
commission before the Hon’ble High court of Delhi under Article 226 of the
constitution against it order dated 24 Sep. 2012 .The contention of the
applicant is that National commission has not given him the opportunity to be
heard while disposing of the review petition and it has been disposed of by
circulating it among the judges who had passed the order, This is against the
principal of natural justice . National
Commission is given power to frame rules and accordingly National Commission
issued set of regulations in 2005. Regulation 15 explains how to dispose of
review petition filed before the National Commission .Regulation 15(2) explains
the procedure for handling the review petition and permits the commission to
dispose of application by circulation without oral argument. High Court in its order May 2014 did not interfere in it
holding it correct procedure.
No proxy council word in advocate act
Honble Supreme court in
the matter of Sanjay Kumar vs State Of Bihar & Anr decided on 28 January,
2014 , three –judge bench comprising Bench: B.S. Chauhan, J. Chelameswar, M.Y.
Eqbal in Special Leave Petition (Crl.) No.9967 Of 2011 ordered as hereunder;
“In the instant case
the counsel appearing in the court for the petitioner designated himself merely
has a proxy counsel. The Advocate- on-record (for short AOR) had no courtesy to
send, at least, a slip mentioning the name of the counsel who has to appear in
the court. Thus, in such a fact-situation, we had no advantage even to know the
name of the counsel who was appearing in the court.”
“In such a chaotic
situation, any Arzi, Farzi,, half- baked lawyer under the label of proxy
counsel a phrase not traceable under the Advocates Act, 1961 or under the
Supreme Court Rules, 1966 etc.It cannot
be allowed to abuse and misuse the process of the court under a false
impression that he has a right to waste public time without any authority to
appear in the court, either from the litigant or from the AOR,(advocate on
record) as in the instant case.’
Change in formula for
calculating total cost has to be made uniformally applicable to all the
allotees in same area under the same scheme
In a case of Rajender
Prasad &others against DDA Allottees
were charged lesser amount under the same scheme with no changes in landcost,construction
cost and even taxation structure. Delhi Development Authority after allotment
of flats to group of customers including complainant in present case ,made two major changes-
• The share money shall not form part
of costing and service charges
• Shall not be part of overall cost of
land .
National commission in
its order dated 19.5.2014 held it discrimination and arbitrariness against
those who had been deliverd possession by charging more before change in scheme. Commission was of the opinion that this
change in formula for calculating total cost has to be made uniformally
applicable to all the allotees in same area under the same scheme if certain
allotments were made before passing of resolution, it is bounded duty of DDA to
refund amount to such allottees if charged extra .
Consumer has the open
access to choose distributer/supplier for
electricity supply
Hon’ble Supreme Court
Bench comprising Hon’ble Justice Mr. Surinder Singh Nijjar and Mr. A. K. Sikri
by a detailed Judgment dated 08.05.2014 accepted the contentions of Mr. S. Ravi
Shankar and dismissed the appeals Civil Appeal No.4223 of 2012 filed by M/S.
Brihan Mumbai Electricity Supply & transport under taking (BEST) and upheld
the rights of the retail electricity consumers to choose the electricity
supplier on the basis of the service quality and price.
Claiming compensation
in cases of failed sterilization operation arises on account of negligence of
the surgeon and not on account of child birth.
National Commission in
the matter of Smt Mithlesh Vs Medical Officer (Incharge) District Ghaziabad
Revision Petition No. 3997 of 2014 from the order dated 10.09.2014 of the Uttar
Pradsh State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Lucknow in Appeal no. 2278
of 2011 has held :
If the women has
suffered an unwanted pregnancy, it can be terminated and this is legal and
permissible under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971. If the couple
opts for bearing the child, it ceases to be an unwanted child. The cause of
action for claiming compensation in cases of failed sterilization operation
arises on account of negligence of the surgeon and not on account of child
birth.Failure, due to natural causes also would not provide any ground for
claim which may happen in some cases as per scientific theory.
Secondry evidence enough to prove the purchase
in case bill not available
National commission has
recently in the matter of Taranjit Kour V/s
Proctor and Gamble Home Products (P&G). P&G rejected all such arguments extended by the
sellers to rebut the sale of shampoo pouch after expiry date lapsed 5 years ago
even when proper bill could not be produced by the complainant
Transfer applications
dismissed by Karnataka State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission –Law &
discretion
Karnataka State
Consumer Dispute Redressal Commissionhas dismissed three applications filed by
the complainants for transferring 139 cases to one forum for adjudication
on 29.04.2014 when found no valid reason .Cases cannot be
transferred only on the ground of convenience and right to accept or reject
rests with State Commission.
Consumer forum has no
jurisdiction to attend complaint when
information under RTI act is not received,
This issue has been
discussed in the Revision Petition No.
2846 of 2013 in the matter of
Public Information Officer,Urban
Improvement Trust Ajmer, Rajasthan through its Secretary Versus Tarun Agarwal
Before Hon’ble Mr. Justice J. M. Malik, Presiding Member Hon’ble Dr. S. M. Kantikar, Member.The order
was pronounced _16th December, 2013
The key
question swirls around
the controversy, whether there
lies a Jurisdiction for the Consumer
fora to entertain the case
pertaining to Right to Information Act, 2005 (in short ‘ RTI Act’)It was held
that the remedy is available in filing appeal to the appellate court under RTI
Act once information sought under that Act.
Educational institute’s
answerable before consumer court for
deficiency in services
• National Commission in their order
dated 1.4.2014 held Ganga Immigration and Education Services Pvt. Ltd indulging
into unfair trade practices for not providing work visa as per the promises made to the complainants.
• Indian college of agricultural recognized
with Indira Gandhi agricultural university, Raipur admitted two students Sager
Sinhala and Anil Shaun under OBC quota for the year 2010-2011 batch but
retained their result for the reason that they failed to provide OBC
Certificate and they actually did not belong to OBC. National commission in
their order dated 6 march 2014 held the institute guilty of the mistake and
directed the institute to pay back the entire fee charged towards the course
along with Rs 10,000/- as compensation for loss of time . National commission
also directed the institute to deposit Rs 50,000/- to the consumer welfare fund
too.
NOTE -APEX COURT’S
THREE JUDGE’S BENCH JUDGMENT HOLDS FINAL
TILL LARGER BENCH REVERTS IT .
• Hobble Supreme Court in the year 2003
in the matter of Usmania Islamic Academy v / s State of Karnataka, three
judge’s bench comprising Justice V N Khare, Justice S N Variyavaha and Chief
Justice K G Balakrishnan pronounced a detailed order holding educational
institutes answerable before consumer forums by discussing every aspect covered
by the educational institute in providing education to the students .Again
there was Supreme Court ruling in the year 2004 in the matter of Bhupesh
Khurana v Budha Dental College & hospital holding college unfair for their
misleading information about the college
•
General lien of the
bank on securities
Under the principal of
general lien of the bank on securities,can a
banker lock the securities for
other reasons and hold the title deed –this was the question before the
National Commission in the matter
of Charanjeet Kour Versus State Bank of
Patiala,Nainital Road, Haldwani
Accident Benefit Life
Cover Insurance-Norms stricter than other policies
In the matter of Resham
Devi V/S New India Assurance co. Ltd. &others decided on 17.04.2014 held
that the benefit under this policy is available only when ‘accident is caused
by external violent and visible means.’Claimant is to prove bodily injury
sustained for availing the benefit under the policy. Unless above is proved, consumer
cannot
Further, in yet another
case of Seema V/S New India Assurance Copt. Ltd., decided on 16.04.2014,
suicidal death is not an accidental death as per the terms, hence is not
covered under individual personal accident insurance policy.
New dimension in the
field of Services covered under Consumer Protection Ac
(Complaint against Life
Cell India, an agency /stem cell bank.)
Complaint No. : 511955 - Dt. 15.05.2014
Facts of the case:
Complainant hired services from LIFE CELL INDIA for preserving Umbilical Cord
of new born baby for 20 years. Agreement between the parties executed and
payment of total amount of Rs 50,000/-agreed to be paid by the complainant .Ten
percent (10%) of the total amount paid at the time of contract .Rest of the
amount was agreed to be paid in one year in installments. Complainant had paid
more than 10,000/-by now and EMI is being deducted from the bank regularly
.Complainant now receives the letter from the agency alleging installments not
paid. Agency informs to the complainant that service contract shall be
terminated due to non -payment of installments.
NCH puts all efforts to
settle the conflict before it becomes dispute. However ,it case of
non-accommodating attitude by the service agency like this , It will be case of deficiency in services on
the part of stem preserving agency falling under the scope of Consumer
Protection Act which is a new dimension observed in the area of services .
Official Memorandum OF
Department Of Telecom Feb 4, 2014
DoT says consumer courts
have jurisdiction over disputes with operators.
"The District
Consumer Forums are competent to deal with the disputes between individual
telecom consumers and telecom service providers," the said in an official
memorandumDepartment of Telecom.
Supreme Court’s t
judgement of 2009 had barred seeking remedy under Consumer Protection Act said
that special remedy is provided under Indian Telegraph Act.
DoT said that it has
examined the matter which was a dispute involving the department as a service
provider prior to hiving off telecom service under separate company as BSNL.
"Since DoT was
also the telegraph authority, reference was made by Hon'ble Supreme Court to
the provision of section 7B. However, powers of the telegraph authority have
neither been vested nor are available to private telecom service providers and
BSNL," the memorandum said.
DoT said it has sent
this position before Department of Consumer Affairs, Chief Secretaries and
Administrators of State and Union Territories for taking up the matter with
various consumer courts.
However the fact
remains that courts are bound to follow Supreme court verdict unless larger
bench reverts it or parliament amends the act.
BUY A CAR –WE WILL PAY
THE LOAN
Consumers getting calls
from Ad agencies,they want to use your car for advertisements . Roaming around
the city giving publicity to their products and services shall be your job . You will be giving
services to them and in return they will pay your loan instalments .
Be Alert consumer,cannot file case against
them before the consumer court because-
1. Consumer had an agreement with bank for loan with an
assurance to bank that you will pay back the instalments to the bank. In
tripartie agreement agency proposing you to ask for ads agrees to pay the
instalment to bank on your behalf and not liable to pay to bank otherwise
because loan is requested,accepted and taken by you only ,terms and conditions
agreed by consumer only.
You could become a
service provider to the Ad agency but in no way a consumer .
Manufacturer cannot
shirk from responsibility if duplicate and fake products are sold in their name
Hindustan Coca- Cola
beverages Pvt. Ltd. And Purushottam Gour &others was decided by the
Honorable National Commission on 21.3.2014 in favour of complainant It involved
a serious question in the interest of public at large and it was observed – “if
such reputed companies intentionally or unintentionally do not help to catch
the culprits ,such hazardious products will continue selling in the market
causing damage to the health of consumers. Who shall be then responsible for this act .Marely paying
damages does not stop the practice unless serious investigation is made on the
issue .”
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