THE NEW CONSUMER PROTECTION LAW -NEW ERA FOR CONSUMERS.

Notification No. S.O. 390[E] dated 15^th April 1987 was a historical event, the day Consumer Protection Act came into force in the whole of India except the state of Jammu &Kashmir.

It will be further an era changing event for the consumers if the new consumer protection act gets nod of parliament in the present form. Consumer protection Bill 2015 has got approval from the cabinet after rounds of discussions and scrutiny by the select committee.

Enforcement of consumer protection act 1986 was never a pleasing note for the big business houses and we do not expect a warm welcome by them even now with so many new features empowering the Indian consumer. After a lot of persuasion and PIL filed by NGO’s in the matter of  ‘Common Cause v/s Union of India, A.I.R. 1993 S.C. 1403,the first consumer forum could be  set up on 19.8.1988 in Delhi. Since then the Govt. and the Apex court had always extended helping hand to this welfare act and considered it an additional remedy available to the consumer along with other laws prevailing in the country. The scope of consumer forums was further enhanced by number of amendments to the act at very short intervals making it more useful and suitable to the consumers giving more teeth to the consumers... The first amendment was made in 1991 wherein it was provided that two members can run the forum in case one is absent. It was further elaborated by amendment in 1993 which brought service providers also under purview of the Act apart from goods sellers. Amendment 2002 to the act was a very multifarious .It added number of new provisions and clarifications and gave more teeth to this legislature. Forums were now empowered with first class magistrate’s jurisdiction for implementing the orders of consumer forums. However Resentment and opposition had started from the day. At one hand the Apex court went on giving broader description and wider scope to the act through its various pronouncements, at the same time, it also faced numerous problems and several attacks on the authority of these forums from big business houses. Even the act itself was challenged in the year 1996 before the court of law and its legal validity was questioned when a big business man was ordered to be sent to jail for non compliance of its order. The questions were raised as to whether Lok Sabha is empowered to pass such an act by which consumer forums could run as a parallel judicial system against the civil courts with much more discretionary powers. The matter was finally resolved by the Apex court in a case of Vishwabharti house building co-operative society v Karnataka state &others SC 2002 and the Supreme Court held that the Consumer Protection Act is a constitutionally valid law passed by the Lok Sabha, and parliament is competent to pass such welfare Act.

During the last more than a decade Ministry of consumer affair remained very active in awakening the consumers about their rights through campaigning  Jag grahak jago and by number of serials made and shown on various T.V.Channals based on the landmark judgments pronounced by the apex court in order to explain the procedure of consumer forum and commissions.But due to fast social changes in the last decade and with development of  new technology, consumer law also needed overhauling in order to meet the challenge of the market scenario.Hence the new consumer protection law is a repeal of consumer protection act 1986 with the replacement by consumer law in new form with new chapters and resolution.

The present new consumer protection act shall have certain distinctive incorporations which are going to change the total face of it 

1.      Establishment of consumer authority is the one big move which was required mainly for the purpose of safeguarding the basic spirit of the act and implementation orders of the consumer forums .This is the area where consumer forums do not have powers to take suo moto cognigence of non compliance of its orders. It has been provided in the act that consumer can move an application before the forum if order is not complied with by the opposite party. In cases of misleading advertisements consumer courts often order for discontinuation or rectification of misleading ads apart from the order for compensation to consumer. It so happens that erring party pays the compensation and continues with the same advertisement, consumer never complains for it once he is paid his compensation. Now the authority set up under the new law shall have the power to take suo moto take cognigence of unfair trade practices, misleading ads. Authority shall have the powers to fine and punish the erring manufacturer.

2.      Regarding misleading advertisements, it has also been provided that apart from manufacturer, the person who becomes the face for advertising for the product giving misleading information shall also be liable and answerable before the courts and authority shall take up the matter under its powers and may also refer matter to the consumer commissions.

3.      Authority can fix product liability on the erring manufacturer in case defects are found or product proved hazardous or consumer is not provided after sale services.

4.      It has also been provided in the new act that consumer court may send the order for implementation to the civil court in case other methods of implementation do not work effectively. This is going to be an additional way of implementation of consumer court order and opposite party shall be facing civil court and its strict actions.

5.      On line purchase is another area for which present law has no provision to deal with traders and manufacturers in the matters of after sale services, such as warranty and guaranty. Consumer authority shall be dealing with “electronic intermediary ‘who provide platform to the manufacturer, trader and other persons for processing and enabling to engage in advertising or selling various goods or services to consumers and for marketing online places and online auction sites.

6.      Consumer forums and commissions do not have employees with separate cadre exclusively for the court and it results in transfer of employees to the other departments in the state. Consumer courts have different style of functioning in compare to other ministerial work. By the time employee understands the functioning of court and steno learns to type orders, he or she is transferred with relieving order. New posting is often delayed for many reasons which hamper the functioning of consumer courts. The new act has made a provision that employees in the consumer courts shall work under the supervision of Presidents of the respective consumer commissions which shall be a great relief to the consumer commissions.  

 

Dr Prem lata

 

 

 

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