Southern States - Tamil Nadu

`Right of audience doesn't inhere in agent'

By K.T. Sangameswaran

CHENNAI April 12. The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has said an authorised representative of the parties to a dispute, who is not an advocate, has no right of audience as a matter of right.

The Commission president, (Justice) M.S. Janarthanam and the member, Kayal Dinakaran, resolved the vexed question whether authorised agents had the right of audience as a matter of right before consumer fora, while taking up a complaint of deficiency of service in which the Chairman, Apollo Hospitals, Chennai, and N. Rangabashyam of the Ramana Surgical Clinic, T. Nagar here, were cited as opposite parties.

In the complaint presented before the Commission in May 2000, the first complainant was Madhavi of Villupuram, wife of the deceased patient, K.N. Subramanian, and the second complainant was his mother. Two other complainants were his daughters.

It was mentioned in the complaint that one N. Chandrasekaran, secretary, Consumer Welfare Foundation, Chennai, represented the complainants as the authorised agent. When the case came up for admission, the Commission doubted whether the authorised agent, who was not an advocate, had the right of audience. Following this, it issued notice to the bar and consumer associations for a discussion.

In its 81-page order, the Commission said the authorised agent, who was not an advocate, could not expect that the right of audience would inhere in him, as a matter of right in the absence of any provision in the Consumer Protection Act. Such authorised representatives should necessarily seek the forum permission for their appearance.

It was not as if permission would be granted in a ritualistic fashion the moment it was sought. The forum could grant permission only if it was convinced that permission, if not granted, was likely to result in injustice to the party concerned.

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