The Hindu : 'Backlog of cases in consumer courts causing concern'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Aug 18, 2002

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National

'Backlog of cases in consumer courts causing concern'

By Gargi Parsai

NEW DELHI AUG 17. If consumer courts fail to deliver justice within a specific period of time, the common person will lose hope in the judicial system, the President of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Justice D.P. Wadhwa, said here today in his key-note address at an `Open House' on the occasion of the 14th anniversary of the completion of the Commission.

"Fourteen years is not a long period. We have to see what ground we lost in that period and to make amends for the future within the resources available. We want the consumers to draw a balance sheet for us," he said.

The former Food Secretary and Member of the Commission, B.K. Taimni, asserted that it was time consumer fora took into account the opening up of the economy and the fast growth of e-commerce and home delivery services through credit cards. "They are coming at a much faster pace than consumer fora are prepared for,'' he cautioned.

And what a balance sheet consumers drew! H.D. Shourie, the Director of the Common Cause NGO, was quick to point out that of the 20,600 cases filed in the National Commission since the Consumer Protection Act was passed in 1986, 11,200 were settled and 9,400 are pending. In the 32 State Commissions, of the 1,91,000 cases filed, 1,12,000 have been disposed of and 79,000 are pending and in the 555 district fora, of the 13,60,000 cases filed, 11,10,000 have been disposed of and 2,50,000 are pending.

At the centre of the `Open House' discussion was the pendancy of cases, the over-dependence on lawyers, the frequent adjournments sought by lawyers, weakness in infrastructure, the package for compensation and ensuring execution of the orders passed. All these and more are the amendments incorporated in an Amended Consumer Protection Bill, 2002, pending before Parliament.

Among those who participated in the session were the first President of the National Commission, Justice Balakrishna Eradi, the Additional Secretary in Department of Consumer Affairs, Santosh Nautiyal, and the Director, Indian Institute of Public Administration, P.L. Sanjeeva Reddy, members of the National Commission, Rajyalakshmi Rao and J.K.Mehra, presidents of the State and district Consumer fora and NGOs as representatives of consumers.

There was robust defence from the legal luminaries for lawyers ''as they are the backbone of the judicial system''.

The president of the Andhra Pradesh State Commission, Justice R.K. Raju, said lawyers were indispensable in cases which involved complicated questions of law. At the same time 50 per cent cases could be disposed of quickly if lawyers did not seek frequent adjournments.

The president of the Madhya Pradesh State Commission, Justice Dubey, said even though NGOs had reservations about "interim orders'', they were good for cases such as payment of electricity, water and telephone bills or displacement of a tenant from a house. These have to be decided on a case-to-case basis.

Rajyalakshmi Rao said the commission had gained clarity for its functioning by listening to consumer representatives and the lawyers. She felt the media had a bigger role to play in highlighting some of the cases.

Later speaking to The Hindu, Justice Wadhwa said he planned to take a tour of the various district fora to look into the complaints that some of them never convene or meet only for limited hours.

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