Date:27/08/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/08/27/stories/2008082754710500.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Plug loopholes in Consumer Protection Act: Chief Justice

Special Correspondent

Several anomalies in the Act need to be regulated, says Dinakaran

— Photo: K. Gopinathan

A re-look at the Act: (From left) Justice Chandrashekaraiah, President, KSCDRC, Bangalore; Justice M.B. Shah, President, NCDRC, New Delhi; Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court P.D. Dinakaran; and S. Suresh Kumar, Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs, at the conference in Bangalore on Tuesday.

Bangalore: The Government should focus attention on addressing the injustice done to consumers “beyond and in between the lines” of the Consumer Protection Act, said Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court P.D. Dinakaran.

Speaking at a conference organised jointly by the Food and Civil Supplies Department and the Karnataka State Consumer Protection Forum here on Tuesday,

Mr. Dinakaran said that transactions related to a whole spectrum of items and services — ranging from bottled water to power supply — need to be regulated with a focus on consumer rights.

Inconsistencies

While mineral water is not covered under the Consumer Rights Act because it is not classified as a “food item”, a farmer who dilutes milk with water will be hauled up under the same Act, said Mr. Dinakaran, indicating the inconsistencies in the scope of the legislation.

It is nothing but a “violation of human rights” that farmers are supplied power in the middle of the night, he said, but this violation is not questioned under Consumer Protection Act, he added.

While consumer is declared “king”, it is an irony that every bill given in the shops makes a “unilateral and illogical declaration” that goods once sold cannot be returned, said Mr. Dinakar. The government should have a legislation to put an end to such practices, he added. He pointed out that several banking services, which come under the non-banking finance sector, are not covered under Reserve Bank of India regulations.

Mr. Dinkaran pointed out that though there is a Citizens’ Charter to cover services for which a consumer does not pay, such as the services at a government hospital, there is a need for a mechanism to ensure that it is regulated, he said.

Minister for Food and Civil Supplies H. Halappa, said that the rate of consumer grievance redressal is good in Karnataka.

While the rate of disposal is 98 per cent in the Karnataka State Consumer Forum, it is 96 per cent in the district forum, he said.