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R. Desikan

It's high time to bring in some change in the way consumer fora and commissions have been functioning. That is possible only with a change in attitude on the part of authorities. But is there light at the end of the tunnel?

The first Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum was set up in Chennai during early-1990s. Then, separate district fora were set up in several districts, consequent to the Supreme Court directive on H.D. Shourie's petition.

As State Governments did not show much interest in setting up district fora, the fora and commissions even lacked basic infrastructure. It may come as a surprise to readers that we, at the SMN Consumer Protection Council, lent our typewriter for several years before essential equipment were provided to them. We supplied printed forms for sending notices. No one, including lawyers, took the consumer fora and commissions seriously.

Therefore, slowly civil court procedures were introduced, which affected the performance of consumer courts. The petitioners were also asked to submit stamped envelopes to the forum and commission, as the Government had not provided funds for postage. We had to give one copy of the petition, to be copied by the forum till the fora and commissions got their Xerox machines. The above-mentioned facts show the pathetic state of affairs.

That is why I wrote recently that the time has come to set up a National Consumer Regulatory Authority that would function independently. If all petitions (National Commission has about 6,000 petitions pending, as on December 31, 2001) are to be addressed, it is necessary for the Government of India to take over the functions of the consumer fora and commissions, provide enough money and authorise multiple benches for a period of one year on a contract basis and dispose every petition within 90 days.

Currently, the monies sanctioned by the Centre to the State for these fora are not being utilised properly. In Tamil Nadu, two judges realised the importance of the CPA — Justice S.A. Khader, who was the first President of the State Commission and Judge Karunakaran — who protected the interests of consumers by passing orders of immense benefit to them. Justice Khader once said that when a consumer council represented a consumer, the council should plead as the first party and the petitioners should be second, third and so on.

The easy-to-operate redressal mechanism that the CPA advocates has now become a mire of procedures, delays and adjournments.

Who are the beneficiaries of these procedures? Not the consumers, definitely. Here arises the need for a consumer-friendly Act and redressal system. That is possible only with a drastic change in attitude. But when that will really happen is a million-dollar question.

The author is former Chairman, Federation of Consumer Organisations, Tamil Nadu. He can be reached at rdesikan@vsnl.com

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