The industrial revolution and the developments in international trade and commerce have led to a vast expansion of business and a free market economy; as a result, a variety of consumer goods have appeared in the market to cater to the needs of consumers. Similarly, different types of services are available to consumers in the insurance, transport, electricity, housing, entertainment, financial and banking sectors.
The advertisements of saleable goods and services in print and electronic media and in hoardings have greatly influenced consumers' demands for goods and services. Even if there may be manufacturing defects and shortcomings in the quality, quantity, potency, standard and purity of the goods or there may be deficiency in the services rendered by providers, there is always a huge consumer demand for them.
In this backdrop, the United Nations indicated guidelines under which its member-countries could make laws for better protection of the interests of consumers. Such laws are more necessary in developing countries to protect consumers from hazards to their health and safety and to ensure speedy redressal of their grievances.
In the midst of a competition for sale of goods by traders, in large numbers of cases the consumer is cheated due to unfair trade practices and deficiency in services. This has necessitated enactment of a Consumer Protection Act in India in 1986, which was drastically amended in 2002. The Act provides redressal machineries at the District, State and National levels as quasi-judicial bodies like any other tribunal to give cheap and readymade consumer justice at their doorsteps.
It is gratifying to note that the broad objects of the legislation, based on the United Nations guidelines, is designed to promote and protect the rights of consumers such as (a) the right to be protected against marketing of goods which are hazardous to life and property, (b) the right to be informed about the quality, quantity, potency, purity, standard and price of goods, (c) the right to be assured, whenever possible, access to variety of goods at competitive prices, (d) the right to be heard and to be assured that consumer will receive due consideration at appropriate forums (e) the right to seek redressal against unfair trade practices or exploitation of consumer and (f) right to consumer education.
It is necessary to highlight that Section 3 of the Act emphasises that the Act shall be in addition to and not in derogation of the provision of any other law in force. The Act gives the consumer an additional remedy besides those that may be available under other existing laws.
During the post-Independence era, even though various laws have been made like the Food Adulteration Act, Weights and Measures (Enforcement) Act, Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practice Act now (Competition Act), Indian Contract Act, Sales of Goods Act and Indian Penal Code for protection of the interest of consumers against adulterated and substandard products, the achievements in this regard are not encouraging and it only provided short-term relief to the consumers in individual cases and they are not able to safeguard the group interest where large numbers of consumers are affected. Therefore, it is felt imperative to protect rights of consumers and safeguard their interests.
In the context, it is necessary to highlight the concept of "consumerism" which has now its firm roots in our country. There are various components of consumerism. The first is self-protection by the consumer. A consumer must know his rights so as to raise his voice against exploitation by unscrupulous traders and business houses. Secondly, he should seek redressal of his grievances before a consumer forum available under the Consumer Protection Act. Consumerism is a process through which the consumers seek redress, restitution and remedy for their dissatisfaction with the help of their organised efforts and activities.
In fact, consumerism today is an all-pervasive term meaning nothing more than people's search for getting better goods and services for the consideration paid by them. Therefore, consumer is now the king and is in the center-state for any business although sometimes back he was a forgotten story in his relation with a trader, manufacturer, etc. Consumer's satisfaction will benefit not only businessman but Government and society as a whole. That is why consumerism should not be considered as consumer's war against businessmen. It is rather collective consciousness on the part of the consumer, business community, Government and society to enhance consumer's satisfaction and social welfare, which will in its turn benefit all of them. Therefore, with a view to redressing consumers' grievances and providing monetary relief by way of compensation, the Consumer Protection Act applies to all types of goods and service providers. To provide speedy and simple redressal to consumer disputes, the quasi-judicial-judicial bodies observe the principles of natural justice and have been empowered to give relief of a specific nature and, wherever appropriate, compensation to a consumer or a group of consumers.
The Supreme Court in many cases have observed that the provision of the Act, thus, have to be construed in favour of the consumer to achieve the object of the enactment. The primary duty of the consumer forums is to adopt a constructive approach while adjudicating a dispute which would advance the object of legislation and not defeat its purpose.
The procedures adopted for settlement of such disputes are simple without much procedural technicalities and guiding principles are natural justice, good conscience and fair play and not the rigours of law. An aggrieved consumer can place his case before a consumer forum without assistance of a lawyer. The procedures adopted by these quasi-judicial bodies are summary in nature and, as such, there is no elaborate recording of evidence or examination and cross-examinations of witness which are only permitted in some hard cases.
The Act provides for speedy, inexpensive justice to the consumer and the reliefs awarded by and large are compensatory in nature.
All said and done, even though the consumer movement has taken deep root in India and the public at large have accepted consumer forum as an alternative or supplement to the traditional law courts, it is a disquieting feature that there is no separate mechanism for the consumer courts to enforce their orders. These orders are to be executed by themselves.
In the recent amendments-2002, a new procedure empowering the consumer forums has been inserted to issue a certificate for realisation of the amount of compensation dues to the Collector of the district to recover the amount in the same manner as arrears of land revenue. In case an interim order of a consumer forum is not complied with U/S 13 (3-B), the property of the person not complying with the order shall be attached. It shall be in force for three months, at the end of which if the non-compliance continues, the property attached shall be sold in auction to recover the dues. If a person does not comply with the order of the forum, he is punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one month but which may extend to three years or with fine which shall be not less than `2,000 but which may extend to `10.000 or with both.
In actual practice, even though the consumer forums have been armed with wide arrays of statuary powers for realisation of the consumer's dues and enforcement of their own orders, so far as execution and implementation are concerned, it is at a very low pace. Therefore, the presiding officer of the forum should rise to the occasion to give effect to its own order in letter and spirit which would go a long way in protecting the rights of the consumer creating confidence in the public mind about the efficacy of the justice delivery system.
(The writer is former special judge CBI, Bhubaneswar and Professor of law, lal Bahadur Shastri NationalAcademy of Administration, Mussoorie. He is also legal Consultant, Directorate of Prisons & Correctional Services, Odisha)