Has increasing case pendency become a part of the DNA of India's justice dispensation systemIJ Delayed case disposal has crippled almost every branch of the country's law, and even the Consumer Protection Act is nose-diving," rues consumer rights activist Abha Saxena.
It is disappointing to find that even the quasi-judicial consumer dispute redress mechanism in the State, aimed essentially at speedy and summary disposal of grievances is wrought with unsatisfactory implementation. Consider this: Pendency of cases* in the State Commission has increased by more than four times in the last eight years; pegged at 961 in May 2013 as against 231 in the year 2005*(Original Petition +
First Appeal).
At the district level, the highest pendency is in Haridwar (708 cases pending) followed by Dehra Dun (694 cases pending).10 out of the 13 districts still do not have a separate building for the District Forums to function effectively. 5 districts have only two of the required 3 members. Out shortcomings in the implementation of the Act.
Noted Consumer Advocate Deepak Ahluwalia highlighted the issue of member member vacancy. 5 out of the 13 districts have only 1 member besides the chairman. Thus, often the quorum required to hear cases is not complete stalling proceedings.
The mandate is to have 2 members and one chairman in every district and State Commission. Since its inception up to April 30, 2013 Dehra Dun has seen a total of 10,630 consumer dispute cases filed, the highest in the State. However, for almost two years now one of the two member posts lies vacant. Nainital Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum has only one member other than the chairman since 2009 in spite of receiving almost six thousand cases.
A litigant who wished anonymity held that consumer dispute cases should be heard right from the morning, as is done in all other courts. Both the State Commission and district forums sit for hearing for only half day, and this is aggravating pendency, he maintained.
While this contention is still debatable, Ahluwalia observed that a primary reason is that advocates do not prepare their arguments and seek adjournment. Also, the number of cases listed for hearing per day is very high.
Addtionally, Advocate Atul S Pundirobserved that one of the most important factors for delayed disposal of cases is that notices of appearance do not get served to the respondents on time as the process is not implemented stringently.
As a result, a large period of time is lost in calling the respondent to the court. Adding to this, Ahluwalia stated that often, the respondent plays mischief by deliberately letting an ex-parte judgment be passed only to appeal against it to cause delay in the final decision, thereby compounding the burden.
Pundir advocates strongly for making the implementation of serving notices stringent by setting up a robust system. "For instance, courts may havespecial officers for ensuring that notices are delivered in time.
A token fee can be charged from the complainants for this service who will be more than happy to shell a few hundred rupees for quicker disposal of their complaints."
In a discussion with The Pioneer, Ahluwalia also highlighted that in the last decade, the nature of complaint proceedings has also become more complicated and evidence based.Earlier, disputes were often resolved in a single hearing. But now, the scenario has changed as consumer dispute cases become more like civil suits in the nature of proceedings. And one of the most important reasons for delay in settlement of these cases is the time taken to collect evidence and present arguments."
Another lawyer who wished anonymity commented that while prudence bodes to first have substantial evidence ready and then file a complain, in reality the mentality of lawyers is mostly 'let me grab this client and earn service fee; the evidence
can follow'."
Then there is the issue of inadequate infrastructure. Almora, Chamoli, Udham Singh Nagar, Pithoragarh, Champawat, Bageshwar, Nainital, Rudraprayag, Pauri and Uttarkashi do not have a separate building for District Forums. Even though districts like Nainitalhave one of the highest number of filed cases every year. Government response on this issue was circumlocutory and non-committal.
The largest number of consumer disputes in Uttarakhand relate to insurance services. Though banking services fall in the ambit of the Consumer Protection Act, cases involving fraudulent withdrawals and ATM frauds are mostly being adjudicated as civil suits. The Pioneer's ground survey found thatthere has been an increase in public awareness in Uttarakhand than they were a decade ago. However, a lot of scoietaleducation is still required on 3 important points- territorial jurisdiction, pecuniary jurisdiction and the period of limitation. Many people face problems in filing their complaints as they do not have knowledge of these
With 961 (upto May, 2013) out of 5649 cases pending before the State Commission, it appears that the people-friendly social legislation is losing its essence in Uttarakhand.