Consumer rights take backseat as cases overwhelm commissions

Karnataka is among the top 5 states with high number of pendency of cases in consumer courts, with 26,157 cases pending before its state-level and district level commissions, of which a whopping 2,600 were filed more than seven years ago.

As per the Consumer Protection Act, a district committee has to dispose of the complaint in three months.

An appeal against the decision should be decided by the state-level commission within three months.

However, data available with DH showed that 10,411 cases were pending before the state consumer dispute redressal commission, while the commissions at the districts accounted for 13,137 pending cases.

An additional 2,602 cases were pending and they were filed prior to 2015.

While noting that Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Karnataka top the list of big states with high pendency, officials said the government has been pushing for the speedy disposal of cases over the last six months.

An official said the commissions were bogged down by staff shortage and technical problems.

“Recently, efforts are being made to clear the cases. However, we still have shortage of staff in key positions which limits our capacity. Fifteen to 20 cases are registered every day, but only half the number is disposed of,” he said.

Against the total sanctioned staff strength of 343, the commissions have about 100 vacancies.

“This includes a vacancy of 27 stenographers, whose absence makes it impossible to dictate orders. As a result, such benches have not been functioning effectively. The commissions tried to outsource the job, but soon realised that such staff could not be held accountable,” sources in the commission said.

To a question, a senior official in the government said 55 persons were hired to fill the vacant posts.

“As of now, all posts of judges have been filled. We are expediting the process to fill the remaining vacancies. However, we are finding that some commissions are expecting far more resources than the department has at its disposal,” a senior official said, speaking about budgetary limitations after the pandemic.

However, an advocate who has argued in the commission said the government needs to take a hard look at the reality.

“The government officials should visit the so-called court halls in Shantinagar. There is no ventilation or natural light. One feels trapped on entering there,” he added.

An official in the state commission acknowledged the problem. “We have raised the matter with the government. A one-acre plot was given to us in Yeshwantpur to construct a building. However, the advocates opposed it saying, the place is too far. Maybe, it is time to revisit the idea, considering the metro connectivity. Otherwise, the state commission will not have its own building even as it facilitates construction of buildings for district commissions,” he added.