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Consumer Protection Council, Rourkela- Serving the consumers for over 39 yrs.
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Indane bottling 
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Hurrah for the consumer? -A.Dharker
 

The last letter from the veteran
 

Message of Justice Wadhwa
 
 

Awarded Paintings-2
Awarded Paintings
 
 

LG Case
 
 

Plg Comn. Meet


Lawyers do not come under the purview of the Consumer Protection Act

     An interesting and important Order has been pronounced by the Supreme Court, recently.  The two concurring judgments pronounced by (Ms.) Justice Bela M. Trivedi and Justice Pankaj Mithal on various counts have ruled that the advocates do not come under the purview of the Consumer Protection Act, in short, the Act.  

     While Justice Trivedi’s reasoning goes to address the basic concept of “Contract for Personal Service”, like that of a housemaid, which are excluded from the purview of the Act.  The rationale of excluding an unskilled or at the maximum a semi-skilled individual, male or female, whose services are to a substantial extent are manual in nature, is obviously clear, as they perform their duty as directed by her mistress and she does not have any control, even to prioritise them, as per her wish.  In contrast, by any stretch of imagination can services of an advocate be compared with such deprived and underprivileged workers, is a mute question.

     Still contentious, is the recommendation to the Chief Justice of India to reconstitute a larger bench and reconsider the earlier decision of the Court, in Indian Medical Association vs. V.P. Shantha & Others, which unequivocally brought the medical negligence under the purview of the Consumer Protection Act.  Since the judgment is a bit lengthy to publish in our in-house newsletter, Advantage Consumer, I have presented the concurring judgment of Justice Mithal only (in the May 2024 issue).

     In the concurring judgment, elaborate details have been discussed about different countries, which have excluded the legal professionals from the ambit of the Consumer Protection Law.  An important logic put forward is that since Advocates Act, 1961, is in place, any negligence on the part of the lawyer can be tried under that Act.

     A relevant aspect of the Consumer Protection Act needs to be noted.  It is only an enabling Act to protect the consumers, with summary trials, in a time bound and cost-effective manner.  Under this structure only, all defective products and deficient services are to be addressed, by applying various statues which are already available; whether it is the Standards of Weights & Measures Act (Packaged Commodity Rules), Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, etc.  That being so, Consumer Courts also have the wherewithal to try negligence as stipulated under the Advocates Act, 1961.

     Before I conclude, it is worth noting that in the entire history of the Consumer Protection Act, of over 34 years, one hardly comes across cases pertaining to the negligence of the Lawyers, who are penalised by these bodies.   That is the reality.

B.Vaidyanathan                                                                                          16th May 2024
Chief Mentor
KIND ATTENTION PLEASE!!
For the benefit of readers, we have provided below the links for our monthly newsletter
Advantage Consumer
, which can be utilised Free of Cost.




Consumers will be better protected - Narendra Modi

Software can only deliver, if the hardware is also good

A letter to the PM, Sri Narendra Modi

Supreme and fallible - Right to blunder?

Boot out the MNCs - How dare they do business in India!!

Arnab, et al!  There are many more vital things other than Sushma bashing 

"Jago Grahak Jago"

Let the consumer be doomed

Employees are entitled to benefit of two years weightage under the EPS

Don't Disturb - Justice is not Supreme

Supreme Court fails to uphold the law
Some suggestions to Chief Justice of India -  Is it that the Laws & Rules need to remain only on paper?
Unprincipled Amendments to Consumer Protection Act


A big question mark about the relevance of the judiciary in safeguarding the consumer
(Council's Curative Petition dismissed)

  In India, consumers have been at the receiving end since long.  One thought that things will change for the better after the Consumer Protection Act was enacted in 1986 and a structured approach was adopted to promote and safeguard the interests of the consumers.  But after 2004, things have gone from bad to worse.  Commencing from the castration of the Central Consumer Protection Council, the relevance of the consumer Act itself has been brought into question.  If the government is found wanting and none too serious to strengthen this voluntary initiative of the individuals to do their bit for a healthy society, which in any case is bound to benefit the industry, its competitiveness and the country as a whole, myopic approach only appear to rule the roost, as on date.

  Important amendments which were brought in 2003 to the Consumer Protection Act, with a clear objective of penalising Unfair Trade Practices and to compensate the consumer/litigant adequately have been frustrated by the indifferent approach of the National Commission as well as the Supreme Court.  That is why, giving the benefit of doubt to the bench which did not do justice to the issues placed before it by Consumer Protection Council, Rourkela, and to take the issues pursued by it to the logical end, Curative Petition was filed.  The GROUNDS categorically illustrate the denial of Natural Justice to the Petitioner Council and the failure of the Court in addressing the issues raised in the Appeal.  Rupa Ashok Hurra case specifically has laid Violation of Principles of Natural justice as the valid ground for considering a Curative Petition.  Question is whether a narrow view of non-issue of notice alone should be taken as the requisite ground for allowing the Appeal or blatant denial to consider the Grounds of Appeal by the concerned bench should be treated alike, in the larger interests of justice?  If this anomaly is not addressed, Curative Petitions will only be found useful when the media start highlighting an issue, like the LGBT case leading to the strength of the population deciding the outcome of the Curative Petition.  This does not augur well for a civilized democratic country.

  Learned ex-Justice of Gujarat & Rajasthan High Courts, Sri M.R.Calla, and designated Sr. Advocate of the Supreme Court had unequivocally advocated for allowing the Curative Petition of the Council, pointing out the gross miscarriage of justice and denial of natural justice.  But that has not appealed to the Supreme Court bench headed by the CJI, who have dismissed the Curative Petition, as per the Order made available on the internet today. 

  Something needs to be done to address and to save the people from this hyper-technical approach of the Supreme Court and to promote the consumer movement, which is after all in the best interests of the nation.  Will Shri Narendra Modi and his government do something to stem this rot?

**************


How can the Supreme Court pass an irrelevant order?

'Consumer justice is your right'

Fleece the consumer and go scot-free

Finish the consumer movement?
www.moneylife.in/finish-the-consumer-movement

Almost all the LPG bottling plants have been modernised
 

CPC, Rourkela celebrates its Silver Jubilee
 

Silver Jubilee of the Consumer Protection Act celebrated
 

Union Minister feels that self regulation has failed to control unethical advertisements
 

Dr. Kalam calls upon the nation to work towards elimination of spurious drugs



Consumer groups hold consultations to tackle spurious drugs
 

Consultations on FDI in Retail held
 

New legislation for curbing misleading advertisements opposed

13th SCPC Meeting held at Bhubaneswar
 

Workshop recommends amendments to CP Act
 

Seminar on Effective Grievance Redressal in Telecom Sector, held in Agartala
 

Consumer Courts can adjudicate telecom disputes
 

Complaint Page with new additions
 

RBI's notification on Credit Card

  A consumer organisation with a difference Instead of rendering advisory services alone, the Council since its inception, in 1985, has been taking up issues affecting them through the consumer courts and other means and feels proud to have provided relief to crores of people.  These include:

  • Remedial action against short filling of LPG in cooking gas refills; of the 184 LPG Bottling Plants, of the three Oil Marketing Companies (IOC, BP & HP), only 4 remain to be automated.  Even these will be modernised within the next financial year 2013-14).  The quantified loss of nearly Rs. 750 crores per year to the consumers across the country has been taken care by this upgradation.  Thanks to the Council's Original Petition initiatied in 2001, before the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC).
  • Won an important case against the Rourkela Development Authority and secured financial relief for a group of individuals, against violation of Plan & Specifications in the construction of the houses and delay in handing over the possession.
  • Obtained a separate District Forum for Rourkela, though it is not the district headquarters, which otherwise necessitated the entire Rourkela population to approach the Forum, situated at Sundergarh, a place 100 km away;
  • Re-routing of Dhanbad-Alleppey Express train through Chennai Central;
  • Campaigned against non transferring of excise duty concessions (to the consumers) extended by the union government to the industry;
  • Better upkeep of the railway coaches of Utkal Kalinga Express and other trains;
  • Reintroduction AC Chair Car in Ispat Express;
  • Refunding of booking advance by M/s APSL and M/s LML; and many more. 
  It will not be an exaggeration to add that its activities have added to the confidence of the Rourkela population, against unethical business practices.

  The fifth Voluntary Consumer Organisation in the country to have set up a Consumer Information Centre, with the support of Ministry of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, Govt. of India. Has earned a niche for creating consumer awareness and handling of individual as well as group/class grievances. It is bringing out an English monthly Advantage Consumer, to educate the consumers. It is represented in various Advisory bodies.

An Aware Consumer is an Asset to the Nation

  Through this site effort will be made to disseminate all relevant information and answers to many of the queries which are frequently asked. Knowledge is power and ignorance is the root cause of all exploitation. As a consumer, we hope you will find the site quite useful. Since ours is a voluntary organisation with meagre resources we have designed the site on our own and are sure there will be lot of scope to improve. As such we invite the public and the visitors to this site to communicate their valuable feedback, so that we may improve the contents of this site. 

  Lots & Lots of information in store for you to tap, in the Information Section.  Why wait to click on Information.

  If you are keen to support the Council, you may send in your donations through crossed Cheques/Demand Drafts, drawn in favour of "Consumer Protection Council, Rourkela". All donations to the Council are exempted under sec. 80G of the Income Tax Act. The Council is also registered under the FCRA (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act).



   

Read Advantage Consumer, monthly newsletter of Consumer Protection Council, Rourkela.

Consumer Protection Council, Rourkela
Chief Mentor: vaidya@advantageconsumer.com