Question

Explain the redressal mechanism available to consumers under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986.

Describe the various authorities set up under the Consumer Protection Act for redressal of consumer grievances.

Answer 1

Under the consumer protection act, three redressal forums have been set up to deal with consumer protection:

1. District forum:
   • It is available in every district; it consists of one president and a minimum of 2 members and one of them should be a woman, who is appointed by the state government.
   • All cases where the value of goods and services is less than 20 lakh Rs need to be addressed by the district forum.
   • If the consumer is not satisfied with the decision of the district forum, he can appeal to the state commission.
2. State commission:
   • It consists of one president and a minimum of 2 members who are appointed by the state government.
   • It is for the goods and services where the value of the item concerned is more than 20 lakhs but less than 1 cr, also for the cases where one of the parties is not satisfied with the decision of the district forum and has approached the state commission.
   • If any of the parties is not satisfied with the decision of the state commission, he can appeal to the national commission within 30 days.
3. National commission:
   • The national commission is established by the central government and it has one president and a minimum of four other members; one of them should be a woman.
   • It is for the goods and services where the value of the matter concerned is more than 1 crore, also for the cases where any of the parties are not satisfied with the decision of the state commission.
   • If any of the parties are not satisfied with the decision of the central government, they can move to the supreme court; only those cases where the value of material concerned is more than a crore will go to the supreme court.