INTRODUCTION:

A person who buys goods or service for his own personal use and not for more manufacture is termed as a consumer. A consumer is the final user and ultimate buyer. Besides the basic necessities of food, clothing, and shelter, we consume selective things in our daily lives like cell phones, garments, stationary goods, food items among other things.

Thus all of us are consumers and customers within the literal sense of the term. When we tend to obtain things from the market as a customer, we expect worth for cash, i. e., quality, quantity, right price, information concerning the mode of use, etc. Consumers play necessary role within the market. According to the provisions¹ of the Act of 1986, “consumer” means any person who, —

(i) buys any goods for a consideration which has been paid or promised or partly paid and partly promised, or under any system of deferred payment and includes any user of such goods other than the person who buys such goods for consideration paid or promised or partly paid or partly promised, or under any system of deferred payment, when such use is made with the approval of such person, but does not include a person who obtains such goods for resale or for any commercial purpose; or

(ii) hires or avails of any services for a consideration which has been paid or promised or partly paid and partly promised, or under any system of deferred payment and includes any beneficiary of such services other than the person who hires or avails of the services for consideration paid or promised, or partly paid and partly promised, or under any system of deferred payment, when such services are availed of with the approval of the first mentioned person but does not include a person who avails of such services for any commercial purpose.

A majority of us are unaware about our rights as a “consumer” and we hesitate to complain. Sometimes the hesitation results to unfair practices. Consumers conjointly do not have the recourse of pricey proceeding to hunt justice and that we still bear such injustice. That is why consumer forums are formed to provide justice against unfair practices. There are frequently rumored cases of exploitation of the customers. Whenever a customer is cheated, most of us don't have ideas about the thing that to whom to approach for redresses. Often less than the particular weight of foodstuff is sold-out to customers or many retailers sell product that are not certified. Many cases happen wherever a lot of than the market value is charged to the buyer. In the light of this, Consumer Protection Act, 1986 holds a necessary role.

United Nations Guidelines:

In this context it's considered relevant to refer the objectives adopted by the General Assembly of United Nations organization in 1985. ² The U. N. guidelines for consumer protection are meant to attain the subsequent objectives:

i. To assist countries to achieve or maintain adequate protection for their population as customers;

ii. To facilitate production and distribution patterns as responsive to the needs and wishes of customers;

iii. To encourage high levels of ethical conduct for those engaged in the production and distribution of product and services to customers;

iv. To assist countries in curbing abusive business practices by all enterprises at the national and international levels that adversely have an effect on customer;

v. To facilitate the development of independent customer teams;

vi. To further international cooperation in the field of protection;

vii. To encourage the development of market conditions which give buyers with bigger alternative at lower costs

Consumer Protection Act, 1986:

Till the Nineteen Sixties, India was contaminated with cases of black marketeering, hoarding, inadequate weighing and food adulteration. These were problems that affected the well-being of buyer. Consumer unhappiness started to be incontestable. The level of dissatisfaction increased and it resulted to raise the voice of consumers. The consumer movement began within the Nineteen Sixties and gained momentum within the Nineteen Seventies. Resultantly, the legislature decided to enact law for consumer protection and it has enacted and enforced Consumer Protection Act on 24^th December, 1986. 24^th December is now discovered as National Consumers’ Day. The Consumer Protection Act, 1986, was enacted to provide an easier and faster redresses to client grievances. The Act seeks to promote and protect the interest of buyer against deficiencies and defects in product or services. It also seeks to secure the rights of a client against unfair trade practices, which could be practiced by makers and traders. Beside these the agenda of a consumer forum is to give speedy relief to each parties and it discourage long proceeding. The Act applies to all goods and services unless specifically exempted by the Union Government and covers all sectors, whether personal, public, or cooperative. This Act has provided machinery whereby consumers will file their complaints. These complaints will then be detected by consumer forums with special powers therefore that action are often taken against default suppliers and doable compensation is awarded to the buyer for the hardships he/she has undergone. The consumer, under this law, is not required to deposit vast court fees, which earlier used to put off buyer from approaching the courts. The rigidity of court procedures are replaced with simple procedures as compared to the conventional courts, which helps in faster redresses of grievances. The provisions of the Act are compensatory in nature. Consumer courts give redress solely in cases of product or services for personal use.

Protection of Consumer Rights:

The Act has mentioned about the set up of three councils i.e., Central consumer protection council³, State consumer protection councils⁴ and district councils⁵, to promote and protect consumer rights. There are six broad buyers rights outlined as per the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. These are:

(i)Right to Safety:

The Consumer Protection Act defines this right as a protection against product and services that are ‘hazardous to life and property’. This particularly applies to medicines, pharmaceuticals, foodstuffs, and automobiles. The right requires all such product of vital nature to life and property to be rigorously tested and valid before being marketed to the buyer.

(ii) Right to Information:

This right mentions the need to inform the buyers concerning the standard and amount of products being sold-out.

(iii) Right to Choose:

The consumer should have the proper space to decide and differentiate different products at competitive costs. Thus, the concept of a competitive market should be established to guarantee that the buyer will really opts for what to consume and in what amount. This is to avoid monopoly in the market.

(iv)Right to Seek Redresses:

When a buyer feels exploited, he/she has the right to approach a consumer court to file a petition. A consumer court is a forum that hears the petition and provides justice to the party. Thus, if the consumer feels he/she has been exploited, they can approach the court.

(v) Right to be Heard:

The purpose of this right is to confirm that the buyer gets due recognition in consumer courts or redresses forums. Basically, when a buyer feels exploited, he has the right to approach a consumer court. This right gives him/her due respect that his/her petition can be adjudicated according to law.

(vi) Right to Consumer Education:

Consumers should be aware of their rights and should have access to enough data whereas creating consumption choices. Such information will facilitate them to opt for what to get, how abundant to get and at what worth. Many buyers in India are not even aware that they're protected by the Act. Unless they know, they cannot seek justice when they are literally exploited.

Redressal forum:

There are three types of redressal agencies according to the Act⁶i. e., District forum, State Commission and National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. According to the Act, every district has at least one redressal forum, also known as a consumer court. Here, consumers will get their grievances detected. Above the district forums there are the state commissions. At the top, there is the National Consumer Disputes redressal Commission in national level. The complaint should be filed by copies of bills, prescriptions, and/or other relevant documents, and should have a point in time. The redressal process that It follows a three-tier quasi-judicial system. District forum deals with cases up to twenty lakhs⁷. A state-level forum deals with cases between 20 lakhs and 1 crore⁸ while a national consumer forum deals with claims that exceed the worth of one crore⁹.

The complaint ought to be filed at intervals 2 years of sale or purchase. The complaint needs to be in writing. Letters should be sent by registered post, hand-delivered, email, or fax. An acknowledgment plays here very important role. The complaint ought to mention the name and address of the litigant and the person/entity against whom the complaint is being filed. The buyer must mention details of the matter and demand. It could be a replacement of the merchandise, removal of defect(s), refund, or compensation for expenses incurred, and for physical or mental torture.

Appeal:

An appeal is a process that permits persons to approach a better forum with the findings of previous one. An appeal will be filed with the state commission against the order of the district forum at intervals of thirty days of the order¹⁰. An appeal will be preferred with the National Commission against the order of the state commission at intervals thirty days of the order¹¹. Further an appeal may be preferred in the Supreme Court against the order of the National Commission at intervals thirty days of the order or at intervals such time because the Supreme Court permits.

Judicial Precedents on consumer protection:

Judiciary has played a very essential role in expanding the horizon of consumer awareness and Consumer Protection. The Supreme Court and all subordinate adjudicating authorities are working like a watch tower and they are protecting, promoting, horizon of consumer rights.

Few leading cases of protection of consumer rights are mentioned below illustratively not exhaustively;

(i) New India Assurance Company Limited v Abhilash Jewellery [III (2009) CPJ 2 (SC)]:

The complainant had taken a jeweller's block policy, lodged a claim with the opposite party insurer for loss of gold ornaments. The insurer disowned the claim on the ground that the loss occurred when the gold was within the custody of apprentice, who was not worker (because the policy stipulated that for indemnification of the loss, the property insured had to be "in the custody of the insured, his partner or his employee). The National Commission allowed the complaint holding that apprentice was 'employee' as per section 2(6) of the Kerala Shops and Commercial Establishments Act.

The Supreme Court, however, held that the word 'employee' in the contract of insurance mentioned had to be interpreted literally not with the help of fiction. To include 'apprentice' in the class of 'employee', was only a 'legal fiction' and will not be applied to the insurance contract. The Court, therefore, allowed the appeal.

(ii) Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation v Ashok Iron Works Private Limited [III (2009) CPJ 5 SC]

The appellant corporation contended that the complaint filed by the respondent was not rectifiable as (i) an organization isn't a 'person' underneath section 2(1)(m) of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986; (ii) the complainant is not a 'consumer' at intervals section 2(1)(d) of the same Act since it purchased electricity for business production; and (iii) disputes about sale and supply of electricity weren't lined under the definition of 'service”. The Apex Court rejected the appellant's contention that a company was excluded from the definition of 'person'. In this context, the Court relied upon the English Court decision¹² and its own¹³ and reiterated that the utilization of the word 'includes' in a statute typically showed the intention of the legislature to relinquish an exhaustive and enlarged purpose to such expressions. The object of an enactment would possibly give adequate steering for interpretation.

Thus, the definition of 'person' was inclusive and not thorough. When therefore construed, 'any person' mentioned in the definition of 'consumer' in section 2(1)(d) would come with an organization. On the appellant's second contention, the Court held that the change to the certified public accountant effective from fifteen March 2003, excluding services availed of for commercial functions, was not applicable to the current case sinc the appellant's third contention, the Court held that provide of electricity by the corporation to a client wasn't sale of products at intervals section 2(1)(d) of the certified public accountant. For this, the Court relied upon its decision¹⁴, in which the Court had control that 'supply' of electricity didn't mean 'sale' the refrom and a case of provider of electricity was lined underneath section 2(1)(d)(ii) (i. e., hiring or availing of any service) as 'service' under section 2(1)(o) meant service of any description as well as the provision of facilities in reference to provide of electrical or alternative energy. Therefore, a case of deficiency in service would be section 2(1)(g). The Court rejected the appellant's contention that 'service' in section 2(1)(o) was restricted to providing facilities in affiliation with electricity.

(iii) HDFC Bank Limited v Balwinder Singh [III (2009) CPJ 40 (NC)]:

The complainant was a bank, employing musclemen to take forceful retrieval of the hypothecated vehicle and so inflicting physical harassment and mental trauma to the litigant. The District Forum allowed the complaint and directed the bank to pay compensation of Rs. 4 lakhs for repossessing the vehicle and reselling it to a 3rd party. The State Commission confirmed the order in appeal. Dealing with the bank's revision petition, the National Commission expressed shock that the bank had hired musclemen directly or through its recovery agents to recover the loan/repossess the vehicle. The Commission also referred to the State Commission and it ordered that the alleged letter created by the bank purporting to the litigant voluntarily handing over possession of the vehicle was unreliable which no notice was given to the litigant at the stages of retrieval and sale of auto. In dismissing the petition, the Commission relied upon a judgment¹⁵where it had powerfully deprecated such practices. The Commission dismissed the petition and awarded Rs. 25, 000/- as exemplary costs in this case.

(iv) Malka Tarannum v Dr. C. P. Gupta [III (2009) CPJ 49 (NC)]:

The District Forum allowed the complain and said that there was negligence in applying (the first) plaster on the complainant's daughter's broken hand. In appeal, the State Commission dismissed the plea and conjointly said that the litigant wasn't a client since he was not charged any fee for the treatment. In revision, the National Commission held that application of the plaster for the second time did not imply medical negligence on the initial occasion since application of POP block was a standard procedure adopted within the first instance whenever there was swelling at the location of the injury. Relying on the Supreme Court decision¹⁶, the Commission observed that the doctor who had applied the plaster in the initial instance was a senior and specialist doctor with therefore the litigant couldn't dispute his skill, without any professional proof.

(v) Arvind Shah (Dr.) V Kamlaben Kushwaha [III (2009) CPJ 121]:

The complainant alleged that her deceased son, aged 20 years died as a result of medical negligence on the a part of the appellant doctor who administered wrong treatment. The State Commission awarded to the complainant a compensation of Rs. 5 lakh with interest and prices. In appeal, the National Commission, on consideration of the material on record, came to the conclusion that the two medical prescriptions, which the doctor wanted to deny, could have been written solely by him. It also discovered that although, in the appeal, the doctor admitted for the first time to having treated the patient; he didn't manufacture any prescription on record. More necessary, the two prescriptions didn't mention any of the patient's complaints. Even the ordinary important parameters like temperature, blood pressure, pulse rate, etc., were not noted. The Commission observed that the Medical Council of India or the State Medical Council must require the registered doctors to obey their respective codes of ethics, guidelines, and laws.

The Commission held that in line with the Apex Court's order¹⁷ it was essential for the doctor to write down a prescription with primary and obligatory details and further held that in case of failure, it would be medical negligence. The Commission further exposed that if a patient found that the doctor's treatment did not facilitate him and if he wished to consult another, a prescription with such details would be necessary. On the other hand, a prescription meeting basic requirements would conjointly assist a doctor in demonstrating that he had treated his patient with due care. While returning a finding of medical negligence against the doctor, the Commission found that it was a case of negligence followed by directly and completely doctor's negligence. Accordingly, it scaled down the compensation to Rs. 2.5 lakhs with interest.

(vi) Sehgal School of Competition v Dalbir Singh [III (2009) CPJ 33 (NC)]:

The complainant wanted to refund the fees that has been paid by him during admission of a certain course of two years. The claim was made after completion of one year from the date of admission and the claim was made as because the coaching school is not up to the mark. The District Forum directed the school to refund the fees and the opposite party filed an appeal to state commission. The commission upheld the District Forum’s order. The petitioner contended that payment of lump sum fees for 2 years was a condition of contract and fees could not be refunded or transferred under any circumstances. The Commission held that this condition was one sided and biased in favor of the opposite party and it is against natural justice. The commission further held that the school did not apply fair trade policies. The Commission also rejected the opposite party's plea. The school further went for appeal in National Commission. Referring to its recent decision National Commission held that¹⁸ it was unjust to gather fees for the overall amount of the course. Commission further ordered for refund of fees with the amount of compensations.

(vii) Medical Superintendent, St. Gregorious Mission Hospital v Jessy and Another [III (2009) CPJ 61 (NC)]:

The District Forum awarded Rs. 2. 75 lakhs with interest to the complainants for the negligence of opposite party which is a hospital. Here the patient committed suicide by hanging in the hospital. In its revision petition, the hospital contended that it was impossible to supply 24-hour service and to have a look for 24 hours to every patient. The National Commission held that the patient was allowed to move away on his own accord from his ward into empty ward. The patient hung himself with piece of material that was not detected by the employee. As per the hospital's own evaluation, the hospital staff ought to have taken additional care to deal with such a patient however the desired degree of care wasn't exhibited. The Commission relied upon the Supreme Court judgment¹⁹ and held that there was negligence.

(viii) Life Insurance Corporation of India v Gowramm [III (2009) CPJ 25 (NC)]:

The petitioner insurer disowned the life insurance policy of the respondent's late husband (insured) on the ground of deliberate misstatements and withholding of correct facts relating to the health of the insured. The lower Forum rejected the various contentions of misstatements and allowed the criticism. The National Commission held that the misstatements and concealment of facts could be created as a ground for repudiation. The Commission referred and relied on a Supreme Court decision²⁰.

(ix) Narinder Kumar Suneja v R. K. Goel [III (2009) CPJ 35 (NC):

In revision, the petitioner who was a professional person claimed that he was entitled to retain the fee that he took from the respondent since the respondent had made the power of attorney and handed over some papers to the petitioner in reference to the case. The National Commission referred to the order of the State Commission which, in turn, referred to the District Forum's order holding that the other party (petitioner) wasn't entitled to retain the fee when he didn't perform the duty and he has a charge of misconduct. The Consumer forum were needed to work out whether or not correct service had been rendered or not. The Commission relied upon a leading case²¹ and held that deficiency in service by lawyers was lined underneath the certified public accountant.

(x) Rajasthan Financial Corporation v M. K. Bhoot and Another [III (2009) CPJ 10 (NC)]:

The complainant participated in an auction conducted by the petitioner for transferable and immovable properties. The complainant deposited the requisite sum cash at the time of creating his bid. Due to non-payment of 25% of the bid quantity, the sum was forfeited. The District Forum dismissed the petition for refund the earnest cash however the State Commission allowed the same. The National Commission allowed the revision petition holding that no consumer dispute underneath the certified public accountant may arise out of a relationship of vender.

CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS:

The consumers are playing most significant role in country’s economic development. A consumer is not dependent on us. We are dependent consumers. Consumers are the purpose of business. He is not an outsider of our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a help by serving him. Consumers are supporting us by giving us an opportunity to serve them. But in the present socio-economic circumstances, we find that the consumer is a victim of many unfair business policies. He is very often cheated in the quality, quantity and price of goods or services. The consumer who was once the ‘King of the Market’ has become the sufferer of it. He is not supplied adequate information as to the characteristics and functions of goods and suffers due to one-sided standard forms of contracts. The modern economic and social developments have made the idea of ‘freedom of contract’. There has been an increasing public apprehension over the consumer protection issues all over the world. Taking into account the interests of consumers in all countries, especially in developing countries, the consumer protection measures should essentially be concerned with the protection from hazards; the promotion and protection of economic interests; access to adequate information; control on misleading advertisements and deceptive representation; consumer education; and effective consumer redress. The consumer deserves to get what he pays for in real quantity and true quality of goods and services. In every society, consumer remains the centre of gravity of all business and industrial activity. Consumer needs protection from the manufacturer, service provider, supplier, wholesaler and retailer. The Constitution of India elucidates the idea of social and economic justice. To achieve the objectives of an equal social order and to avoid inequality, injustice and exploitation, the Constitution has been amended several times. But in spite of various strategies, policies and plans of government, lack of consumer’s awareness is still a big problem of our country. In India, consumer justice is a part of social and economic justice as it has enshrined in the Constitution. Following the Constitutional mandate a number of legislations have been enacted in the field of consumer protection relating to standardization, grading, packaging and branding, prevention of food adulteration etc,. But all these are sprinkled pieces of legislations. Articles 21, 38, 39, 42, 43, 46 and 47 of the Constitution of India expressly promoting and protecting consumer rights.

Awareness of consumer rights is intended to make the buyer more responsive about their rights and to ascertain high level moral conduct for those engaged in production and distribution of products and services. High prices, duplicate articles, underneath weight and under measurements, rough behavior, undue conditions, artificial scarcity are some of the ways by which consumers are exploited by makers and traders. Limited data and low skill are the important factors which inflicts exploitation of buyers. The consumers have to be aware not solely about the business aspects of sale and purchase of product, but conjointly about the health and security aspects. Food safety has become an necessary component of buyers rights and awareness. Modern business and company has a nice social responsibility towards the well being of society. Therefore buyer is a necessary part of society. Consumer occupies a supreme position in a free economy and therefore the welfare of the buyer lies within the fulfillment of his traditional and bona fide expectation with regards to the products and services. Consumer awareness ought to be created in urban as well as in rural areas by throwing lights on its rights, by educating about the rights and by educating people about the forum and redresses system. The paper suggests following measures to protect rights and interest of the consumers:

i. To aware consumers about their rights as mentioned in the Act and what will be the remedies in case of infringement;

ii. To aware people about the term consumer, consumerism and Consumer Education;

iii. Government and Enforcement Agencies have to participate sincerely in awareness programs. They have to organize workshops etc. in rural as well as in urban areas;

iv. Amendment existing laws is necessary;

It is, thus, expected that the execution of the above suggestions would be helpful in providing justice to the consumers. But, at the same time, it is imperative that consumer on his own level may protect his interests by self-help. He should be aware and conscious, and as soon as he finds that there is an violation to any of his rights, he must seek guard of consumer forums. It is then and only then, the constitutional dream of economic and social justice will comes true.

REFERENCES:

1. Section 2(1)(d) of, The Consumer Protection Act, 1986

2. Adopted by General Assembly in resolution 39/248 of 16 April 1985 https://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/United_Nations_Conference_on_Trade_and_Development (last visited on 9th march, 2019)

3. Section 4, 5, 6 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986

4. Section 7, 8 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986

5. Section 8A, 8B the Consumer Protection Act, 1986

6. Section 9 the Consumer Protection Act, 1986

7. Section 11 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986

8. Section 17 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986

9. Section 21 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986

10. Section 15 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986

11. Section 19 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986

12. Section 23 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986

13. Dilworth v Commissioner of Stamps [(1899) AC 99]

14. Reserve Bank of India v Peerless General Finance and Investment Company Limited and Others [(1987) 1 SCC 424]

15. Southern organic compound Industries Co. Ltd. v. Electricity Inspector and ETIO and Others [(2007) 5 SCC 447]

16. Citicorp Maruti Finance Limited v S. Vijayalaxmi [III (2007) CPJ 161 (NC)]

17. Jacob Mathew v State of Punjab and Another [(2005) 6 SCC 1],

18. Samira Kohli v Dr. Prabha Manchanda [I (2008) CPJ 56 (SC)]

19. Nipun Nagar v. Symbiosis Institute of International Business [I (2009) CPJ 3 (NC)],

20. M. S. Grewal v Deep Chand Sood [II (2001) ACC 540 (SC)]

21. Mithoolal Nayak v life assurance Corporation of India [AIR 1962 SC 814]

22. D. K. Gandhi v M. Mathias [III (2007) CPJ 337 (NC)]

Received on 07.04.2019 Modified on 24.05.2019

nt. J. Rev. and Res. Social Sci. 2019; 7(2): 399-404.

DOI: 10.5958/2454-2687.2019.00032.7