Consumer Complaints Dismissal On Technical Grounds Defeats Purpose Of Ensuring Justice, Says Supreme Court

Dismissal of consumer complaints on mere technical grounds add to the burden of litigation and defeat the very purpose of ensuring justice in the consumer fora, the Supreme Court has observed.

Setting aside an order by the National Consumer Commission (NCDRC), a Supreme Court bench comprising Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice Hemant Gupta said that orders of this nature detract from the purpose for which the NCDRC has been established.

Earlier, the NCDRC had dismissed a complaint in the Bakshi Gokhale versus Gruhashilp Constructions case, on the grounds that the complainant failed to file a rejoinder within a stipulated time.

“We are affirmatively of the view that orders of this nature detract from the true purpose for which the NCDRC has been established. The NCDRC should have borne this in mind instead of rejecting the complaint on a technicality. Such dismissals only add to the burden of litigation and defeat the purpose of ensuring justice in the consumer for a,” the Supreme Court bench observed.

Further, the bench observed that it has been repeatedly observing that marginal delays are not being condoned by the NCDRC on the ground that the Consumer Protection Act 1986 stipulates a period within which a consumer complaint has to be disposed of.

Though the Act stipulates a period to dispose of a consumer complaint, it is also a sobering reflection that complaints cannot be disposed of due to non-availability of resources and infrastructure, the Supreme Court bench observed.

The bench observed that against this background, it is harsh to penalize a bona fide litigant for marginal delays which could occur in the judicial process.

“The consumer fora should bear this in mind so that the ends of justice are not defeated,” the bench observed.