Lok Sabha Question No. 3831 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-08-09
Subject: Consumer Courts
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: SUSHMITA DEV, JYOTIRADITYA MADHAVRAO SCINDIA, RAKSHA NIKHIL KHADSE, NISHIKANT  DUBEY, SANTOSH AHLAWAT, GAJENDRA SINGH SHEKHAWAT

## Government of India Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Department of Consumer Affairs

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3831

TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.08.2016

## CONSUMER COURTS

3831.  KUMARI  SUSHMITA  DEV:  SHRI  JYOTIRADITYA  M.  SCINDIA:  SHRIMATI RAKSHATAI KHADSE: SHRI NISHIKANT DUBEY: SHRIMATI SANTOSH AHLAWAT: SHRI GAJENDRA SINGH SHEKHAWAT:

## Will the Minister of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION miHkksDrk ekeys] [kk| vkSj lkoZtfud forj.k ea=h be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Supreme Court appointed committee has  identified  certain discrepancies  in the functioning of consumer courts including vacancies therein and sought urgent action to fix them and if so, the details thereof and the action taken thereon indicating the number of  consumer  courts  presently  functioning  in  the  country  and  the  number  of  vacancies reported therein along with the steps taken to fill up the said vacancies;
- (b) whether the Government proposes to set up more consumer courts in the States and if so, the details thereof indicating the names of States/UTs where such courts are proposed to be setup and the expenditure to be incurred thereon;
- (c) the number of cases registered, disposed and pending in the said courts during last three years and the current year, State-wise along with the steps taken to clear all the cases in a time bound manner;
- (d) whether the Government has put  in place any  monitoring  mechanism to ensure smooth functioning of the courts and make them more accessible to the common people; and
- (e) whether  the  Government  has  taken  note  of  the  rising  cost  of  litigation  depriving  poor people of the benefits of the system and the corrective steps taken in this regard?

## ANSWER

## miHkksDrk ekeys] [kk| vkSj lkoZtfud forj.k jkT; ea=h ¼Jh lh- vkj- pkS/kjh½

## THE MINISTER OF STATE CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRI C. R. CHAUDHARY)

(a)  : The  Supreme  Court  Appointed  Committee  has  started  functioning  and  presently  it  is assessing  the  problems  faced  by  the  Consumer  Fora  by  holding  discussions  with  the  State Governments and the Presidents of the Consumer Fora.

There is one National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (National Commission), 35  State  Consumer  Disputes  Redressal  Commissions  (State  Commission)  and  626  functional District  Consumer  Disputes  Redressal  Fora  (District  Fora)  in  the  country.  As  per  information available, the present vacancy position is as under:

|                     | No. Of vacancy of President   |   No. Of vacancy of Member |
|---------------------|-------------------------------|----------------------------|
| National Commission | Nil                           |                          2 |
| State Commissions   | 1                             |                         15 |
| District Fora       | 104                           |                        297 |

Action has already been taken by the Central Government to fill up the two vacancies in the National Commission. The vacancies in the State Commissions and the District Fora are filled by the respective State Governments.

- (b)    :      As  per  the  provisions  of  the  Consumer  Protection  Act,  1986,  setting  up  of  Consumer Courts in the States is the responsibility of the State Governments concerned .
- (c)   : As per the data compiled by the CONFONET (Consumer Fora Networking) system, the information on the number of cases registered, disposed and pending in the said courts during last three years and the current year, State-wise, is given in Annexure.

The following steps have been taken to clear the pending cases:-

- i. State  Governments  have  been  requested  from  time  to  time  to  take  action  well  in advance for filling up of vacancies of President and Member and to maintain a panel of candidates for filling up of future vacancies also, to avoid delay in appointments.
- ii. Circuit Benches from the National Commission have been frequently visiting States.
- iii. Some State Commissions have constituted additional Benches mainly to dispose of backlog of pending cases.
- iv. The  National  Commission  and  some  of  the  State  Commissions  are  adopting  the process of holding Lok Adalats for speedy disposal of the cases.
5. (d)  :   As per the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, the National Commission has administrative control  with  regard  to  generally  overseeing  the  functioning  of  the  State  Commissions  and  the District  Fora  to  ensure  that  the  objects  and  purposes  of  the  Act  are  best  served.    The  Central Government holds National Conferences and Regional Consultation meetings from time to time with the representatives of the State Governments and the Presidents of the Consumer  Fora to resolve the impediments to improve the functioning of consumer fora.
6. (e)  : As per the rules framed under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, the fees for filing cases in the Consumer Courts is minimal. For filing complaints of total value of goods or services and the compensation claimed up to rupees one lakh, the complainants belonging to Below Poverty Line holding  Antyodaya  Anna Yojana Cards are exempted from payment of  fees. Besides, the complainants can themselves plead their cases in the Consumer Courts.

*****

## ANNEXURE

## STATEMENT  REFERRED  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (c)  OF  LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3831 FOR 09.08.2016 REGARDING CONSUMER COURTS.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

## CASES REGISTERED, DISPOSED AND PENDING IN CONSUMER FORA FOR THE YEAR 2013

| SN   | State               |   Previous pending |   Filed |   Disposed |   Pending |
|------|---------------------|--------------------|---------|------------|-----------|
| 1    | National Commission |               2764 |    6260 |       5023 |      4001 |
| 2    | Andhra Pradesh      |                333 |    3383 |       3299 |       417 |
| 3    | A &NIslands         |                  5 |      38 |         33 |        10 |
| 4    | Arunachal Pradesh   |                 47 |      25 |         18 |        54 |
| 5    | Assam               |                139 |     147 |         48 |       238 |
| 6    | Bihar               |               1133 |     672 |         13 |      1792 |
| 7    | Chandigarh          |                 66 |    2048 |       2031 |        83 |
| 8    | Chhattisgarh        |               1580 |    2409 |       1862 |      2127 |
| 9    | Daman &Diu and DNH  |                  0 |       1 |          0 |         1 |
| 10   | Delhi               |              10381 |    3560 |        996 |     12945 |
| 11   | Goa                 |                 71 |     401 |        336 |       136 |
| 12   | Gujarat             |              31810 |    8334 |       5953 |     34191 |
| 13   | Haryana             |               3522 |    3398 |       1896 |      5024 |
| 14   | Himachal Pradesh    |               2064 |    2186 |       1738 |      2512 |
| 15   | Jammu &Kashmir      |                 61 |      79 |          5 |       135 |
| 16   | Jharkhand           |                148 |     172 |         41 |       279 |
| 17   | Karnataka           |               1309 |    3903 |       2884 |      2328 |
| 18   | Kerala              |               7155 |    7084 |       5004 |      9235 |
| 19   | Lakshadweep         |                 13 |       2 |          0 |        15 |
| 20   | Madhya Pradesh      |              13981 |    6328 |       4825 |     15484 |
| 21   | Maharashtra         |              29265 |   11378 |       7756 |     32887 |
| 22   | Manipur             |                 16 |       6 |          6 |        16 |
| 23   | Meghalaya           |                288 |      70 |         42 |       316 |
| 24   | Mizoram             |                 23 |      27 |         12 |        38 |
| 25   | Nagaland            |                 11 |       3 |          1 |        13 |
| 26   | Odisha              |                553 |     985 |        413 |      1125 |
| 27   | Puducherry          |                 79 |      65 |         41 |       103 |
| 28   | Punjab              |               4697 |    9272 |       8533 |      5436 |
| 29   | Rajasthan           |               6431 |   10825 |       6283 |     10973 |
| 30   | Sikkim              |                  0 |      21 |         18 |         3 |
| 31   | Tamil Nadu          |               2671 |    3637 |       2051 |      4257 |
| 32   | Telangana           |               1019 |    2296 |       1551 |      1764 |
| 33   | Tripura             |                  5 |      47 |         41 |        11 |
| 34   | Uttar Pradesh       |              48107 |   12704 |       3482 |     57329 |
| 35   | Uttarakhand         |                494 |     922 |        405 |      1011 |
| 36   | West Bengal         |               1292 |    4998 |       4154 |      2136 |
|      | TOTAL               |             171533 |  107686 |      70794 |    208425 |

| SN   | State               |   Previous pending | Filed   | Disposed   | Pending   |
|------|---------------------|--------------------|---------|------------|-----------|
| 1    | National Commission |               4001 | 6802    | 5369       | 5434      |
| 2    | Andhra Pradesh      |                417 | 2979    | 2697       | 699       |
| 3    | A &NIslands         |                 10 | 34      | 30         | 14        |
| 4    | Arunachal Pradesh   |                 54 | 26      | 15         | 65        |
| 5    | Assam               |                238 | 275     | 46         | 467       |
| 6    | Bihar               |               1792 | 690     | 18         | 2464      |
| 7    | Chandigarh          |                 83 | 2215    | 2134       | 164       |
| 8    | Chhattisgarh        |               2127 | 3058    | 2292       | 2893      |
| 9    | Daman &Diu and DNH  |                  1 | NA      | NA         | NA        |
| 10   | Delhi               |              12945 | 9447    | 2476       | 19916     |
| 11   | Goa                 |                136 | 357     | 304        | 189       |
| 12   | Gujarat             |              34191 | 9564    | 5747       | 38008     |
| 13   | Haryana             |               5024 | 6149    | 3064       | 8109      |
| 14   | Himachal Pradesh    |               2512 | 2270    | 1711       | 3071      |
| 15   | Jammu &Kashmir      |                135 | 78      | 3          | 210       |
| 16   | Jharkhand           |                279 | 281     | 98         | 462       |
| 17   | Karnataka           |               2328 | 10532   | 8046       | 4814      |
| 18   | Kerala              |               9235 | 7145    | 4382       | 11998     |
| 19   | Lakshadweep         |                 15 | NA      | NA         | 15        |
| 20   | Madhya Pradesh      |              15484 | 15050   | 6014       | 24520     |
| 21   | Maharashtra         |              32887 | 13473   | 7951       | 38409     |
| 22   | Manipur             |                 16 | 24      | 20         | 20        |
| 23   | Meghalaya           |                316 | 79      | 36         | 359       |
| 24   | Mizoram             |                 38 | 126     | 2          | 162       |
| 25   | Nagaland            |                 13 | 8       | 1          | 20        |
| 26   | Odisha              |               1125 | 3200    | 1003       | 3322      |
| 27   | Puducherry          |                103 | 105     | 69         | 139       |
| 28   | Punjab              |               5436 | 9532    | 8846       | 6122      |
| 29   | Rajasthan           |              10973 | 17089   | 9071       | 18991     |
| 30   | Sikkim              |                  3 | 20      | 16         | 7         |
| 31   | Tamil Nadu          |               4257 | 3472    | 1376       | 6353      |
| 32   | Telangana           |               1764 | 1693    | 1306       | 3151      |
| 33   | Tripura             |                 11 | 144     | 132        | 23        |
| 34   | Uttar Pradesh       |              57329 | 19003   | 4647       | 71685     |
| 35   | Uttarakhand         |               1011 | 916     | 336        | 1591      |
| 36   | West Bengal         |               2136 | 6778    | 4955       | 3959      |
|      | TOTAL               |             208425 | 153614  | 84213      | 277825    |

*****

## CASES REGISTERED, DISPOSED AND PENDING IN CONSUMER FORA FOR THE YEAR 2015

| SN   | State               | Previous pending   | Filed   | Disposed   | Pending   |
|------|---------------------|--------------------|---------|------------|-----------|
| 1    | National Commission | 5434               | 5933    | 3169       | 8198      |
| 2    | Andhra Pradesh      | 699                | 2281    | 1262       | 1718      |
| 3    | A &NIslands         | 14                 | 34      | 15         | 33        |
| 4    | Arunachal Pradesh   | 65                 | 22      | 13         | 74        |
| 5    | Assam               | 467                | 230     | 31         | 666       |
| 6    | Bihar               | 2464               | 1470    | 20         | 3914      |
| 7    | Chandigarh          | 164                | 2356    | 2006       | 514       |
| 8    | Chhattisgarh        | 2893               | 3631    | 1789       | 4735      |
| 9    | Daman &Diu and DNH  | N.A.               | N.A.    | N.A.       | N.A.      |
| 10   | Delhi               | 19916              | 8641    | 2469       | 26088     |
| 11   | Goa                 | 189                | 329     | 214        | 304       |
| 12   | Gujarat             | 38008              | 9418    | 3334       | 44092     |
| 13   | Haryana             | 8109               | 8561    | 3637       | 13033     |
| 14   | Himachal Pradesh    | 3071               | 1891    | 1026       | 3936      |
| 15   | Jammu &Kashmir      | 210                | 146     | 3          | 353       |
| 16   | Jharkhand           | 462                | 324     | 125        | 661       |
| 17   | Karnataka           | 4814               | 7879    | 4111       | 8582      |
| 18   | Kerala              | 11998              | 7520    | 3364       | 16154     |
| 19   | Lakshadweep         | 15                 | 9       | 0          | 24        |
| 20   | Madhya Pradesh      | 24520              | 12229   | 4256       | 32493     |
| 21   | Maharashtra         | 38409              | 18105   | 7111       | 49403     |
| 22   | Manipur             | 20                 | 28      | 18         | 30        |
| 23   | Meghalaya           | 359                | 60      | 17         | 402       |
| 24   | Mizoram             | 162                | 78      | 60         | 180       |
| 25   | Nagaland            | 20                 | 16      | 4          | 32        |
| 26   | Odisha              | 3322               | 4457    | 1001       | 6778      |
| 27   | Puducherry          | 139                | 113     | 51         | 201       |
| 28   | Punjab              | 6122               | 12662   | 10322      | 8462      |
| 29   | Rajasthan           | 18991              | 20216   | 8212       | 30995     |
| 30   | Sikkim              | 7                  | 32      | 15         | 24        |
| 31   | Tamil Nadu          | 6353               | 3719    | 651        | 9421      |
| 32   | Telangana           | 3151               | 2591    | 660        | 5022      |
| 33   | Tripura             | 23                 | 189     | 158        | 54        |
| 34   | Uttar Pradesh       | 71685              | 19848   | 2905       | 88628     |
| 35   | Uttarakhand         | 1591               | 1080    | 315        | 2356      |
| 36   | West Bengal         | 3959               | 7115    | 3682       | 7392      |
|      | TOTAL               | 277825             | 163213  | 66026      | 374952    |

*****

## CASES REGISTERED, DISPOSED AND PENDING IN CONSUMER FORA FOR THE YEAR 2016

| SN   | State               |   Previous pending |   Filed |   Disposed |   Pending |
|------|---------------------|--------------------|---------|------------|-----------|
| 1.   | National Commission |               8198 |    4544 |       1061 |     11681 |
| 2.   | Andhra Pradesh      |               1718 |    1310 |        156 |      2872 |
| 3.   | A &NIslands         |                 33 |      18 |          2 |        49 |
| 4.   | Arunachal Pradesh   |                 74 |      15 |          3 |        12 |
| 5.   | Assam               |                666 |     154 |          7 |       813 |
| 6.   | Bihar               |               3914 |     679 |          3 |      4590 |
| 7.   | Chandigarh          |                514 |    1798 |        684 |      1628 |
| 8.   | Chhattisgarh        |               4735 |    2537 |        302 |      6970 |
| 9.   | Daman &Diu and DNH  |                  0 |       0 |          0 |         0 |
| 10.  | Delhi               |              26088 |    5034 |        614 |     30508 |
| 11.  | Goa                 |                304 |     179 |         51 |       432 |
| 12.  | Gujarat             |              44092 |    5253 |        322 |     49023 |
| 13.  | Haryana             |              13033 |    5472 |        856 |     17649 |
| 14.  | Himachal Pradesh    |               3936 |    1156 |        351 |      4741 |
| 15.  | Jammu &Kashmir      |                353 |      64 |          0 |       417 |
| 16.  | Jharkhand           |                661 |     234 |         24 |       871 |
| 17.  | Karnataka           |               8582 |    5381 |        674 |     13289 |
| 18.  | Kerala              |              16154 |    4080 |        680 |     19554 |
| 19.  | Lakshadweep         |                 24 |      12 |          0 |        36 |
| 20.  | Madhya Pradesh      |              32493 |    6480 |        666 |     38307 |
| 21.  | Maharashtra         |              49403 |   12007 |       1513 |     59897 |
| 22.  | Manipur             |                 30 |      40 |          4 |        66 |
| 23.  | Meghalaya           |                402 |      34 |          6 |       430 |
| 24.  | Mizoram             |                180 |      34 |          9 |       205 |
| 25.  | Nagaland            |                 32 |      19 |          2 |        49 |
| 26.  | Odisha              |               6778 |    2113 |         97 |      8794 |
| 27.  | Puducherry          |                201 |      49 |          1 |       249 |
| 28.  | Punjab              |               8462 |    6046 |       1732 |     12776 |
| 29.  | Rajasthan           |              30995 |   14616 |       2253 |     43358 |
| 30.  | Sikkim              |                 24 |       6 |          1 |        29 |
| 31.  | Tamil Nadu          |               9421 |    1799 |         66 |     11154 |
| 32.  | Telangana           |              50822 |    1337 |         48 |      6371 |
| 33.  | Tripura             |                 54 |     125 |         32 |       147 |
| 34.  | Uttar Pradesh       |              88628 |   11382 |        398 |     99612 |
| 35.  | Uttarakhand         |               2356 |     599 |         70 |      2885 |
| 36.  | West Bengal         |               7392 |    4236 |        602 |     11026 |
|      | TOTAL               |             374952 |   98842 |      13290 |    460490 |

*****