Consumer Rights

CONSUMER PROTECTION & REDRESSAL FORUM SUBMITTED To: PROF: N. JAYARAM SHETTY JKSHIM EVALUATOR: JKSHIM SUBMITTED By: K.SANDEEP.SHETTY 1st YEAR MBA ‘B’ SECTION JKSHIM *CONSUMER RIGHTS & REDRESSAL FOR*U*M UNDER CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT, *1986 Gandhiji has rightly said: ORIGIN OF CONSUMER RIGHTS Right to Safety Right to Information Right to choice RIGHT TO SAFETY RIGHT TO CHOICE RIGHT TO BE HEARD RIGHT TO SEEK REDRESSAL RIGHT TO CONSUMER EDUCATION Awareness Campaign Consumer Clubs Private Public Partnership Role of academic and consumer organizationsas well as the NGOs is therefore to educate and involve the consumers in the movement. Therefore, they have been given a prominent role in the Consumer Protection Act itself to take up cases on behalf of consumers which could be of an individual or a group of consumers. In fact CPA is a unique piece of legislation wherein it introduced the concept of what later came to be known more popularly as the PIL. To provide cheap, speedy and simple redressal to consumer disputes, quasi-judicial machinery is set up at each District, State and National levels called District Forums, State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission and National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission respectively. At present, there are 604 District Forums, 35 State Commissions with apex body as a National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL FORUMS Section 10 of the Consumer Protection Act lays down that each District Forum shall consist of a President and two other Members one of such member shall be an women. The President of the District Forum has to be a person who is, or who has been, or is qualified to be a District Judge. STATE CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSIONS Section 16 of the Consumer Protection Act lays down that a State Commission shall consist of a President and two Members one of such member shall be a women. The President of the State Commission