Consumer Rights

Origin of Consumer Rights | Consumer rights were recognized broadly in many ancient Hindu, Islamic and Christian religious scriptures; however, no literary work formalized them into a concise set until the 1960s. Consumer rights in India and the modern world owe their origin to the consumer revolution of the pre-60s in the United States of America.On March 15, 1962, US President John F Kennedy made a historical speech about consumer rights as he introduced 'The Consumer Bill of Rights' in the US Congress. Ever since, countries all over the world have celebrated March 15 as the Consumers’ Day. However, in India December 24 is celebrated as the National Consumer Day since the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 was enacted on this day by the Indian Parliament.Kennedy strongly believed that it is vital to United States’ National Interest to ensure the welfare of the consumers, as it is the consumer who fundamentally drives the economy. He formulated four rights for consumers, namely the right to safety, right to choose, right to information and right to be heard which, in 1985, was accepted by the United Nations (UN). The UN added to this list the right to basic needs, right to representation, right to consumer education, and right to healthy environment. In the years since its creation in 1950 by the Constitution of India, the Union Parliament has passed several legislations that include consumer protection provisions in their body. The ambit of these provisions is restricted to the subject matter of these statutes, and they are enforceable through the trial courts. Failure on the part of any customer to show the statute was applicable meant that he had to then resort to tort / contract / fiduciary law for relief. An illustrative list of product specific legislations with consumer protection components is as below:a. Drugs Control Act, 1950
b. Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954
c. Essential Commodities Act, 1955In 1986, the Union