TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE GAZETTE OF INDIA.
EXTRAORDINARY, PART II, SECTION 3, SUB-SECTION (i)
Government
of India
National
Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
New Delhi, the 31st May, 2005.
NOTIFICATION
G.S.R. 342(E). -
In exercise of the powers conferred by section 30A of the Consumer Protection
Act, 1986 (68 of 1986), the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
with the previous approval of the Central Government, hereby makes the
following regulations, namely:-
1. Short title and commencement.-(1 ) These regulations may be called the Consumer Protection
Regulations, 2005.
(2) They shall come into force on the date of their publication in
the Official Gazette.
2. Definitions.- In these regulations unless the context otherwise requires,-
(a)
"Act" means the
Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (68 of 1986);
(b)
"Consumer Forum"
means a District Forum. a Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission established in a State under
clause (b) of section 9 (hereafter called the State Commission) or the National
Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission;
(c)
"Registrar" means the
head of the ministerial establishment of the Consumer Forum and exercising such
powers and functions as are conferred upon him by the President of the Consumer
Forum:
(d)
"rules" means the rules
made under the Act;
(e)
"section" means a
section of the Act:
(f)
words and expressions used in these regulations and not defined herein
but defined either in the Act or in the
rules shall have the same meaning respectively assigned to them either in the
Act or in the rules, as the case may be.
3. Arrangements in Consumer Forum,--(1 ) A Consumer Forum, being not a regular court, shall have
the arrangements as to depict it distinct from a court.
(2) In the hall in which the Consumer
Forum shall hear the parties, the dais may not be kept more than 30c.m. in
height than the place earmarked for the parties to occupy.
(3) At the dais of the hall, the
President and the members of the Consumer Forum shall use the same type
of chairs at the same level and these chairs need not have high backs.
4. Dress
code.-(1 ) The President
and members of every Consumer Forum while presiding over the Benches,-
(a)
shall wear simple and sober
dress;
(b) shall not wear-
(i) flashy dress
or dress display any affluence;
(ii) Jeans or T-shirts.
(iii) as if they are holding Courts as
Judges of a High Court or a District Court.
(2) The advocates shall be allowed to
appear in the usual dress as prescribed by the High
Court but without the gown.
5. Hearing hours.-Subject to the provisions of the rules, the normal working hours
of the Consumer
Forum for hearing matters shall be from 10.30 am to 1.00 p.m
and 2.00 p.m to 4.00 p.m on
all working days of the Central Government in the case of the National
Commission and on all working days of the State Government in the case of the
State Commission and the District Forum
6. Cause List.-(1
) Cause list of the Consumer forum for the following entire week shall
be made ready before the close of the working hours of the preceding week and
displayed on the notice board. The cause list in respect of a Consumer Forum
having a website shall also be hosted on the website.
(2) Cause list shall be split into three
different parts, namely:-
(i) Admission and after notice matters;
(ii) Matters where evidence is to be recorded;
(iii) Final disposal matters.
(3) Every cause
list shall contain the following particulars, namely:-
(1) Sl. No. (2) No. of the matter (3) Names of the parties (4) Name of the party or
Counsel or agent
appearing
(4) If a date of hearing is given in the
presence of parties or their agents, it shall not be a ground for
non-appearance for the reason that the cause list for the concerned date does
not show the matter or contains incorrect entry or there is omission of the
particulars of the matter.
7. Institution of complaints, appeals and
revision petitions.-(1 ) Where a complaint is filed
in District Forum or State Commission it shall be filed in three sets and where
it is filed in the National Commission it shall be filed in four sets with
additional sets equal to the number of
opposite party(ies)/respondent(s).
(2) Every complaint shall clearly contain particulars of dispute and the
relief claimed and shall also be accompanied by copies of such documents as are
necessary to prove the claim made in the complaint.
8. Nomenclature to be given to the
complaints, appeals and revisions petitions. -( 1 ) A complaint shall hereinafter
be referred to as Consumer Complaint (C.C.) instead of O.P., e.g., C.C. No.2
of 2005.
(2) An appeal shall be referred to as F.A., Revision Petition
as R.P., Execution .Application as E.A, Transfer Application T.A. and
Review as RA containing the number and
the year of filing.
9.
Scrutiny of complaint, appeal, petition and revision petition.-(1 ) Every complaint, appeal, or revision petition shall
after it is filed be numbered by the Registrar.
(2) If there is any defect in the filing of the complaint, appeal or
revision petition, the particulars of such defects shall be recorded and the
party or his agents shall be informed of the defects asking them for removing
the defects within 15 days.
(3) In case the party disputes in the
correctness of the defects pointed out the matter shall be placed before the
Consumer Forum for appropriate orders.
(4) After the expiry of the time given, the
matter shall, irrespective of the fact as to whether the defects have been
removed or not, be placed before the Consumer Forum for appropriate orders.
(5) If the objections raised by the
Registrar are substantial and are not removed within the time allowed for the
purpose, those days shall not be excluded for counting the period of
limitation.
(6) As required by the second proviso to sub-section (3) of section 12,
the admissibility of the complaint shall ordinarily be decided within
twenty-one days from the date on which the complaint was received.
(7) In case any defect is pointed out by
the Registrar, twenty-one days from the date on which such defect was
removed shall be reckoned for the purpose of sub-regulation (5).
(8) All pending complaints, appeals and
revision petitions which have not come up for admission till the date of
commencement of these regulations and are pending for admission for more than
21 days shall be listed immediately by the Consumer Forum for admission and not
later than 21 days from the date of commencement of these regulations.
10. Issue of notice.-(1 ) Whenever the Consumer Forum directs the issuance of a
notice in respect of a complaint, appeal or revision petition, as the case may
be, to the opposite party(ies)/respondent(s),
ordinarily such notice shall be issued for a period of 30 days and depending
upon the circumstances of each case even for less than 30 days.
(2) When there is a question of raising
presumption of service, 30 days notice shall be required.
(3) Whenever notices are sought to be effected by a courier service, it
shall be ascertained that the courier is of repute.
(4) While appointing the courier for the
purpose of effecting service, security deposit may also be taken.
(5) Along with the notice, copies of the complaint, memorandum of
grounds of appeal, petitions as the case may be and other documents filed shall
be served upon the opposite party(ies )/respondent( s).
(6) After the opposite party or respondent has put in appearance, no
application or document shall be received by the Registrar unless it bears an
endorsement that a copy thereof has been served upon the other side.
11. Adjournment.-(1
) Every proceeding before a Consumer Forum shall be conducted as
expeditiously as possible and as per the requirements of the Act.
(2) The Consumer Forum shall record the
reasons for any adjournment made by it.
(3) The cost of adjournment, if asked by
the opposite party or parties, shall not be less than five hundred rupees per
adjournment and could be more depending upon the value and nature of the
complaint as may be decided by the Consumer Forum.
(4). The
complainant, appellant or petitioner, as the case may be, may also be burdened
with cost unless sufficient cause is shown for seeking adjournment:
Provided that in the circumstances of a particular case, the amount of
cost imposed may be less than five hundred rupees but in no case less than one
hundred rupees.
(5) The cost imposed may be given to the other party or parties to
defray his or their expenses or be deposited in the Consumer Legal Aid Account
to be maintained by the respective Consumer Forum, as the Consumer Forum may
order.
(6) If any adjournment is granted without
awarding cost, the order sheet shall mention the reasons thereof.
(7) All orders adjourning the matter shall
be signed by the President and members constituting the Bench and not by the
Court Master or Bench Clerk.
(8) Non-availability of a lawyer who is
representing the party shall not be a ground for seeking adjournment of the
matter unless absence is beyond the control of the lawyer such as his sudden
illness or bereavement in the family.
12. Hearing by Benches.-Where a
Bench, constituted by the President of the State Commission or the National
Commission as provided under section 16 or section 20, as the case may be, does
not have a member with judicial background and any complex question of law
arises and there is no precedent to decide the law point, the Bench so
constituted may refer the matter to the President of the State Commission or
the National Commission as the case may be to constitute another Bench of which
the President shall be a member.
13. Arguments.-(1 )
Arguments should be as brief as possible and to the point at issue.
(2) Where a party is represented by a
counsel, it shall be mandatory to file a brief of written arguments two days before the
matter is fixed for arguments.
(3) In case of default to file briefs, the
cost shall be imposed at the same rates as laid down for grant of adjournments.
14. Limitation.-(1 )
Subject to the provisions of sections 15, 19 and 24A, the period of limitation
in the following matters shall be as follows:-
(i)
Revision Petition shall be
filed within 90 days from the date of the order or the date of receipt of the
order as the case may be;
(ii)
Application for setting aside
the ex-parte order under section 22A or
dismissal of the complaint in default shall be maintainable if filed within
thirty days from the date of the order or date of receipt of the order, as the
case may be;
(iii)
An application for review under
sub-section (2) of section 22 shall be filed to the National Commission within
30 days from the date of the order or receipt of the order, as the case
may be;
(iv)
The period of limitation for
filing any application for which no period of
limitation has been specified in the Act, the rules of these regulations shall
be thirty days from the date of the cause of action or the date of knowledge.
(2) Subject to the provisions of the Act,
the Consumer Forum may
condone the delay in filing an application or a petition referred
to in sub-regulation (1) if valid and sufficient reasons to its satisfaction
are given.
15. Review.-(1 ) It shall set out clearly the grounds for review.
(2) Unless otherwise ordered by the National
Commission, an application for review shall be disposed of by circulation
without oral arguments, as far as practicable between the same members who had
delivered the order sought to be reviewed.
16. Appearance of Voluntary Consumer Organisations.-(1) Recognised
Consumer Organisations have
a right of audience before the Consumer Forum
(2) An authorisation
of a Voluntary Consumer Organisation may be by way of
special power of attorney executed on a non-judicial paper or even on plain
paper duly attested by a Gazetted Officer or a Notary
Public.
(3) The Power of Attorney holder shall be
entitled to engage a counsel, if authorised to do so.
(4) A Voluntary Consumer Organisation can engage a counsel or an advocate of its
choice or it can itself represent through one of its office bearers as per the
rules governing it.
(5)
In case of a complaint where the Voluntary Consumer Organisation
is a complainant along
with the consumer himself and the
dispute affects the complainant
individually, he can withdraw the complaint:
Provided that if the issue involves unfair
trade practice or restrictive trade practice a Voluntary Consumer Organisation may continue to proceed with the complaint
even if the complainant wishes to withdraw the same.
(6) A Consumer Forum has to guard itself
from touts and busybodies in the garb of power of attorney holders or authorised agents in the proceedings before it.
(7) While a Consumer Forum may permit an authorised agent to appear before it, but authorised agent shall not be one who has used this as a
profession:
Provided that this sub-regulation shall not apply in case of
advocates.
(8) An authorised
agent may be debarred from appearing before a Consumer Forum if he is found
guilty of misconduct or any other malpractice at any time.
17. Ex-parte
interim order.-Any ex-parte interim
order issued by the Consumer Forum shall stand vacated after 45 days if in the
meanwhile the objections to the interim order are not heard and disposed of.
18. Final order.-(1) An order on the top right hand comer shall show as to when
the complaint was filed and the date of the order.
(2) The cause title of the order shall
contain the names of all the parties with their addresses.
(3) In the body of the order it is
desirable that after mentioning the complainant or the opposite party, their
names as shown in the title be mentioned and parties thereafter may not be
mentioned as complainant or opposite party No.1 or opposite party No.2, etc.
(4) The cause title shall also clearly show
if the appellant or respondent was the complainant or opposite party.
(5) The order of a Consumer Forum disposing
of a matter shall be as short and precise as practicable and unnecessary long
quotations from the judgments of the higher courts or otherwise shall be
avoided.
(6) When a copy of the order is sent to a party, the mode by which it is
sent and the date on which it is sent shall be stamped on the last page of the
order.
(7) The Consumer Forum shall pass final
order invariably within fifteen days of the conclusion of the arguments.
19. Return on institution and disposal
of cases.-( 1) A Consumer Forum is expected to
dispose of at least 75 to 100 matters every month.
(2) A periodic monthly return of institution and disposal of cases shall
be sent by the District Forums to the State Commission.
(3) The State Commission shall submit a
periodic monthly return of institution and disposal of cases to the National
Commission.
(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in
this regulation, the President of the National Commission may, at any time,
call for any return or information relating to its functioning from a State
Commission or District Forums.
20. Preservation of records. -( 1 ) In the case of complaint, the record containing main
files with original order sheet shall be preserved for a period five years.
(2) In the case of records of first appeal and revision petitions, it
shall be preserved for three years from the date of disposal of the appeal or
revision as the case may be.
(3) Immediately after the consumer complaint, first appeal or revision
petition, as the case may be, is disposed of, extra sets shall be given to the
parties who may use the same for filing of appeal or revision petition and in
that case the necessity to summon the record from the forums below can be
dispensed with.
(4) The Registrar shall inform the parties
while forwarding the certified copy of the final order, where they do not appear
in person at the time of finally disposing of the matter to arrange to collect
the extra sets.
(5) A period of at least one month shall be
given for the purpose of collection of records by the party and in case of
default the ex1ra sets shall be weeded out.
21. Certified copy.-(l) A copy of the order is to be given to the parties free of
cost as required under the Act and the rules made thereunder.
(2) In case a party requires an extra copy,
it shall be issued to him duly certified by the Registry on a payment of
Rs.20/- irrespective of number of pages.
(3) A certified copy of an order shall
clearly specify the date when free copy was issued, date of application, date
when the copy was made ready and the date when it was so delivered to him.
(4) A fee of Rs.20/- shall be paid for
obtaining another certified copy.
(5) Any party desiring to get a certified
copy of any document on the file of the Consumer Forum,
may get the same on payment of certification fee of twenty rupees per copy.
Provided that if any such document of which certified copy is sought, is over
and above 5 pages, an extra amount of one rupee per page shall be charged over
and above the fee of twenty rupees.
(6) Certified copy of any miscellaneous order passed by the Consumer
Forum shall be
supplied on payment of
Rs.5 per copy.
22. Inspection of records.-Parties or their agents
can inspect the records of any matter by filing an application on payment often
rupees as fee.
23. Filing of criminal complaint.-Wherever
a complaint is required to be filed by the Consumer Forum under sub-section (5)
of section 13, the Consumer Forum may authorise its
Registrar to file the complaint.
24. Practice Directions.- The National Commission shall be entitled to issue
practice directions from time to time as may be necessary for the proper
conduct of the cases before Consumer Forum including prescribing forms for
complaints, notices, returns, certificate to be issued to the collector and the
like.
25. Parcsha Yad-dast.- Where a party
appears in person and is illiterate, the Court Master or Bench Clerk shall give
to that party the next date of hearing in writing.
26. Miscellaneous.-(1 ) In all proceedings before the Consumer Forum, endeavour shall be made by the parties and their counsel to
avoid the use of provisions of Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908):
Provided that the provisions of the Code of
Civil Procedure, 1908 may be applied which have been referred to in the Act or
in the rules made thereunder.
(2) Every State Commission and every
District Forum shall take
steps for its computerisation and
networking.
(3) The Consumer Forum shall give proper
respect and courtesy to the parties who appear in person and shall provide
separate accommodation in the Hall for the convenience of the parties.
(4) The Consumer Forum shall not insist
upon the parties to engage advocates.
(5) The Fees collected for inspection of
the documents and supply of certified copies shall be deposited in the account
maintained for the purpose of depositing fee for filing a complaint as
prescribed by the Central Government by rules.
(6) The cases filed by or against the
senior citizens, physically challenged, widows and persons suffering from
serious ailments shall be listed and disposed of on a priority basis.
[ F.No.A-105/NCDRC/2005 ]
(
B.V.
SHARMA )
Joint Registrar
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