The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Consumer forums told to expedite hearing of cases

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jul 16, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Consumer forums told to expedite hearing of cases

K.T. Sangameswaran

75-100 cases must be disposed of every month

CHENNAI: The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has issued a set of regulations on various matters, including the hearing hours of consumer disputes redressal forums and the State Commissions; institution of complaints, adjournments; and the appearance of voluntary consumer organisations.

The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission here has circulated the "Consumer Protection Regulations, 2005" to the district forums. Bringing relief to litigants, the rules state that proceedings before a consumer forum should be conducted expeditiously. A consumer forum is expected to dispose of at least 75 to 100 cases a month. The forums should not insist on parties to engage advocates.

The orders passed by the forums should be as short as practicable. Unnecessary long quotations from judgments of higher courts or otherwise should be avoided. The final order must be passed within 15 days of the conclusion of arguments. The regulations state that the cost of adjournment, if sought for, should not be less than Rs. 500 and could be more depending on the value and nature of complaint.

The complainant, appellant or petitioner may also be asked to bear the costs unless sufficient cause is shown for seeking an adjournment. Depending on the circumstances of a case, the cost imposed may be less than Rs.500 but it should not be less than Rs.100.

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