CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT

1986

Dr.Syed Mansoor
Pasha
"A consumer is the most important visitor on our
premises. He is not dependent on us, we are on
him. He is not an interruption to our work, he
is the purpose of it. We are not doing a favour
to a consumer by giving him an opportunity.
He is doing us a favour by giving us
opportunity to serve him”
-Mahatma Gandhi
Contents
• Introduction to CPA

• Objective of CPA

• Rights of Consumer

• Redressal Agency

• Procedure of Complaint

• Consumer Protection Act 2019

• Case Studies
Consumer Protection Act,1986
• In order to provide for better protection of the interests of the

consumer the Consumer Protection Bill, .1986 was introduced in the

Lok Sabha on 5th December, 1986.

• The Consumer Protection Act 1986 is a social welfare legislation

which was enacted as a result of widespread consumer protection

movement.
Objective
•The main objective of CPA is to provide speedy and simple redressal

to consumer disputes.

•It is one of the benevolent pieces of legislation intended to protect the

consumers at large from exploitation

Consumer
Any person who:

• Buys any goods for a consideration which has been paid or will be

paid.

• Hires or avails any service for a consideration which has been paid or

will be paid.
• It does not include a person who obtains goods for resale or any

commercial purpose
 Rights of Consumers
• Right to Safety – Hazardous goods & services

• Right to be Informed – About the quality, quantity, potency,

purity, standard and price of goods

• Right to Choose – Access to variety of goods and services at

competitive price

• Right to be heard - due consideration at appropriate forums.

• Right to seek Redressal – Right to seek redressal against

unfair trade practices or unscrupulous exploitation of consumers

• Right to Consumer Education –Right to acquire the knowledge

and skill to be an informed consumer throughout life.
Redressal Agency

The aims and objectives of the Act are achieved by

District Forum

State Commission

National Commission.
 Established by Composition Jurisdiction Appeal

District State -Chairman & 2 members Less than To state

Forum Government -One shall be woman 20 lakhs commission
-Terms for 5 yrs or upto 65 within 30
yrs whichever is earlier days of order
Head-District Judge

State State -President & In range of Rs To national

Commission Government minimum 2 members 20 lakhs to Rs 1 commission
-One shall be woman crore within 30
-Terms-for 5 yrs or upto 67 days of order
yrs whichevr is earlier
Head-High Court Judge

National Central -President & More than Rs To supreme

Commission Government minimum 4 members 1 crore court within
-One shall be woman 30 days of
-Terms-for 5 yrs or upto 70 order
yrs whichevr is earlier
Head-Sitting or retired judge
of Supreme Court
 Procedure of Complaint
 File WITHIN 2 YEARS of cause of action in the forum where the
seller has his business or lives or where the incident happened.

 Submit 3 Copies of complaint on plain paper with

supporting documents (receipt, bill etc.)

 A complaint can be sent by post or presented in person by

complaint or his authorised agent.

 Appeals against the order of lower forum to next level forum

within 30 days
 Procedure of Complaint
The following information must be furnished with the complaint:-
• Name and complete address of complainant
• Name and complete address of the opposite party or parties as the case
may be.
• Date of purchase/service obtained. Amount paid for consideration.
• Items of goods with quantities/nature of service.
• Whether the complaint relate to unfair trade practice/ defective goods'
deficient service/charging excess price.
• Copies of bills/vouchers/receipts and copies of correspondence made, if
any.
• The relief sought-Under the Act.
 Consumer Protection Act, 2019
Consumer Protection Act, 2019 has recently replaced the three decade old
Consumer Protection Act, 1986 from 9th August 2019.

Key Highlights:
 Insertion of ‘Product liability’ provision to deter manufacturers and service
providers from delivering defective products or deficient services;
 E-commerce included within the ambit of Consumer Protection Act.
 Establishment of Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA);
 Simplified dispute resolution process with substantial increase in
pecuniary jurisdiction of consumer protection commissions;
 Introduction of new additional grounds to file complaints and imposition
of higher penalties to keep in check misleading advertisements and
adulteration of products;
Case Studies

Krishnan Kumar Bajaj vs. PepsiCo.

 Bajaj, a resident of Ahmedabad, had purchased a Lay’s packet on
28 June 2010 and sensed its being underweight.
 He wrote twice to the manufacturer. While the first letter got
no response, in reply to the second, it offered Bajaj gifts hamper
which he refused.
 Bajaj approached CERS, who wrote to PepsiCo.
 Company refused to accept their fault and gave several
unsatisfactory clarifications
 CERS took the issue to the Consumer Disputes Redressal
Forum, which also gave a favourable ruling
 The company asked for the bill of purchase which Bajaj could
not produce
Judgement
• The Court overruled the argument of his not having a bill

• CERS requested the court to direct PepsiCo to deposit Rs.2,00,000 in

the Consumer Welfare Fund and award Rs.2,75,250 as punitive

damages.

• And also to give Rs.75,000 as costs of litigation.

 Dharamdas Pritiani
vs.
HDFC Ergo General Insurance Company Ltd.
 Complainant was advised by the doctors to undergo treatment upon
suffering from a heart ailment in 2008-09.

 He then underwent a rare treatment called Enhanced External Counter

Pulsation (EECP)
 The treatment was completed in 45 sittings, cost Rs 118,000.
 HDFC
. Ergo rejected the complainant's claim saying the treatment was
experimental and not recognized by the insurer.
 The insurance company also claimed that a policy holder must be
hospitalized for at least 24 hours for reimbursement
 The complainant claimed that the treatment was recognized by the
United States, and 40 hospitals in India use EECP method to treat heart
patients.
 The forum said the documents furnished by Pritiani support his
claim. Complainant was a heart patient, who underwent a
treatment, which did not require hospitalization, thus he
should be reimbursed Rs 118,000.

Judgement
• Consumer redressal forum of India's financial capital Mumbai has

directed HDFC Ergo General Insurance Company Ltd to pay Rs

118,000 towards compensation for refuting a policyholder's claim.

• The forum has also directed the insurer to pay an additional

compensation of Rs 5,000 for mental agony.

 A BTech STUDENT SUED SNAPDEAL AND GOT
IPHONE 5s GOLD FOR Rs 68.
 On February 12, Nikhil Bansal, a BTech Student at Punjabi University
spotted an unbelievable discount of 99.7% on iPhone 5S Gold on
Snapdeal.
 The price after discount came out to be Rs 68. Can you believe that?
Without wasting another moment,he booked one.
 But soon his order was cancelled as it was technical defect.
 He filed a complaint against Snapdeal at the District Consumer Forum.
Within days, a judgement was passed in his favour, ordering Snapdeal to
deliver the product to him at Rs 68 with a Rs 2000 penalty.
 When the e-com giant tried to fight back, the penalty increased to Rs
10,000.
Vaibhav Bedi, 26, spent money using Lynx products to attract women
to him. From body washes to hair gels Bedi used them all to no avail.
Now he's suing the parent company Unilever for £26,000 claiming that
he has suffered depression and damage psychologically

Bedi says in his court petition: "The company cheated me because in

its advertisements, it says women will be attracted to you if you use
Axe.

"I used it for seven years but no girl came to me."