Centre plans Lok Adalats to dispose of pending cases in consumer courts

NALSA has been constituted under the Legal Services Authorities Act to provide free legal services to the weaker sections of the society

The Centre on Wednesday expressed concern over pending cases of about 6 lakhs in consumer courts across the country and said it will hold Lok Adalats in the next few months to dispose of old matters.

Of the total pending cases, about 4.5 lakh cases are pending in district commissions, 1.4 lakh cases in state commissions and over 22,000 cases in National Commission, Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh said.

"Our focus is on disposal of pending cases," he told reporters here.

Singh said the ministry has divided these cases sector-wise and it was found that 1.7 lakh cases are related to insurance, 72,000 banking and over 60,000 cases in the housing industry.

"We are planning to organise Lok Adalats for quick disposals of the cases," he said.

The ministry will hold dedicated Lok Adalats to take up these pending cases and is also in discussion with the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) for the disposal of pending consumer cases, the secretary said.

NALSA has been constituted under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, to provide free legal services to the weaker sections of the society and to organise Lok Adalats for amicable settlement of disputes.

Singh said the cases involving very small amount would be taken up first and efforts will be made to resolve them.

The secretary said the process of registering complaints electronically through E-Daakhil portal has been successful in disposing the cases quickly and the ministry is working on creating infrastructure for E-Hearing as well.

"We want consumers to file complaints on National Consumer Helpline," Singh said.

The E-Daakhil portal was launched by the National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (NCDRC) on 7th September 2020.

Under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, consumers can file complaints against any defect in goods purchased or deficiencies in any services availed including any unfair/restrictive trade practices adopted, through specialised quasi-judicial agencies.

These agencies are commonly known as 'Consumer Commissions that have been established at the District level (District Commission), State level (State Commission) and National level (National Commission). These consumer commissions have been mandated by the law to render simple, inexpensive and speedy adjudication of consumer complaints.

The Consumer Protection Act, 2019, which came into force from July 20, 2020, has provision for e-filing of consumer complaints in the Consumer Commissions and online payment of the fees for filing a complaint.