Failure to use power to adapt to change is an abuse of power: Supreme Court on effective functioning of consumer bodies

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has said reviewing and assessing the implementation of a statute is an integral part of the Rule of Law, as it emphasised the role of the Central Consumer Protection Council and the Central Consumer Protection Authority for the purpose under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

"If these institutions and bodies work effectively and efficiently, it is but natural that the purpose and object of the legislation will be achieved in a substantial measure," a bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Manoj Misra said.

The court underscored that it is, therefore, necessary to ensure that in the functioning of these bodies, there is efficiency in administration, expertise through composition, integrity through human resources, transparency and accountability, and responsiveness through regular review, audits and assessments.

"The Executive branch has a constitutional duty to ensure that the purpose and object of a statute is accomplished while implementing it. It has the additional duty to closely monitor the working of a statute and must have a continuous and a real time assessment of the impact that the statute is having," Justice Narasimha wrote in a 29-page judgment on part of the bench.

The court rejected a challenge by Ritu Mahal Panchal and others, to the validity of the 2019 Act, which prescribed pecuniary jurisdictions of the district, state and national commissions on the basis of the value of goods and services paid as consideration, instead of the compensation claimed.

Declaring that the provisions are constitutional and are neither violative of Article 14 nor manifestly arbitrary, the bench said, there can be no doubt about the legislative competence and also the power of the Parliament to prescribe limits of pecuniary jurisdiction of courts and tribunals.

Emphasising the need for reviewing and assessing the implementation of a statute, the court said the failure to use power to adapt to change is in its own way, an abuse of power.

It said legal reform through legislative correction improves the legal system and it would require assessment of the working of the law, its accessibility, utility and abuse as well.

In its April 29 decision, the court directed the Central Consumer Protection Council and the Central Consumer Protection Authority take such measures as may be necessary for survey, review and advise the government about such measures as may be necessary for effective and efficient redressal and working of the statute in exercise of their statutory duties under sections 3, 5, 10, 18 to 22 of the 2019 Act.

The court said, vibrant functioning of the Council and the Authority will subserve the purpose and object of the Parliament enacting the 2019 legislation.