BAL BHAWAN PUBLIC SCHOOL Vs. SHIV SHANKAR GUPTA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) WE are sorry to comment that justice delivery system with regard to consumer disputes arising from the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 is pathetic and has lost its object and aims to ensure the adjudication within three to five months solely because of not only the indifferent and insensitive attitude of the Government but its audacity to challenge those who call upon it to ensure the implementation and enforcement of the Act in letter and spirit to ameliorate the plight of poor consumer at large.

(2.) RECENTLY , we had passed very adverse comments against the Government of NCT of Delhi as to its attitude towards the plight of the consumers as their disputes are not being decided within the statutory limit of three months or six months depending upon case to case and had recommended to create more Benches of the State Commission as well as more District Fora in respect of those District Fora where the pendency of cases is more than 500 to 1000 cases. It is in view such a large number of pendency of cases that the main object of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 as contemplated by Section 13(3)(A) has been sacrificed.

(3.) WE are pained to have come across this case which has taken more than 9 long years because of the aforesaid inaction and insensitivity on the part of the Government. When the incumbent President of this Commission took over, as many as 4724 cases were pending besides 1494 miscellaneous matters out of which more than 3000 were pending for the last more than 10 to 15 years. Faced with such a huge problem of backlog and increased inflow of new cases as during July, 2004 to 1st October, 2006 as many as 3104 new matters/cases were instituted and similarly in District Forum of New Delhi and ISBT where more than two thousands cases were pending for years that this Commission made recommendations for creating additional Benches and additional District Fora.