Principal of New
Law College, Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed to be University, Pune Dr. Mukund Sarda said that it was necessary
for the district forums and state commissions to have suo motu powers under
Consumer Protection Act, 1986 to safeguard the interest of the consumers. The
CP Act has become a little obsolete and needs
Recently, a few
amendments in the CP Act have also been proposed to the Union Cabinet
committee. In this regard, Dr. Mukund Sarda organized a symposium on consumer
policies in the campus. Present at this event were Maharashtra state commission
judicial member S A Kulkarni, Pune district forum president V P Utpat, senior
lawyer S K Jain, President of National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
Justice DK Jain and other eminent personalities.
If the amends
are improved, then the district consumer forums and state commissions will get
suo motu powers to initiate cases in the matters that affect a large number of
consumers. This would involve the power to recall and review orders, improved
financial jurisdiction, facilitating mediation and changes in recruitment
procedures for judicial members.
A greater stress
would be laid on promoting mediation as an alternative dispute solving
mechanism. District forums and State commissions would have an increased
pecuniary jurisdiction, raised from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 50 lakh.
Justice D K Jain
said that a full draft of the amended CP Act is presently before the Union
Cabinet Committee. It will perhaps reshape the entire CP Act instead of making
a few tweaks.
