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Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant has expressed serious concern over the increasing number of cases pending in consumer commissions across the country, saying that pendency of cases for years defeats the very purpose of establishing the forums which were created to provide quick and affordable justice to consumers.

During the hearing of a case to the functioning of consumer dispute redressal bodies, the CJI raised questions on the functioning of consumer commissions. The bench took cognizance of a media report which stated that a case pending since 2019 was listed only once in 2022 and was not heard thereafter.

CJI Surya Kant asked, “Is this how consumer commissions work? What is the point of forming such special commissions?”

He said that the objective of setting up consumer forums was to provide speedy and affordable justice to the people. This objective cannot be achieved if cases remain pending for years. He said, “We constantly talk about infrastructure and facilities, but these institutions are working like this?”

Taking the matter seriously, the Supreme Court has sought a comprehensive report from the Chairman of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) on the functioning of consumer forums across the country.

The report sought to provide information on the number of pending cases, existing vacancies, rate of disposal of cases of each bench and the need to increase the number of commissions in view of the increasing caseload. The apex court has directed the NCDRC Chairman to file the report within two weeks.

The bench has also asked state consumer commissions and state consumer affairs departments to provide detailed data of pending cases. It will also include year-wise details of pending cases, so that the court can assess the actual position of pending cases across the country and identify bottlenecks in the system.

The Supreme Court said that to deal with the increasing backlog, the Central and State Governments will have to give priority to filling the vacant posts in Consumer Commissions and strengthening the capacity of these institutions.