Srinagar: The J&K high Court on Monday sought compliance report from the government over the functioning of Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission and District Consumer Forums under Consumer Protection Act, 2019 in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
The court passed the direction after it was informed that a proposal for approval of appointment of presiding officers has been sent to a committee while mentioning that the new consumer protection Act and the rules have already been notified by the government of India.
Hearing the petition with reference to effective functioning of the erstwhile State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission and District Consumer Forums, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Puneet Gupta asked for the compliance report while directing government to apprise the court about further course of action needed to be taken for appointment of presiding officers.
Under the new Act, the persons appointed (President and Members) under the erstwhile Act which has been repealed cannot be allowed to continue to function on these Commissions in view of the repeal of the Act and consequential of the abolition of said Commissions and Forums. The process for appointment of President and Members or Consumer Disputes Redressal Forums (CDRF) can be initiated once the rules under the Central Act are notified by the Central Government.
“The Central Act provides for continuation of President and Members of these forums but the same provision is applicable to the President and members, who were appointed under the Central Act and not under the J&K Consumer Protection Act which is not in force now”, read the report of the Law department.
It is in-terms of the decision of the Government on October 23 this year, the State Consumer Disputes Redressal (SCDRC) Commission and District Consumer Forums stand that closed in the winding up process as a consequence to implementation of J&K Re-Organization Act 2019 and all records pertaining to the erstwhile Commission were transferred to the Department of Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs.

NUSRAT SIDIQ