I wanna know the views of consumer court officials on consumer awareness?
Answer:
Consumer Courts and Consumer awareness :
Liberalisation is paving way for a market-driven economy, where the manufacturers seek to maximise profits. Manufacturers are not often concerned about the quality of goods and services and their impact on the health of people and the environment. Instead of the consumer guiding the producer about what should be produced, it is the producer who decides what the consumer should want. The plight of a consumer is further worsened by the use of advertising techniques. Consumers are saddled with the problem of choosing between too many products with too less information. With the concentration of market in the hands of a few large corporations, it becomes important that the consumers are aware of their rights in order to ensure proper standards for the goods and services for which they make payment.
There are many goods which are sold in the market without much information about their quality, quantity and purity. In case of goods meant for mass consumption like, food, milk products, edible oil etc. the ingredients are not known. Manufacturers or producers seldom follow the safety regulations in the products like, lamps, batteries, footwear, electrical equipments, wires, cement, LPG cylinders, stoves, switches, plugs, sockets etc. leading to many fatal accidents. Adulteration of food is another major problem. Milk can contain detergent, refined oil, caustic soda or urea. Mustard oil can be adulterated with argemone oil and arhar dal with yellow colour. Vegetables and fruits are artificially coloured. Indiscriminate use of pesticides by farmers and untreated effluents by industries, have led to the problem of food contamination by pesticide residues and toxic heavy metals.
Although in Kautilya’s Arthashastra, strict rules were set for the trade and industry and punishments for exploitation were prescribed. But, there was no organised and systematic movement safeguarding the interests of the consumers in India. Rampant food shortages, hoarding, black marketing, adulteration of food and edible oil gave birth to the consumer movement in an organised form in the sixties. Consumers started voicing their concerns and demanding better products and services. Till mid seventies, consumer organisations were largely engaged in writing articles and holding exhibitions. They formed consumer groups to work on the malpractices in ration shops and overcrowding in the road passenger transport. The eighties witnessed an upsurge in the number of consumer groups.
The battle for consumer protection has to be fought by many agencies. The Government has to play an important role, by enacting suitable laws and enforcing them effectively. India has been observing 15th March since 1989 as the National Consumers’ Day. This day has a historic importance as it was on this day in 1962, that the Bill for Consumer Rights was moved in the US Congress. Steps have been taken by the Government of India by way of enactment of various Acts and other measures to help consumers. Indian Penal Code, Standards of Weights and Measures Act, Motor Vehicle Act, are some of the Acts. Despite these Acts, the fact remains that very little could be achieved in the field of consumer protection. A major breakthrough came during 1986 when Parliament passed a law for Consumer Protection Act -1986. Three-tier quasi-judicial machinery at the district, state and national levels was set up with a view to provide speedy and simple redressal to consumer disputes. The District Forum deals with the cases involving claims upto Rs. 20 lakhs, the State Commission between Rs.20 lakhs to one crore and the National Commission deals with the cases involving claims exceeding Rs. one crore. The objective of the consumer courts is to ensure speedy justice to the consumers against various malpractices and negligence without involving any cost, as no court fees is charged. Consumer courts have been set up as special courts, as it was expensive and time consuming to get justice through civil courts.
The Consumer Protection Act, which has been defined as “the Magna Carta of Consumers”, spells out six consumer rights: Right to Safety, Right to Information, Right to Choice, Right to Representation, Right to Redress, and Right to Consumer Education. India has the biggest consumer movement today due to the efforts of consumer organisations and the establishment of consumer courts. India is the only country in the world which has exclusive courts for consumer redressal. This has been internationally praised including the developed countries. The Consumer Protection Act (COPRA) has succeeded in bringing about fair play in the supply of goods and services to a large extent. The Act applies to almost all goods and services.
Still, the present scenario is not very encouraging. Unfortunately the consumer courts have become replica of legal courts, as the procedure is no longer simple and quick. The consumer redressal process is relatively cumbersome and more expensive and time- consuming than desired. The process involves engaging a professional personnel, requires time for filing the case and attending the court proceeding and certain other formalities like producing the bill, warranty cards etc. These procedures need to be made simpler and quicker for making the process more meaningful and realistic.
Consumers have the social responsibility of exposing the manufacture/supplier or the service provider for resorting to illegal trade practices. Unethical notings like “Goods once sold will never be taken back” are in sharp contrast to the practice in some of the developed countries, where the sellers declare, “In case you are not fully satisfied with our product, you can bring the same to us within a month for either replacement or return of your money.” This is the result of consumer consciousness. Consumers have to realize their role and importance. The consumer movements can be winner movements only with our active involvement by knowing our rights and enforcing them. It requires a voluntary effort involving the participation of one and all. If the consumers remain passive, they will continue to be exploited. It is necessary that consumers take action with solidarity to get a fair deal and timely redressal. An alert consumer is a safe consumer!
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