Consumer Rights in India are well protected by the law, like Consumer Protection Act, 2019. To provide a sense of security in the mind of the consumers, for their safety and convenience, the law has provided the remedies for the consumer disputes in a timely manner at a very low cost. As a platform of legal information, which provides free legal advice online and aims to help you meet the expert lawyers in India, we consider it our duty to inform you about the consumer laws in India and their way of protecting of consumers and sellers.
The law not only considers the consumer rights and provide remedies for their infringement but also gives the necessary importance to the doctrine of Caveat Emptor i.e. “Let the buyer beware” and safeguards the sellers from unnecessary litigations in cases where the buyer could have assumed the risk prior to purchase that the product or services will not be up to the mark of standard, may contain defects and will fail to meet the expectations.
What are the remedies available to the consumer?
(A) Reliefs under Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
The Consumer Protection Act, 2019, guarantees the following Consumer Rights to the consumer;
- Right to Safety.
- Right to be informed.
- Right to Choose.
- Right to be Heard
- Right to seek Redressal.
- Right to Consumer Education.
What are the grounds for filing a complaint in Consumer Court?
A complaint in the consumer court can be made upon the grounds i.e. the cause of action mentioned below:
- False or misleading Advertisement.
- Use of Unfair trade practices or restrictive trade practices by the seller or service provider.
- Defects in goods bought or agreed to be bought.
- Deficiency in services hired or availed of or agreed to be hired or availed of.
- Charge of the excess price of goods and services than the price agreed or printed on the packaging or fixed by law or displayed on the price list exhibited.
- Offer for services or sale of goods even after knowing that they are or likely to be unsafe or injurious or hazardous or capable of posing a danger to the life and safety of living beings when used.
- Occurrence of harm to the consumer due to defect or deficiency in goods and services respectively.
What is the Penalty for the non-compliance of the order of the Commission and central authority?
As per Section 72 of the Act, Failure to comply with the order of commissions results in imprisonment which shall not be less than one month and can extend up to 3 years and/ or the fine which shall not be less than Rs. 25,000 but may extend to Rs. 1 Lakh. However, an appeal against this order of penalty can lie to the court of superior authority within 30 days from the date of such order.
As per Section 88, Failure to comply with the order of central authority granted under Section 21 and 22 regarding false or misleading advertisement and search and seizure during investigation results in imprisonment up to 6 months and/ or fine up to Rs. 25 Lakh.
So, all this was the law on how the Indian law and courts work for the Redressal of the Consumer Complaints and protection of consumer rights in India and provides the solution for the defect in goods and services and ways to avoid Consumer exploitation, Consumer harassment. To know more about detailed acts and rights for consumer protection visit our website. Click the link below.