IMPORTANT POINT
For appointment to the office of the President of the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, the opinion of the Chief Justice of the High Court and the requirement of consultation with him must have the same status as that of the Chief Justice in the appointment of a High Court Judge under Article 217 of the Constitution of India and it is for the Chief Justice of the High Court to initiate the proposal and to mention the name approved by him for appointment instead of the Chief Justice only approving the name suggested by the State Government.

JUDGMENT

J.S. Verma, J.-The petitioner is an Advocate and a member of the Bar Association of the High Court of Punjab & Haryana. He filed a Writ Petition in the High Court of Punjab & Haryana challenging the appointment of Shri M.R. Agnihotri, a former Judge of the Punjab & Haryana High Court as the President of the Haryana State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission on completion of the term of Shri S.S. Sandhewalia, a former Chief Justice of the High Court, with effect from June 30, 1994. The challenge was made on the ground that the appointment of Shri M.R. Agnihotri was not in accordance with Section 16 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 and in consonance with the principles applicable for making such an appointment. That writ petition (C.W.P. No. 7067 of 1994) was transferred to this Court for decision, in view of the importance of the question involved.

2. The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 prescribes in Section 16 for the composition of the State Commission as under :

"Composition of the State Commission.-(1) Each State Commission shall consist of-

(a) a person who is or has been a Judge of a High Court, appointed by the State Government, who shall be its President :

Provided that no appointment under this clause shall be made except after consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court;

(b) two other members, who shall be persons of ability, integrity and standing and have adequate knowledge or experience of, or have shown capacity in dealing with, problems relating to economics, law, commerce, accountancy, industry, public affairs or administration, one of whom shall be a woman :

Provided that every appointment made under this clause shall be made by the State Government on the recommendation of a selection committee consisting of the following, namely-

(i) President of the State Commission - Chairman.

(ii) Secretary of the Law Department of the State - Member.

(iii) Secretary, incharge of Department dealing with consumer affairs in the State - Member.]

(2) The salary or honorarium and other allowances payable to, and the other terms and conditions of service 1[***] of, the members of the State Commission shall be such as may be prescribed by the State Government.

2[(3) Every member of the State Commission shall hold Office for a term of five years or up to the age of sixty-seven years, whichever is earlier and shall not be eligible for re-appointment.

(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (3), a person appointed as a President or as a member before the commencement of the Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act, 1993, shall continue to hold such office as President or member, as the case may be, till the completion of his term.]

We are, in this matter concerned, primarily with the requirement of Section 16(1)(a) which prescribes the mode of appointment of the President of the State Commission.

3. The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 is an Act to provide for better protection of the interests of consumers and for that purpose to make provision for the establishment of consumer councils and other authorities for the settlement of consumers disputes and for matters connected therewith. . The National commission, the State Commission and the District Forum are established as the agencies for the redressal of consumer disputes by Section 9 of the Act. Section 10 of the Act provides for composition of the District Forum, Section 16 for the State Commission and Section 20 for the National Commission. The scheme is that these three agencies constituted for redressal of consumer disputes at different levels have as its President a person who is, or has been a Judge at the corresponding level. This is so because the function of these agencies is primarily the adjudication of consumer disputes and, therefore, a person from the judicial branch is considered to be suitable for the office of the President. The appointment to the office of the President of the State Commission