The main legal point established in the judgment is the requirement under Section 14(2A) for the order of the District Forum to be signed by its President and the Member or Members who conducted the proceedings.

Mr. Justice D.R. Vithal Rao, President — This appeal, by the Opposite Party, is directed against the order dated 29.6.1993, passed by the District Forum, Bijapur, in complaint No. 57/92, directing the opposite party, as per orders of the President, a sum of Rs. 3,300 / and as per orders of the Members, a sum of Rs. 16,000/- to the complainant.

2. We have called for the records and received. We have also heard the learned Counsel for the parties.

3. From the material available on record, we find the material infirmity in the order recorded by the District Forum, Bijapur. So we are not going to discuss the merits of the case, as the complaint has to be remitted to the District Forum, Bijapur, for fresh disposal in accordance with law.

4. The records show that the President and both the Members recorded the proceedings and heard the parties. The President only passed an order directing the Opposite Party to pay a sum of Rs. 3,000/- to the complainant. This order, passed by the President, is not signed by the other Members. It is signed only by the President. The other two Members passed a separate order, directing the opposite party to pay a sum of Rs. 16,000/- to the complainant. This order was signed only by the two Members, the President has not signed the order.

5. The provisions of Section 14(2a), read as under:

“14(2-A) Every order made by the District Forum under Sub-section (1) shall be signed by its President and the Member or Members who conducted the proceeding;

Provided that where the proceeding is conducted by the President and one Member and they differ on any point or points, they shall state the point or points on which they differ and refer the same to the other Member for hearing on such point or points and the opinion of the majority shall be the order of the District Forum.”

6. Having regard to the provisions under Section 14(2A), it is necessary that the order of the District Forum, is to be signed by its President and the Member or Members who conducted the proceedings. In the present case, as referred above, one order recorded by the President of the District Forum is signed only by the President and another order recorded by both the Members of the Forum is signed only by the Members and not by the President. So the order recorded by the District Forum, suffers from this material infirmity. Therefore, the complaint is necessarily be remitted to the District Forum, for hearing the parties afresh and dispose of the same in accordance with law.

In The Result, therefore, this appeal is allowed. Both the orders recorded by the President of the District Forum, and the Members of the District Forum, are set aside. The complaint is remitted to the District Forum, Bijapur with a direction to register the same on its original number and hear the parties afresh and dispose of the same in accordance with law.

Parties are directed to bear and pay their own costs in this appeal.

Appeal allowed.