Mr. Justice V.K. Mehrotra, President— Both these appeals raise a common question of law and arise on similar facts. They were heard together and are being decided by a common order.

2. Both the appeals are by complainants who had instituted complaints before District Forum, Lucknow seeking redressal against the Cooperative Electricity Supply Company, Vikas Nagar, Lucknow. The District Forum has taken the view that since the complainant was a Member of the Cooperative Society his only remedy was to seek redressal by recourse to arbitration proceedings u/Section 70 of the U.P. Cooperative Societies Act, 1975. In coming to this conclusion the District Forum followed the decision of the National Commission in Dilip Bapat and Another v. Panchwati Cooperative Housing Society Ltd. reported in I (1993) CPJ 68 (NC)= 1993 Consumer Protection Cases page 73. In that decision the National Commission had observed (in para 11) that:

“truly speaking it is not a case of consumer dispute under the Consumer Protection Act. The right Forum for a member of a Cooperative Society to agitate his grievance is the Cooperative Court under the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act.”

3. The case before the N