IMPORTANT POINT
Act of 1986 is for better protection of interests of consumers and for speedy and simple redressal to Consumer Dispute.

ORDER

Dinesh Singh, Presiding Member.—This Petition has been filed under Section 21(b) of The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (the ‘Act 1986’), in challenge to the Order dated 18.07.2012 of The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, U. P. (the ‘State Commission’) in F.A. No. 1202 of 2005, arising out of the Order dated 20.06.2005 in C.C. No. 528 of 2004 of The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Bulandshahar (the ‘District Forum’).

2. Learned Counsel for the Petitioner, IFFCO, made her arguments.

3. Briefly, the District Forum vide its Order dated 20.06.2005, arriving at the findings that the Opposite Parties had been deficient in service by stopping supply of urea to the Complainant, directed the Opposite Parties to ensure supply of urea to the Complainant within 15 days of receiving in advance the value of the urea vide bank draft and awarded Rs. 5,000/- to the Complainant as compensation and Rs.1,000/- as cost of litigation, to be made good within 45 days, failing which it will carry interest at the rate of 9% per annum.

4. The Appeal filed before the State Commission by the Opposite Party No. 1, IFFCO, the Petitioner herein, was dismissed for want of prosecution on 18.07.2012 by the State Commission, recording that despite sufficient information nobody was available for hearing on the said date.

5. This Petition was filed in 2013, praying for setting aside the said Order dated 18.07.2012 of the State Commission. (The natural corollary thereto would be to remand the case to the State Commission for consideration afresh.)

6. In its impugned Order of 18.07.2012, the State Commission has clearly recorded that sufficient information was given to (inter alia) the Appellant of the date of hearing, but nobody was present. In any case, it was the Appellant’s appeal, it was required and expected of the Appellant to diligently and professionally pursue and profess its appeal.

7. No jurisdictional error, or legal principle ignored, or miscarriage of justice, as may require or necessitate interference with the impugned Order of the State Commission, is visible.

8. There is no need to trouble the Complainant, the Respondent No. 1 herein, for his arguments.

9. The Complaint was filed in 2004. The District Forum made its order on contest in 2005. The Appeal was filed in 2005. It was dismissed for want of prosecution in 2012. The instant Petition was filed in 2013. We are now in 2021.

(The Complainant has preferred to absent himself before this Commission.)

10. The Act 1986 is “for better protection of the interests of consumers”, its Statement of Objects and Reasons speaks of “speedy and simple redressal to consumer disputes”.

11. It will be a travesty of justice if, in the given facts and situation, the impugned Order of 2012 is (now) set aside and the case is remanded to the State Commission for consideration afresh.

12. Considering what has been recorded in the foregoing paras, it is just and conscionable to dismiss this Petition with cost of Rs. 10,000, to be deposited in the Consumer Legal Aid Account of the District Forum within four weeks from today. It will be open to the Chief Executive of the Petitioner, IFFCO, to recover the said cost from its officers responsible for the perfunctory and unprofessional conduct of its case before the State Commission and for then unnecessarily agitating before this Commission. The Petitioner, IFFCO, through its Chief Executive, is directed to make good the award in its entirety within four weeks from today, failing which the District Forum shall undertake execution, for ‘Enforcement’ and for ‘Penalty’, as per the law.

13. The Registry is requested to send a copy each of this Order to the Petitioner, IFFCO, its Chief Executive and the Complainant (the Respondent No. 1 herein), as also to NAFED (the Respondent No. 2 herein), within three days from today. The stenographer is requested to upload this Order on the website of this Commission today itself.