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2026 Supreme(Online)(SC) 308

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
Surya Kant, CJ, Joymalya Bagchi, J
PAY AND ALLOWANCE OF THE MEMBERS OF THE U.P. STATE CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION


Advocates:
For the Appellants/Petitioners: Mr. Gopal Sankaranarayanan, Sr. Adv., Mr. Aditya Narain, Adv.
For the Respondents: Mr. Gagan Gupta, Sr. Adv., Mr. Nikhil Jain, AOR, Ms. Arveen Sekhon, Adv.

Judgement Key Points

Certainly. Based on the provided legal document, the key points are as follows:

  1. The Supreme Court addressed the challenges faced by smaller states and union territories in establishing and maintaining full-fledged State and District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions due to low complaint pendency and financial constraints (!) (!) .

  2. The Court invoked its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to ensure effective redressal of consumer grievances in these regions, emphasizing the importance of timely adjudication (!) .

  3. To facilitate this, the Court directed the respective State Governments and Administrations to transfer the records of pending complaints and appeals to the High Court Registrars within a specified period (!) .

  4. The High Courts are to assign these records to a learned Single Judge, who will act as a deemed Chairperson of the State Commission, with the assistance of existing Technical Members, to expedite the disposal of cases within three months (!) .

  5. If parties are dissatisfied with the Single Judge's order, they may approach the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, which is to entrust such matters to its own Bench, ensuring that decisions are made by a sitting or former High Court Judge acting as Chairperson (!) .

  6. The Court highlighted the importance of compliance with statutory rules, including the mandatory inclusion of a woman Member in the composition of the Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions (!) (!) .

  7. The Court acknowledged concerns raised by some States regarding the financial and administrative viability of constituting full commissions given low complaint volumes. As a response, it permitted States with fewer than 1000 pending cases to propose alternative redress mechanisms (!) .

  8. The Court emphasized that the directions aim to prevent consumer grievances from remaining unaddressed and to ensure access to justice, even in regions with limited complaint activity (!) .

  9. All interlocutory applications seeking modifications to the Court’s directions shall be listed for hearing on a future date, with the Court's registry ensuring proper scheduling (!) .

  10. The Court also expressed the intention to seek assistance from the Solicitor General of India and directed the registry to inform the office accordingly, including relevant model rules issued by the Central Government under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 (!) (!) .

These points encapsulate the Court's approach to balancing effective consumer dispute resolution with administrative and financial considerations in low-complaint regions, leveraging constitutional provisions to ensure timely justice.


Table of Content
1. state commissions' viability in low-complaint areas. (Para 1 , 2 , 3 , 4)
2. adjudication orders under article 142 for consumer disputes. (Para 5 , 6 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12)
3. ensuring adherence to membership qualifications. (Para 8)

ORDER

2. While there are multiple issues that need to be addressed effectively, as of now, we propose to deal with some of the smaller States. Apropos thereof, we find that the instant issues need to be examined primarily within the contours of our powers under Article 142 of the Constitution of India .

i. In the State of Arunachal Pradesh, there are a total of 59 cases pending before the District Commission or the State Commission. Due to such low pendency, the State Government has taken a stand that the constitution of a State Commission or even a District Commission will lead to an unnecessary and disproportionate burden on the State Exchequer;

In the State of Tripura, there are about 316 complaints pending before the four District Commissions, and 46 complaints/appeals pending before the State Commission. Moreover, in Sikkim as well as in Tripura, there are two Technical Members, still serving in the State Commission, but there is no Ch

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