Dr.

SHAKUNTALA MISRA NATIONAL REHABILITATION

UNIVERSITY

Lucknow

Faculty of Law

RESEARCH PROJECT ON

Consumer Protection act in India: An Overview

For

COURSE ON ‘Law of Consumer Protection’

Submitted by

Anamika yadav

B.ComLL.B/15-16/26

Academic Session: 2019-20

Under the Guidance of

Dr. Gulab Rai

Faculty of Law
Dr. Shakuntala Misra National Rehabilitation University
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This is not just a customary acknowledgement of help that I received but a sincere
expression of gratitude to all those who have helped me complete this project and made it
seem apparently more readable than otherwise it would have been.

I am in debt to my faculty advisor Dr. Gulab Rai for giving such an interesting and
amazing topic ‘Consumer Protection act in India: An Overview and making it seem easy by
lucidly explaining its various aspects. I would like to thank him for guiding me in doing all
sorts of researches, suggestions and having discussions regarding my project topic by
devoting her precious time.

I thank DSMNRU for providing Library, Computer and Internet facilities. And lastly I
thank my friends and all those persons who have given valuable suggestions pertaining to the
topic and have been a constant source of help and support.

Anamika Yadav

IX semester
 Table Of Content

1. Introduction…………………………………………………..
2. History of consumer protection in India………………………
3. Objectives of consumer protection act……………………….
4. Consumer rights under consumer protection act………..........
 The Right to be heard
 The Right to safety
 The Right against exploitation
 The Right to be informed
 The Right to choose
 The Right to get redress
5. Consumer’s responsibilities…………………………………
6. Campaigns undertaken by Consumer Guidance Society of
India(CGIS)………. …………………………………………
7. Conclusion……………………………………………………
 Consumer Protection Act In India: An Overview

Introduction

Consumer awareness about their legitimate rights has been constantly growing in recent
years. Consumer protection movement is a part of global recognition and concern that
consumers are a weak party in buying goods and services as compared to the manufacturers
and traders producing and selling them. Ideally, a market economy where firms compete to
sell goods and services to the consumers should serve the interests of consumers better but
more often than not the consumers are exploited by the adoption of unfair and restrictive
trade practices. Far from being a sovereign the consumer is a child who is too weak to resist
or challenge the suppliers of goods and services. Therefore, even in a free market economy
he needs protection of his rights by a legal authority. Consumer protection is necessary even
in a controlled economy where public enterprises play a dominant role since consumers are
likely to be denied their rights in their case too. Most consumers buy goods and services after
being lured by advertisements exaggerating the contents and quality of their products or
services. Legal support to them is required if they are to be protected from the exploitation
and deception by the suppliers so that erring vendors are brought to book. It is this increasing
realisation of the helplessness of the consumers and to ensure their legitimate rights that led
to the resolution of the United Nations General Assembly in 1985 recommending to the
member states for adopting preventive, protective and curative measures for the benefit of
consumers.

History of Consumer protection act in India

The concept of consumerism was active even in the ancient period. As per the Arthshastra of
Kautilya, it was the duty of Superintendents to put the Government product in the market
under favourable conditions and to supervise their sales at reasonably rates. Businessmen
who cheated or interfered generally with the normal functioning of the market prices were
open to heavy punishment.

Since the advent of British rule in India along with the application of English Common
Law, various legislative measures were also taken, from time to time, since 1600, with a view
to protect the interest of public at large (which indirectly covered consumers interests) but
most of them were by and large and overshadowed by Common Law Principles in their
contents, however inspite of these enactments, principles of Common Law also continued to
be applied through the judgments of the Privy Council and the High Courts as and when
necessity arose for either interpreting or clarifying these statutes or for dealing with those
subjects which were not covered by these statutes. However, the main Legislative Enactments
which either wholly or partially have direct bearing upon the protection of consumers are:

The Punishment Related to Weight and Measures are given in chapter XIII of the Indian
Penal Code. Chapter XIII of the code is captioned as ―of offence relating to weights and
measures and is consisted of section 264 to section 267. Section 272 and Section 273 provide
punishment related to adulteration of an article of food or drink.

Article 46 of the Constitution of India mandates that state shall promote with special care the
educational and economic interest of the weaker sections of the people and shall protect them
from social injustice and all forms of exploitation. The expression ―Protection from all form
of exploitation‖ would when applied in the context of consumers means that the consumers
should be saved from all kinds of harassment and fraud at the market place.

The MRTP Act initially lacked in containing effective provisions relating to Protection of
Consumers and therefore the Sachar Committee in the year 1978 had to recommend for its
complete overhauling, the committee gave various suggestions with regard to protection of
interests of consumers. The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 provides an extremely good
opportunity to the consumers for the quick redressal of their grievances and it is rightly
considered to be a milestone in the history of socio-economic legislation in India.

Objective of the Consumer Protection Act

The Consumer Protection Act, 2013 seeks to provide for better protection of the interests of
consumers and for the purpose, to make provision for the establishment of Consumer
councils and other authorities for the settlement of consumer disputes and for matter
connected therewith. The Consumer Protection Act, 2013 seeks to promote and protect the
rights of consumers such as:-
 the right to be protected against marketing of goods which are hazardous to life and
property;
 the right to be informed about the quality, quantity, potency, purity, standard and
price of goods to protect the consumer against unfair trade practices;
 the right to be assured, wherever possible, access to an authority of goods at
competitive prices;
 the right to be heard and to be assured that consumers interests will receive due
consideration at appropriate forums;
 the right to seek redressal against unfair trade practices or unscrupulous exploitation
of consumers; and
 right to consumer education.

Consumer Rights under Consumer Protection Act

Consumers in the developed countries such as the USA and UK are much more conscious of
their rights. But in countries such as India consumers are quite a vulnerable lot due to their
poverty, illiteracy and lack of awareness of legal rights. As a result, manufacturers and
suppliers of goods and services generally exploit the consumers by adopting unfair and
restrictive trade practices.

However, consumer awareness is constantly increasing in India too and the consumers who
have been deceived or exploited are increasingly approaching the consumer forums or
councils set up by the government for redressal of their complaints and settlement of their
claims for damages.

The following are the important consumer rights:-

1. The Right to be heard:

The consumer has the right to be heard if he has any complaint or grievance regarding
the good or service received. This implies that consumers’ complaints and grievances
must receive due attention and consideration at an appropriate forum.

2. The Right to safety: The consumers are entitled to protection of their health and safety
from the goods and services they buy. They should not be supplied goods or services which
are hazardous to their health and safety.
3. The Right against exploitation:
This covers right to protection from unfair trade practices and unscrupulous exploitation of
consumers by charging excessive prices by suppliers of goods or services.

4. The Right to be informed:

This implies that consumers should be given correct and full information about the quality of
goods that they buy. They should be provided information about the ingredients of the
product, freshness of the product, any side effects that may occur as a result of consumption
of a commodity. This right applies especially to the drug manufacturers and suppliers.
5. The Right to choose:
This implies that consumers should be provided a variety of products from which they can
make a choice of their liking. The opportunity to choose from limited options restricts their
right to choose.

6. The Right to get redress:

This implies that consumers’ complaints and grievances about the products and services
supplied to them must be redressed. That is, they should not only be heard but their
complaints must be redressed and compensated adequately.

Consumers’ Responsibilities
Consumer protection is not only about consumers‘ rights but also about the responsibilities of
the consumers. Some of them are given hereunder :–

 Dealing with Advertisements - Advertisements have become a part and parcel of

our lives and even if we try we cannot avoid them. Companies are trying to sell their
products by making attractive audio-visuals, publishing only that part which may be
eye catching and hiding other crucial information and so on. Consumers need to be
cautious of such deceptive advertisements.

 Buying Quality Certified Products - There are lot of products which are certified
by recognised agencies as safe to consume and good in quality. For example the
Indian Standard Institute (ISI) conducts quality testing of many consumer goods. If
found proper the product is labelled with ISI mark on it. For many food products the
quality assurance is certified by seal called AGMARK. Consumers should choose
products with ISI mark and AGMARK. A very important thing before purchasing
food products or medicines etc. is that the consumer must see the expiry date.

 Demanding Bill of the Purchase - Every consumer must demand the bill after
purchase of goods and services. The bill is the proof of purchase and can be used to
seek justice if the consumer feels cheated after buying the commodity. Through the
bill the consumer also ensures that the government receives tax on the product
 because it is mandatory for the seller to mention the tax amount on the bill. Such act
of the consumer makes him/her a responsible citizen of the country.

 Being a Green Consumer - A consumer must consume those products which do not
cause damage to our environment. People should use biodegradable products which
can easily mix with soil and water after they are disposed off. Similarly people
should save electricity, gas etc. by judicious use. Consumers are also responsible for
automobile pollution in town and cities. They should use public transport system and
eco-friendly vehicles.

 Consumers as Managers - Consumers can unite together to provide themselves and

the community at large of a locality or village some basic needs such as drinking
water supply, health, education etc.

Campaigns undertaken by Consumer Guidance Society of India(CGIS)

 Multi Media Publicity Campaign

As part of the Multi Media publicity campaign, the activities being undertaken are:
Publicity through print media using newspaper advertisements, to educate the
consumers about their rights and responsibilities. Publicity through electronic
medium by telecast of video spots of 30 seconds duration on various consumer
related issues such as Grievance Redressal system, MRP, ISI Hall-Mark, Alternate
Dispute, Redressal system, weights and measures, Rights of Consumers etc. Issues
pertaining to rural and remote areas have been given prominence in the various
advertisement spots.

 Joint Campaign

'Jago Grahak Jago' has become the focal theme through which issues concerning the
functioning of almost all Government Departments having a consumer interface can
been addressed. To achieve this objective joint campaigns have been undertaken/are
being undertaken with a number of Government Departments. The Department had
run a joint campaign with Bureau of Energy Efficiency to educate people about
energy conservation by having awareness of the BEE star labels. A joint campaign
 with National Pharmaceuticals Product Authority is being devised to educate
consumers about the various issues concerning pharma industry.

 The Future Roadmap

The multimedia publicity to educate consumers and make them aware about their
rights will have a long lasting impact not only on the end consumers but also on the
entire manufacturing and services sector. The scheme will go a long way in
introducing greater accountability and transparency in the services provided by the
public as well as private sector since the end user i.e. a consumer will be educated and
aware enough to ask for best possible services in return of his hard earned money.
'Jago Grahak Jago' is thus an initiative The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 which
empowers consumers by making them aware about their rights as well as the
Grievance Redressal Mechanism.

Conclusion
Reference

 www.consumeraffairs.nic.in
 http://www.nationalconsumerhelpline.in
 http://www.consumereducation.in
 http://www.consumerinternational.org/