Understanding the Jurisdiction and Powers of the National Consumer 

The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC), or National Commission, established under section 53 of The Consumer Protection Act 2019, is the apex consumer commission in India to safeguard the interests of consumers. The National Commission is empowered to make regulations for the smooth functioning of consumer commissions across India and to build a robust institution in the country to handle consumers’ grievances. The National Commission is also empowered to adjudicate various complaints and to exercise appellate, revisional, and supervisory jurisdiction. I have briefly discussed the jurisdictions and powers of the National Commission below from the perspective of parties involved in a consumer dispute.

Original Complaints:

Section 58 of The Consumer Protection Act 2019 empowers the National Commission to entertain consumer complaints where the value of the goods or services paid as consideration exceeds Rupees two crores. Earlier, at the time of enactment of The Consumer Protection Act 2019, the pecuniary jurisdiction of the National Commission was for complaints where the consideration exceeded Rupees ten crores. However, vide notification dated 30-Dec-2021, the Central Government notified Consumer Protection (Jurisdiction of the District Commission, the State Commission and the National Commission) Rules, 2021, wherein the Central Government changed the pecuniary jurisdiction of the National Commission from Rupees Ten crores to Rupees Two (2) crores to adjudicate the consumer complaints.

The National Commission is also empowered to adjudicate consumer complaints against unfair contracts where the value of goods or services paid as consideration exceeds ten crore rupees. The aforesaid Rules 2021 did not alter the pecuniary jurisdiction for consumer complaints challenging unfair contracts.

Statutory Powers of the National Commission for Conducting Proceedings: The National Commission has the powers of a Civil Court for:

• summoning and enforcing the attendance of any defendant or witness and examining the witness on oath;
• requiring the discovery and production of any document or other material object as evidence; 
• receiving of evidence on affidavits; 
• the requisitioning of the report of the concerned analysis or test from the appropriate laboratory or from any other relevant source; and
• issuing of commissions for the examination of any witness, or document.

Powers of the National Commission to Grant Relief:

Section 39 of The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 is squarely applicable on the National Commission and thus, the National Commission can provide the following relief to an aggrieved party while adjudicating the consumer complaint. The National Commission is empowered:

• to remove the defect pointed out by the appropriate laboratory from the goods in question;
• to replace the goods with new goods of similar description which shall be free from any defect;
• to return to the complainant the price, or, as the case may be, the charges paid by the complainant along with such interest on such price or charges as may be decided;
• to pay such amount as may be awarded by it as compensation to the consumer for any loss or injury suffered by the consumer due to the negligence of the opposite party. The National Commission has the power to grant punitive damages in a product liability action.
• to remove the defects in goods or deficiencies in the services in question; 
• to discontinue the unfair trade practice or restrictive trade practice and not to repeat them; 
• in case of hazardous goods, not to offer or to withdraw the hazardous goods from being offered for sale or to cease manufacture of hazardous goods and to desist from providing services which are hazardous in nature;
• to pay such sum as may be determined by it, if it is of the opinion that loss or injury has been suffered by a large number of consumers who are not identifiable conveniently:
• to issue corrective advertisement to neutralise the effect of misleading advertisement at the cost of the opposite party responsible for issuing such misleading advertisement;
• to provide for adequate costs to parties; and 
• to cease and desist the opposite party from issuing any misleading advertisement. 

Appellate Jurisdiction:

The National Commission can entertain appeals against the orders of any State Commission or Central Protection Authority. To exercise the appellate jurisdiction over the state commission’s order, the National Commission entertains two types of appeal. An appeal entertained directly against the order of the State Commission is referred to as the First Appeal. An appeal against the State Commission’s order, made after adjudicating an appeal from the District Commission, is referred to as a Second Appeal.

Revisional Jurisdiction:

When a party approaches the National Commission and raises grounds that the State Commission has exercised a jurisdiction not vested in it by law, or failed to exercise a jurisdiction so vested, or acted illegally or with material irregularity, the National Commission is empowered to call the records and pass appropriate orders by exercising its revisional jurisdiction.

Review Jurisdiction:

The National Commission has power to review any of the order passed by it if there is an error apparent on the face of the record, either of its own motion or on an application made by any of the parties within thirty days of such order.

Transfer Cases:

The National Commission, on the complainant’s application or of its own motion, can transfer a consumer complaint pending before the District Commission of one State to a District Commission of another State or before one State Commission to another State Commission in the interest of justice.

Setting Aside Ex-Parte Orders:

Where the National Commission passes an ex-parte order, the aggrieved party may make an application to the Commission for setting aside such order.

Power to Conduct Criminal Trial:

If a person fails to comply with the order of the National Commission, the Commission has the power to punish such person with imprisonment for a term from one month to 3 years or with a fine from Rs twenty five thousand rupees upto Rs One lakh rupees, or with both. Section 72 of The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 confers powers of the Judicial Magistrate of first class on the National Commission to trial such offences.

Enforcement of the Orders:

Every order of The National Commission shall be enforced by it in the same manner as if it were a decree made by a Court in a suit before it, and the provisions of Order XXI of the First Schedule to the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 shall, as far as may be, applicable. The party can file an execution application before the National Commission when the opposite party does not comply with the final order of the National Commission.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, the National Commission (NCDRC) plays a key role in protecting consumers’ rights through its wide range of powers. If you have any queries or require further clarification on consumer-related matters, feel free to contact us. We encourage you to share any comments or suggestions you may have, as we strive to improve and serve you better.

Disclaimer:

In compliance with the Bar Council of India guidelines, this article is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or a solicitation for legal services.