Tamil Nadu: Lawyers oppose plan to cut consumer courts from 32 to 14

CHENNAI: The State government’s proposal to reduce the number of district consumer dispute redressal commissions from 32 to 14 has triggered opposition from lawyers and consumer activists, who said the move would increase travel, costs and inconvenience for consumers seeking relief.

Under the proposed restructuring, 18 district commissions would be abolished or merged with commissions in neighbouring districts.

Tirupur and Nilgiris cases would be handled in Erode, Vellore cases will go to Krishnagiri, Salem cases in Namakkal, Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram in Srivilliputhur, and Pudukkottai cases in Thanjavur. Similarly, Karur cases would be heard in Truichy, Kanniyakumari and Thoothukudi in Tirunelveli, Villupuram and Cuddalore in Tiruvannamalai, Dindigul and Theni in Madurai, and Perambalur, Ariyalur and Nagapattinam in Tiruvarur.

The government had decided in February to undertake the restructuring following a Supreme Court order that allowed States to abolish district consumer commissions having fewer than 1,000 pending cases or merge them with commissions in other districts, depending on the requirement. The move is also intended to reduce the financial burden of maintaining the commissions, particularly those without their own buildings. A report on the proposed restructuring has reportedly been submitted to the Supreme Court.

Senior Madurai-based advocate Mohandas said that financial constraints and the lack of dedicated buildings could not justify making consumers travel to other districts. “The move will cause unnecessary travel and additional expenses for consumers filing cases as well as lawyers. Therefore, the State government should withdraw the decision,” he added.

The Tamil Nadu Progressive Consumer Centre (TPCC) said that merging commissions would undermine the objective of the Consumer Protection Act. TPCC president T Sadagopan said, “The focus should be on filling vacancies in the commissions and strengthening their functioning. The law envisages disposal of consumer cases within 90 days, but delays caused by vacancies and the clubbing of districts can discourage consumers from pursuing cases. This is a weapon that was a godsend for the common citizen, without any legal hassles. Therefore, it must be handled this way.”

He also suggested creating a dedicated corpus fund to support consumer commissions, with a portion of the compensation awarded in cases being channelled into the fund.