Journal Press India^®

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The Consumer Protection Act, 1986, (CPA) is a socio-economic legislation to protect and promote the interests of consumers in a unified and effective manner. From the time of its inception as on 5^th July 2018, there have been more than 4.2 Lakh cases pending in the various Consumer Forums. Thus, after 30 years of implementing CPA, it is time to reconsider and rethink whether Consumer forums have been able to deliver and provide speedy justice to the needy in time? Are the members trained enough to provide justice, needs to be revisited? There have been allegations that the lawyers have taken over the consumer forums and the three-tier judiciary is totally dependent on the Department of Consumer Affairs for appointment of members and financial support. The author identifies important questions stemming from discontinuities in CPA, the working of the consumer forums in India, and suggests implementation of the New Consumer Protection Bill, 2018, mediation for speedy redressal of consumer complaints.

Keywords

Consumer forums; Consumer protection; Mediation; Redressal

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