That's the depressing condition of state consumer forums, who've been fighting for justice for 3 years
That's the depressing condition of state consumer forums, who've been fighting for justice for 3 years
The state's Consumer Redressal Forums, which were set up to facilitate speedy justice, have ironically been struggling for justice for three years now.
In 2006, the Consumer Courts Advocates Association (CCAA) filed a writ petition in the Bombay High Court regarding the infrastructural and administrative problems faced by the state commission and consumer forums in Maharashtra.
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Today, three years later, their case remains pending and their condition unchanged.
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The founder president of CCAA, advocate J M Bafna, said, "For a crowded city like Mumbai, we have only three forums that have cases pending from the year 1992. Even basic amenities like washrooms are unavailable in the forums."
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No place to sit
Consumer lawyer and CCAA treasurer Anand Patwardhan said, "The petition mentioned that there were 157 vacancies. In the few hearings that have occurred, the court ordered that the vacancies be filled.
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Accordingly, half the posts were filled, but with the abysmal infrastructure, there was no place for the old staff.
Where do we accommodate the new people? Also, a retired judge has been filling the post of presiding judge in Bandra's consumer forum, as the latter quit mid-term."
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The government has taken no initiative to fill this post either.
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Uday Wavikar, an HC lawyer, said, "The next hearing is on Thursday or the day after that. Many advocates of the association work from the small bar rooms in the forums that are in pitiful condition. The coming hearing might bring some change."
Meanwhile, this inadequacy of consumer forums only serves to discourage consumers from filing complaints and fighting for justice.
Hellholes
> Mumbai has three consumer forums in Thane, Bandra and Parel. The state commission is located at VT.
> The Bandra, Thane and VT buildings have no toilets. The Parel building is reportedly the "best", but even that has toilets only for the staff.
> The Bandra is among the worst with 9x10 rooms
Consumer Speaks
Giving voice to the grouses of consumers across the city, Kamal Shah (40), who filed a case in Bandra's consumer forum, said, "I am a Vashi resident and I had filed a case four years ago. The judgment is still pending and travelling all the way to Bandra is tedious."
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