An Additional Consumer Panel Bench for Tamil Nadu

The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (SCDRC) has decided to have a circuit bench in Madurai and an additional bench in Chennai. This is done to dispose the cases within 90 days as given in the Consumer Protection Act (1987). This is really good for the people of Tamil Nadu. The government is taking consumer issues seriously and is expanding the bench so as to solve the cases quickly.

According to the sources, the state government has issued an order to approve the appointing of two judicial members to the SCRDC. The process of appointment has commenced already. The additional bench in Chennai and the circuit bench in Madurai will be up and running in a month’s time. The sources said that the government is yet to approve appropriate infrastructure for the circuit bench that is being constructed in Madurai. They are yet to decide whether they want to use one or two floors for the hearings.

The circuit bench in Madurai is a permanent feature but the manner of its functionality is yet to be decided. They are deciding on whether they should make it a branch of SCDRC and receive application for day-to-day hearings or have scheduled sittings. The two new judicial members can be in charge of the additional bench in Chennai and also the circuit bench in Madurai. More than 2800 cases are pending and nearly 1200 are from the southern districts.
Consumers are eager for the additional benches as it will lead to speedy disposal of cases and the consumers can save a lot of time and money. There is a common thinking among the consumers that getting justice from consumer court is a long and a tough process. They feel that they will spend a lot of money and energy for no reason. No justice can ever be gained by this. But the steps taken by the state government will be widely appreciated. Consumers know that they are not neglected by the government anymore.

I personally feel that it is good that the government is taking various steps. But appealing to the court alone does not guarantee any justice. People need to fight for it and they rarely win the cases because the company wins as they have the money power to hire good lawyers. The only way for the consumers to be protected is by being informed. Consumers should know where they will get a fair deal and where they will provide good quality products. Prevention is better than cure. So consumers should not be given an option to be cheated. So I request the consumers to be informed. There are a lot of consumer protection websites which provides online information about the various products that are available in the market.