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The adage ``Consumer is King`` was an alien concept in our society till about two decades ago. People`s perceptions however, began changing slowly with the enactment of The Consumer Protection Act in 1986. The economic liberalization process started in 1990s gave further hope of multiple choices and ushering in competition and better effeciencies in certain service sectors. But the Consumer Protection Act which pre-dates the reform process, has been slowly but surely creating a silent revolution in the actualization of the ``Consumer is King`` philosophy, by providing an easy accessible,inexpensive and quick justice vis-a -vis the conventional judicial processes which are notoriously expensive and time-consuming.
This, however, has not been a smooth journey, as various entrenched interests challenged the jurisdiction of this welfare legislation. The Apex bodies of medical practitioners opposed the application of the Act to their services saying that the lay judges and members cannot understand the technicalities of medicine. Lawyers argued that legal services should not be covered by the Act. Banking and Insurance companies challenged applicability of the Act arguing that they have their own redressal mechanisms like the banking Ombudsman and the Insurance Ombudsman. Public service providers like Railways argued that they are covered by the Railway Claims Tribunals and hence cannot come under this Act`s jurisdiction. However, through a series of landmark judgments it has been settled that all these services are covered by the Consumer Protection Act, even if there are alternate remedies in certain sectors.
This book is different from a conventional law book or a law reporter, in the sense that in addition to presenting some selected cases representing the broad sweep of the Consumer Court`s Jurisdiction, it also reveals the author`s conviction and personality which she brought to bear on the working of the National Commission.ISBN:9789350351765
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Pages : 427
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