In the wake of greater awareness among consumers of their right of quality goods and services, the Supreme Court in a judgment has made the pleadings before consumer forums rather easier ruling that advocates’ representation was not necessary in such cases.
A three-judge bench of Justices Dalveer Bhandari, M.K. Sharma and A.R. Dave said a consumer can plead his case personally before the consumer forum at local, district, state level and even before the National Consumer Commission (NCC) or through an “agent” nominated by him, who necessarily need not to be a lawyer.
In order to make the pleadings before the consumer courts favourable to the people affected of bad services, the top court directed the NCC to lay down “accreditation” norms for appointment of tje agent or representative by an individual consumer to plead his case.
We direct the NCC to frame comprehensive rules as expeditiously as possible, in any event within three months form the date of communication of this order,” the bench said while asking the top court registry to send the copy of the judgment to the NCC.
While laying down the guidelines for framing the rules by the NCC, the court said the presiding officer of the consumer court “may be given specific power” to discipline non-advocates, agents, authorised organisations and representatives for violating the code so laid down to ensure that they did not indulge in behaviour “unfit” for conducting themselves in such a forum.
If payment of damage is involved in any consumer dispute related case, then the agent would be entitled to claim a fee of 20 per cent of the award given by the forum and not more than that.