In a welcome decision (given on 14-11-14 in Case No. Ex.Cri.30-2011), Mysore District Consumer Forum has sentenced a person to three years in prison for providing deficient service and ignoring the orders of the Forum. He is in jail now.
It is well-known that consumer courts provide compensation for defective goods and deficient service. If the seller of the goods/services does not obey the orders of the court, consumer courts have the power to punish him with a prison sentence of upto three years and a fine of upto 10,000 Rs. Unfortunately, consumer courts are reluctant to enforce these punishments and so violation of the orders of the consumer courts is quite common.
As a result, innumerable consumers receive favourable judgments from consumer courts, but do not get any real relief. In this background, it is heartening that the Mysore DCF has imposed the maximum penalty on the defaulter and sent him to prison.
As a result, innumerable consumers receive favourable judgments from consumer courts, but do not get any real relief. In this background, it is heartening that the Mysore DCF has imposed the maximum penalty on the defaulter and sent him to prison.
The complainant D.K. Devaraje Urs had deposited Rs. 4,50,000 with Chanakya Finance Corporation as a fixed deposit. After maturity, the CFC did not return the F.D. So he filed a complaint before the Mysore District Consumer Forum against the deficient service. After conducting hearings in which the complainant appeared for himself, the Forum agreed with his argument and ordered A.L.Nanjundaraje Urs, managing partner of CFC to repay the deposit as well as interest and costs within 45 days. But he paid only Rs. 1,30,000 with great delay and did not pay the rest at all. So Devaraje Urs filed an execution petition before the Forum. After holding hearings to decide on the punishment, the Forum passed its order. It said that it was clear that Nanjundaraje Urs had made no honest attempt to obey its orders. It also said that he was also the accused in several cases filed by other consumers. It further said that CFC was an organization which lured customers with glitzy advertisements and looted public money with which its promoters are making property and leading a luxurious life. Therefore it said that Nanjundaraje Urs did not deserve any concession and imposed the maximum penalty allowed by law on him. It also ordered that the money due to Devaraje Urs should be realized by auctioning the properties of Nanjundaraje Urs.
This story has a tragic postscript. Devaraje Urs passed away on 7-12-14. He had the satisfaction of seeing his opponent in jail, but, he did not receive the money due to him. The sad thing is, there are hundreds of consumers in the same position as Devaraje Urs. There are at least one hundred execution petitions under Sec. 27 of the Consumer Protection Act (in which the opposite party is jailed and/or fined for disobeying the consumer court's order) before the Mysore DCF and at least six hundred and fifty execution petitions under Sec. 25 (in which the property of the opposite party is sold to pay the complainant). The execution petition filed by Devaraje Urs took three years and these execution petitions may take longer. Many of the complainants are old people and if they are not compensated quickly, they will be denied justice in their lifetime.
A big cause for the delay is that the positions of the President and a member of the Mysore DCF have been lying vacant for a long time. The President of Mandya DCF has been given the additional charge of Mysore DCF. He has also been given the charge of Kodagu DCF and Chamarajanagar DCF. The government should stop putting such unbearable load on the present judges. It should immediately fill up the vacancies and expedite the delivery of justice.
G L Nagaraj Urs