Calcutta High Court Rules Against Consumer Forum Arrest Warrants

The Calcutta High Court ruled that consumer forums are unauthorized to issue arrest warrants during execution proceedings. They may only order detention in civil prison. This ruling came in response to a challenge against a forum order for a warrant of arrest in a dispute between a finance company and a loanee.

The Calcutta High Court has determined that consumer forums are not empowered to issue warrants of arrest in execution proceedings, restricting their authority to ordering detention in civil prison instead.

Justice Suvra Ghosh, presiding over the case, quashed a warrant against a petitioner in a dispute involving a finance company and a loanee over a 2013 tractor loan. The loanee had failed to repay Rs 25,716, leading to the seizure of the vehicle and a subsequent complaint to the consumer forum under the Consumer Protection Act.

Justice Ghosh emphasized that the forum's act of issuing an arrest warrant exceeded its legal boundaries, pointing to a previous high court decision in 2022, which dictated that only detention warrants under the Code of Civil Procedure are permissible in such execution cases.

(With inputs from agencies.)