Supreme Court Calls for Permanent Consumer Dispute Resolution Body

The Supreme Court has directed the Centre to evaluate the feasibility of establishing a permanent adjudicatory forum for consumer disputes. This move aims to enhance the efficiency and functionality of consumer forums by replacing tenure-based roles with permanent positions, thereby encouraging more qualitative and timely decisions.

The Supreme Court has issued a directive to the Centre, mandating an evaluation of the feasibility of establishing a permanent adjudicatory forum for consumer disputes within three months.

Justices Abhay S Oka and M M Sundresh emphasized the importance of permanent roles over tenure-based positions in consumer fora to enhance decision quality and efficiency.

The court highlighted the necessity of a permanent structure for consumer forums and suggested increasing the number of permanent members and presiding officers.