Consumer courts to hear cases online from April 15

THE MOVE WILL MAKE IT EASIER FOR CONSUMERS TO RESOLVE THEIR COMPLAINTS AND SAVE THEM TIME AND MONEY

DELHI: The consumer affairs ministry has directed all consumer courts to start hearing cases online from April 15. The National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (NCDRC) has released standard operating procedures (SoPs) for these hearings. The NCDRC is the apex appellate body of the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), which reports to the ministry.

The decision is expected to make it easier for consumers to resolve their complaints and save them time and money. Mint reported on January 28 that the CCPA, which was formed in July 2020, was preparing to roll out e-court services in all 35 state consumer dispute redressal commissions (SCDRCs) and 10 benches of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC).

NCDRC deals with cases exceeding ₹2 crore (in compensation), while SCDRCs handles cases between ₹50 lakh and ₹2 crore. District consumer dispute redressal commissions (DCDRC) have jurisdiction over cases that entail up to ₹50 lakh in compensation. The ministry has directed the national commission to hear cases in hybrid mode from its premises. Hybrid hearing of cases will be rolled out as a pilot until further orders, it said. It also asked the NCDRC to provide video-conferencing or hybrid hearing links for all benches on the ‘cause list’ to streamline the hearings and make them accessible to all those involved. The NCDRC said these links would not be sent directly to advocates and aggrieved parties and be made available on the ‘cause list’ instead.

Under the SoP for virtual court appearances, advocates and complainants must maintain all courtesies and protocols that apply in a physical court when appearing before the national commission via video conferencing. The SoP also specifies that advocates and complainants must keep their microphones muted at all times until they are called upon to make their submissions.

They are also required to keep their mobile phones silent, switched off, or in airplane mode during the case hearing. However, senior advocates appearing in person should keep their microphones on.