Consumer Court Enhances Ethical Business

The much-anticipated Consumer Court has now come into operation in Nepal. Clause 44 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2075, has the provision of establishing this specialised body to ensure the judicial remedy to consumers. The Consumer Court was thrown open on March 15, coinciding with World Consumer Rights Day. The judicial unit is located on the premises of the Department of Cottage and Small Scale Industries in Tripureshwor. Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts are the jurisdiction of this court. It will take action and dispose of consumer-related cases.

Though the court now handles only complaints filed by consumers of the Kathmandu Valley, its operation is taken as a major step towards safeguarding consumer rights in the country. As directed by the Supreme Court about three years ago, the government is planning to set up such courts outside the Kathmandu Valley as well in the future. Chief Justice Prakash Man Singh Raut inaugurated the consumer court. Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, Raut underlined the need for the court to take consumers into confidence by delivering justice to them effectively. “The consumer court needs to show judicial activism and carry out result-oriented works”, he added. As the court has a broader scope, it is essential for clarifying its jurisdiction. 

Investigation

A three-member consumer court includes Kathmandu District Court Judge Ram Prasad Sharma as its chairperson, Gehendra Raj Regmi, a gazetted second-class officer of the judicial service, and Ananda Raj Pokharel, a gazetted second-class officer of the civil service, as members. The consumer court receives complaints through email or in writing from the consumers who feel deceived. An inspection officer investigates the complaint. When the officer finds that the consumer laws have been violated, s/he will lodge a case at the consumer court. However, the officer will have to do it at the recommendation of an attorney. Then, the court gives 15 days for the respondent to appear, while the investigation period is one week. 

There is a provision for the government lawyers of the Special Court to argue cases on behalf of the government in the consumer court.  The court attempts to resolve the cases within 90 days. Although the constitution has upheld consumer rights as fundamental rights, consumers across the country have been facing various problems like an artificial shortage of goods and services, frequent price rises and cartels. For years, consumer rights campaigners as well as consumers were calling for setting up the Consumer Court. With the establishment of this judicial unit, they are hopeful that the establishment of the new judicial body will be instrumental in the protection of their rights by eliminating market anomalies. 

Being a robust consumer protection framework, the Consumer Court is expected to build trust between businesses and consumers. This will also contribute towards economic growth and stability. As it plays a proactive role in protecting the rights of consumers, businesses are bound to run ethically and transparently. Consumers will remain cheated in one way or another if their rights are not safeguarded well. It is the consumer rights that alone help consumers make informed decisions and safeguard their interests. Protection of consumer rights is deemed urgent in Nepal considering the low level of awareness among the people and growing tendency among businesses to get involved in unfair practices.

 Before the establishment of the Consumer Court, there was no specific agency to look into the cases and grievances of consumers. So, they had to file cases at the Supreme Court. It used to take a long time for the judiciary to finalise such cases because of its increasing workload. Consumers have been vulnerable to exploitation and cheating despite the consumer protection laws in place. The laws have the provision of monitoring the market regularly to check for fraudulent activities. But marketing monitoring activities seem to have been conducted only during the major festivals. Teams deployed by the Department of Commerce, Supplies and Consumer Protection have often found traders selling substandard and outdated goods. 

Consumer awareness 

Anyway, the operation of the Consumer Court will help ensure the rights of consumers by promoting a clean and competitive market. They will have access to quality goods and services at fair prices. It is likely to receive numerous complaints like the ones concerning products from which the production date has been deleted. Consumers have also been swindled in the name of online sales. All such issues will go to the court. For this, increased consumer awareness is necessary.      

When the Consumer Court can work transparently and effectively, it may help increase the government’s revenue collection because the businesses will be forced to maintain transparency in their transactions. When there is fair competition among businesses, they will become innovative and compete justly. Because of this, consumers may get better products and services. It has an important role to play in the protection of consumer rights. Consumers will get justice through a fast track. The government needs to come up with a clear policy for an effective and efficient functioning of the Consumer Court so as to deliver justice to consumers.   

(The author is a former deputy executive editor of this daily.)