Pecuniary jurisdiction of consumer courts in India

[Suresh Kumar]

I want to file a complaint in a consumer court. The amount involved is Rs. 18 lakh. I have been told that I cannot file the case in district consumer forum and that I have to file it directly in the state consumer forum. But, that will be costly for me since I live in a place which is far away from the state capital where state consumer forum is situated. Please confirm whether I’ll have to go state consumer forum only or I can go to district consumer forum also.

[Dr. Ashok Dhamija]

As per the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, the District Consumer Forum [“Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum”] has pecuniary jurisdiction to entertain complaints where the value of the goods or services and the compensation, if any, claimed does not exceed Rs. 20 lakhs.

The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (also popularly called “State Commission” or the “State Consumer Forum”) has jurisdiction to entertain original consumer complaints where such claim exceeds Rs. 20 lakh but does not exceed Rs. 1 crore.

For original consumer complaints where such claim exceeds Rs. 1 crore, the jurisdiction is with the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC).

In your case, if the claim is of Rs. 18 lakh, then you can definitely file your consumer complaint with the District Consumer Forum. There is no need to file the complaint with the State Commission in the first instance.

     

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Dr. Ashok Dhamija is a New Delhi based Supreme Court Advocate and author of law books. Read more about him by clicking here. List of his Forum Replies. List of his other articles. List of his Quora Answers. List of his YouTube Videos.

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