Though it has been more than three months since the Telangana Government issued a Government Order commissioning the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (SCDRC), cases are only piling up as all three members of the commission are yet to be appointed.
Seventy original petitions have been filed at the SCDRC since October 15, the day the Commission was constituted. These include 59 first-appeals, three revision petitions and 26 executive orders. They have been simply numbered and kept aside.
“All those are cases which are monetarily worth between Rs. 20 lakh and Rs.1 crore. Those below that amount will be dealt at the district forums,” said an official from the SCDRC. The official mentioned that when the new president and two members of the commission take charge, they will have to look at all the cases filed after the GO was issued, apart from the existing backlog of cases, in the same category. The district forums, however, are fully functional across the State, he said.
Post bifurcation of the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh State last year, there was no word about the fate of the SCDRC until October 15, when the State government issued the order. Statistics from the SCDRC show that post the division till December 2014, a total of 449 original petitions, 672 appeals and 158 revision petitions were filed. These also include the new cases filed between October 15 and December 31, 2014.
In total, since its inception till December 2014, 85,984 original petitions have been filed in the 12 district forums across the 10 districts of Telangana. Out of them, 82,663 were disposed of, while the remaining 3,495 are yet to be heard by the SCDRC. Hyderabad has three district forums due to the high number of petitions that are filed in the city everyday.
JUSTICE DELAYED
SCDRC head to be appointed by State government with recommendation from High Court
Other two members appointed after issuing notifications, selecting the right candidate a long process
More than three months since State government issued a GO. However, members yet to be appointed
85,984 original petitions filed till December 2014, in the 12 district forums across Telangana
82,663 petitions disposed of and remaining 3,495 yet to be heard by Commission
Appointments likely in two weeks
Staff Reporter reports:
With no members appointed to the Telangana State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (SCDRC) after the State government issued an order on October 15, 2014 commissioning it, a public interest litigation had been filed at the High Court in November last year, said SCDRC officials.
“The case had come up for hearing a few days ago, and the matter has been posted to be heard two weeks later,” said a senior SCDRC official. He stated that as per Section 16 of the Consumer Protection Act, a president and two members must be appointed to the body to hear cases.
As per the procedure, the head of the SCDRC has to be appointed by the State government with recommendation from the High Court. The other two members are appointed after issuing notifications, and a long process ensues to select the right candidates, explained a senior official.
“After bifurcation, the president of the unified State was appointed to Andhra Pradesh, along with other employees. The Telangana commission, however, had no head and members, and so far it is still the case,” said the official, and added that 17 employees were allotted to the State post-division.
He informed that after the latest hearing at the High Court, the State government has come up with some names. “Cases will keep piling up till the commission members are appointed. I hope it is done soon,” he stated.
