This Blog is written by Malik Mohamadsahaj, a Law Graduate of Shri S.M.Shah Law College,Mehsana(Gujarat)

Introduction

Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services against unfair practices in the market. It refers to the steps adopted for the protection of consumers from corrupt sellers, manufacturers, service providers, etc. and to provide remedies in case they as a consumer have been violated.

In India, the protection of the rights of the consumer is administered by the Consumer Protection Act,2019 was introduced to replace the Consumer Protection Act,1986. The new Act contains various provisions which incorporate the challenges faced by modern and technology-dependent consumers. The protection and promotion of the rights of the consumer.

Meaning Of The Word ‘Consumer’

A consumer is an individual or group of individuals who purchase goods and services for their personal use and not for manufacturing or resale. Section 2(7) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 defines a consumer as any person who buys goods or services in exchange for consideration and utilizes such goods and services for personal use and the purpose of resale or commercial use. In the explanation of the definition of consumer, it has been distinctly stated that the terms ‘buys any goods’ and ‘hires or avails any services’ also include all online transactions conducted through electronic means or direct selling teleshopping or multi-level marketing.

Consumer Protection During The British Period

In the modern era, the British system took over India’s long-standing traditional legal system and created a uniform national legal system, A few of the statutes which protect the interests of consumers were enacted during the British regime as follows.

· The Indian Contract Act, 1872

· The Sale of Goods Act, 1930

· The Indian panel code, 1860

· The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940

· The Usurious Loans Act, 1918 and

· The Agriculture Procedure ( Grading and Marketing Act), 1937

These legislations gave special statutory protection to consumers in our country. The Indian Penal Code, 1860, also provides various provisions to safeguard the interests of consumers against various cases of abuse and malpractice in the market.

The Sale of Goods Act, 1930 (hereinafter referred to as “SGA”), Which is a remarkable piece of legislation that has been drafted very carefully, served as India’s sole source of consumer protection for 55 years. It is highly praised as a “Consumer’s Charter.” It offers exceptions to the maxim ‘caveat emptor’ (Let the buyer beware) and ensures that the interests of the consumers are adequately protected. Before the Consumer Protection Act,1986 was passed to supplement the remedial measures previously offered by the SGA, the SGA served as the only consumer protection law.

Importance Of Consumer Protection Act

(1) To Organize Consumers: Indian consumers are scattered over a wide geographical area. They are not well organized. They have low power and businessmen exploit consumers. Here we need consumer protection.

(2) Provide Market Information: The majority of the consumers have no information about quality, type, price, and other marketing facilities. Many customers buy without product knowledge and this makes them suffer losses.

(3) Importance of Physical Safety: Indian markets are over-flooded with products. The products may be adulterated and may be health hazardous. This may endanger their life and due to this a consumer needs to be protected.

(4) Avoiding Monopoly: Consumer Protection is very important in terms of avoiding monopoly. A monopoly is the crown of the modern market. Most organizations, irrespective of various restrictions follow monopoly practice. Due to these consumers get affected and need to be protected.

(5) Prevention from Malpractices: Business malpractices are rapidly growing in the modern market. Businessmen follow unfair trade practices, restrictive trade practices, monopolistic trade practices, and consumer protection plays a vital role.

(6) Misleading Advertisements: Many organizations deliberately cheat consumers through wrong or misleading advertisements. This will protect consumers from getting exploited

(7) Informing Consumers about their Basic Rights: The majority of the consumers are ignorant. They do not know about consumer rights. Consumer movements inform consumers about their rights and protect their interests and rights.

Objectives Of Consumers Protection Act,1986

When examining the objectives of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, it is crucial to recognize that the Act serves a broader purpose than merely providing legal recourse for aggrieved consumers. The fundamental objectives of this Act are.

· Protection of Consumers: The primary objective is to protect consumers from hazardous goods, deficient services, and unfair trade practices.

· Promoting Consumer Rights: The Act emphasizes six consumer rights, including the right to safety, information, choice, representation, redressal, and consumer education.

· Consumer Redressal: To provide a simple, inexpensive, and fast mechanism for resolving consumer disputes.

· Regulating Trade practice: To curb and control restrictive and unfair practices.

These objectives reflect the Act’s dedication to not only protect consumers but also ensure they have adequate knowledge and understanding of their rights.

Conclusion :

The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 is a modified piece of legislation that offers consumers a great variety of benefits and rights to protect them from unfair trade practices, false or misleading advertisements, etc. The Act enables consumers to seek alternative dispute resolution mechanisms and mediation so that the parties can opt for speedy and effective settlement of consumer disputes. The scope of e-filing of complaints and e-consumers in the Act portrays forward-thinking in part of the legislature. Furthermore, the Act also introduced new terms such as product liability, unfair contracts, etc. thereby widening the scope of protection of consumer rights and enabling the consumers to file complaints when their rights have been violated under the Act. Thus, the inclusion of the provisions in this fills up the lacunae in the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. The enactment of the Act was paramount and it changed the ambit of protecting the rights of consumers in the country.

Reference :

· https://www.legalaims.com/objectives-and-scope-of-consumer-protection-act/

· https://testbook.com/ias-preparation/consumer-protection-act-1986

· https://www.scconline.com/blog/post/2020/12/24/consumer-protection-act-2019-a-primer/

· https://www.indiafilings.com/learn/consumer-protection-laws-in-india/