Parliament Question: Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions

ORIGINAL IN HINDI Government of India Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Department of Consumer Affairs LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *48 (OIH) TO BE ANSWERED ON 22.07.2026 CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSIONS *48. SHRI AJAY KUMAR MANDAL: (OIH) Will the MINISTER OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION be pleased to state: (a) the total sanctioned strength of Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions (State Commission and District Commissions) in the State of Bihar and the numbers of commissions currently functional; (b) the details of the number of sanctioned posts for Chairpersons, Members and other staff in the said Commissions and number of posts which are currently vacant; (c) whether the disposal of cases is being delayed due to a shortage of manpower in various District Consumer Commissions across Bihar; (d) if so, the steps taken by the Government so far to fill the vacant posts and the tentative timeline to fill them; and (e) the current status report of the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission operating under the Bhagalpur Lok Sabha Constituency including the number of pending cases, the number of cases disposed of during the last three years and the details of vacant posts? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRI PRALHAD JOSHI) (a) to (e) : A Statement is laid on the Table of the House. ****STATEMENT REFERRED IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.*48 FOR 22.07.2026 REGARDING CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSIONS. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Department of Consumer Affairs has strengthened the consumer protection framework through the enactment of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, to effectively address emerging challenges arising from globalization, technological advancements and e-commerce. The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 provides for a three tier quasi-judicial machinery at District, State and National level commonly known as “Consumer Commissions” for protection of the rights of consumers and to provide simple and speedy redressal of consumer disputes including those related with unfair trade practices. In the State of Bihar, 1 State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission and 38 District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions one for each district have been constituted. Currently, all these commissions are functional. Under the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, it is the responsibility of the State Governments to fill up the vacancies of President and Members in the State Commissions and District Commissions. Further, as per Rule 6(4) of the Consumer Protection (Qualification for appointment, method of recruitment, procedure of appointment, term of office, resignation and removal of the President and members of the State Commission and District Commission) Rules, 2020, the process of appointments shall be initiated by the State Government atleast 6 months before the vacancy arises. Also, it’s the responsibility of the State Governments to provide for staff in the State Commissions and District Commissions. As per Section 32 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, if, at any time, there is a vacancy in the office of the President or Member of the District Commission, the State Government may, by notification, direct - a) any other District Commission specified in that notification to exercise the jurisdiction in respect of that district also; or b) the President or a member of any other District Commission specified in that notification to exercise the powers and discharge the functions of the President or member of that District Commission also. Further, the State Government of Bihar conducted an examination through Bihar Public Service Commission for appointments to the posts of President and Member, however, the declaration of results has been stayed in light of the order passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court on 21st May, 2025 in Civil Appeal No. 9982 of 2024. Consequent thereto, the Government of India filed an affidavit on 02.09.2025, a Miscellaneous Application on 15.10.2025 (re-filed on 15.01.2026) and a Review Petition on 16.02.2026, before the Hon’ble Supreme Court. The matter is presently sub-judice before the Hon'ble Supreme Court. The details of sanctioned strength and existing vacancies of the Presidents and Members in State and District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions in Bihar are at Annexure. In the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (SCDRC), Bihar, out of 34 sanctioned posts of supporting staff, 16 posts have been filled up. All DCDRCs in Bihar are functioning through the arrangement of additional charge being assigned to the Presidents of other DCDRCs in the State.The Department launched “e-Jagriti” portal on 1st January, 2025, which aims to enhance consumer grievance redressal through Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning integration and modern features like faceless onboarding and role-based dashboards. It unifies existing applications (OCMS, e-Daakhil, NCDRC CMS, CONFONET) into a single, scalable platform, allowing users to file complaints seamlessly from anywhere with multilingual support. The portal is designed to provide a convenient, transparent and efficient means for consumers to seek redressal by enabling online complaint filing, digital submission of documents, online payment of fees and also supports virtual courtrooms, enabling the hearing of cases remotely and ensuring faster disposal while reducing dependency on physical infrastructure. These features address bottlenecks like geographical barriers, scheduling conflicts and manual interventions. e-Jagriti has reduced reliance on physical proceedings and has accelerated justice delivery. Further, VC equipment for conducting hearing through video conferencing mode has already been installed and made functional at 10 benches of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) and 35 benches of State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions (SCDRCs). After the launch of e-Jagriti, the Consumer Commissions in the State of Bihar recorded the filing of 3,281 cases and the disposal of 3,295 cases in 2025, achieving a disposal rate of 100.43%, compared to 95.97% in 2024 indicating that the Consumer Commissions disposed of more cases than were filed during the period, thereby substantially reducing the pendency of cases. The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (DCDRC), Bhagalpur, operates within the Bhagalpur Lok Sabha constituency. In the DCDRC, Bhagalpur, against the sanctioned strength of one President and two Members, the post of President is filled, while both the sanctioned posts of Members are vacant. However, in compliance of Section 32 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, additional charge of Member, DCDRC, Bhagalpur has been assigned to the Member, DCDRC, Munger. Further, in DCDRC, Bhagalpur, against the sanctioned strength of six, two posts have been filled up. During the last three years (2023 to 2025), 269 cases were filed before the Bhagalpur DCDRC and 362 cases have been disposed of. *****ANNEXURE ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) to (e) OF THE LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *48 TO BE ANSWERED ON 22.07.2026 REGARDING CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSIONS. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- S. No. Commission President Member Sanctioned Post Vacant Post Sanctioned Post Vacant Post 1. Bihar State Consumer Disputes 1 0 4 2 Redressal Commission District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions (DCDRC) 1. Araria 1 1* 2 0 2. Arwal 1 1* 2 0 3. Aurangabad 1 0 2 1 4. Banka 1 1* 2 0 5. Begusarai 1 1* 2 1 6. Bhagalpur 1 0 2 2 7. Bhojpur 1 0 2 2 8. Buxar 1 0 2 2 9. Darbhanga 1 1* 2 2 10. East Champaran 1 1* 2 1 11. Gaya 1 1* 2 0 12. Gopalganj 1 0 2 1 13. Jamui 1 0 2 1 14. Jehanabad 1 0 2 2 15. Khagaria 1 1* 2 0 16. Kishanganj 1 1* 2 2 17. Kaimur 1 1* 2 1 18. Katihar 1 0 2 1 19. Lakhisarai 1 1* 2 1 20. Madhubani 1 1* 2 1 21. Munger 1 0 2 2 22. Madhepura 1 0 2 2 23. Muzaffarpur 1 1* 2 1 24. Nalanda 1 1* 2 2 25. Nawada 1 1* 2 1 26. Patna 1 1* 2 1 27. Purnia 1 1* 2 2 28. Rohtas 1 1* 2 1 29. Saharsa 1 1* 2 1 30. Samastipur 1 0 2 2 31. Sheohar 1 1* 2 2 32. Sheikhpura 1 1* 2 1 33. Saran 1 1* 2 0 34. Sitamarhi 1 1* 2 1 35. Supaul 1 1* 2 2 36. Siwan 1 0 2 2 37. Vaishali 1 0 2 0 38. West Champaran 1 0 2 1 Total 39 24* 80 47 * The DCDRC is functional by assigning additional charge to the President of other DCDRC under Section 32 of the Consumer Protection Act. *****