Home India Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Parliament Question: Functioning of Consumer Disputes Redres...
Date: 2025-08-20 Category: Not Applicable State: Union Government Country: India

Parliament Question: Functioning of Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions

Issued by Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution · Not Applicable

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Executive Summary & Key Takeaways

Executive Summary: This document provides a response to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 4599 regarding the functioning of Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions. It details the number of consumer complaints registered and resolved since 2020, the measures undertaken to ensure speedy disposal of complaints, the operational status of Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions across India, and the introduction of digital platforms for simplifying complaint filing and tracking. The information presented covers the period from 2020 up to July 24, 2025. Key Points / Main Content: Legislative Context: * The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 was repealed and replaced by the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 to modernize consumer protection in the context of globalization and e-commerce. * The 2019 Act establishes the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) and simplifies the adjudication process in Consumer Commissions. * The Act includes provisions for product liability, penalties for adulterated or spurious goods, and rules for preventing unfair trade practices in e-commerce and direct selling. Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions: * The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 provides for a three-tier quasi-judicial machinery at the District, State, and National levels (Consumer Commissions). * These commissions aim to protect consumer rights and provide simple and speedy redressal of disputes, including those related to unfair trade practices. * Commissions can provide specific relief and award compensation to consumers. * There is one National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) at the national level and 35 State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions at the state level. * The number of District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions is 685 across all States and Union Territories as of 2025. Complaint Resolution and Timeframes: * Efforts should be made to dispose of complaints within three months from the date of notice receipt by the opposite party if no analysis or testing is required. * The resolution timeframe extends to five months if analysis or testing of commodities is necessary. * Adjournments should be limited and granted only with sufficient cause and recorded reasons. Digital Platforms and Grievance Redressal: * eJagriti portal has been developed to enhance consumer grievance redressal using microservice architecture, AI/ML integration, and features like faceless onboarding and role-based dashboards. * The portal unifies applications like OCMS, eDaakhil, NCDRC CMS, and CONFONET into a single platform. * The platform enables consumers to file complaints seamlessly from anywhere, anytime, with multilingual support, streamlining the grievance redressal process. * VC facilities are provided to 10 benches of NCDRC and 35 benches of SCDRCs. Impact Analysis: Consumers: * Impact: Benefit from simplified adjudication processes, online complaint filing, video conferencing for hearings, and deemed admissibility of complaints. They also gain access to a unified digital platform (eJagriti) for seamless complaint filing and tracking. * Action Required: Utilize available digital platforms to file and track complaints and participate in video conferencing hearings if required. Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions: * Impact: The commissions are empowered by enhanced pecuniary jurisdiction and benefit from simplified adjudication processes. VC facilities enhance their functionality. * Action Required: Implement the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, and utilize the eJagriti portal for efficient grievance redressal. Government (Department of Consumer Affairs): * Impact: Responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, and ensuring the effective functioning of Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions. * Action Required: Continue monitoring the performance of Consumer Commissions, promoting the use of digital platforms, and enacting rules for the prevention of unfair trade practices.

Key Entities Referenced

Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution: The Indian government ministry responsible for consumer affairs, food, and public distribution. Consumer Protection Act, 2019: An act of the Parliament of India to protect the interests of consumers in India. Central Consumer Protection AuthorityCCPA: A regulatory authority established under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 to promote, protect, and enforce the rights of consumers. National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission NCDRC: The apex body in the three-tier quasi-judicial machinery for consumer dispute redressal in India. State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions SCDRCs: Consumer dispute redressal commissions at the state level in India. eJagriti portal: A digital platform developed to enhance consumer grievance redressal in India. Andhra Pradesh: A state in India with 17 District Consumer Commissions. Uttar Pradesh: A state in India with 79 District Consumer Commissions.
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Government of India Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Department of Consumer Affairs LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4599 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.08.2025 FUNCTIONING OF CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSIONS 4599. DR. BHOLA SINGH: Will the Minister of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION be pleased to state: (a) the number of consumer complaints registered and resolved since 2020, year and Statewise; (b) the details of the major measures undertaken by the Government to ensure speedy disposal of consumer complaints; (c) whether Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions are functional in all States and Union Territories; (d) if so, the total number and locations of such Commissions currently operational across the country; (e) whether the Government has introduced digital platforms to simplify the process of filing and tracking complaints; and (f) if so, the details thereof? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRI B.L.VERMA) (a) to (f) : Department of Consumer Affairs is continuously working for consumer protection and empowerment of consumers by enactment of progressive legislations. With a view to modernize the framework governing the consumer protection in the new era of globalization, technologies, e- commerce markets etc., the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 was repealed and Consumer Protection Act, 2019 was enacted. Salient features of the new Consumer Protection Act, 2019 are establishment of a Central Consumer Protection Authority(CCPA); simplification of the adjudication process in the Consumer Commissions such as enhancing pecuniary jurisdiction of the Consumer Commissions, online filing of complaint from the Consumer Commission having jurisdiction over the place of work/residence of the consumer irrespective of the place of transaction, videoconferencing for hearing, deemed admissibility of complaints if admissibility is not decided within 21 days of filing; provision of product liability; penal provisions for manufacture/sale of adulterated products/spurious goods; provision for making rules for prevention of unfair trade practice in e-commerce and direct selling.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. The Consumer Commissions are empowered to give relief of a specific nature and award compensation to consumers, wherever appropriate. At present, there is one National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) at the national level and thirty five State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions at the state level. The number of District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions (State-wise) is at Annexure-I. The details of the consumer cases filed and disposed by the consumer commissions since 2020, year and State-wise is at Annexure-II. Further, as per Section 38 (7) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, every complaint shall be disposed of as expeditiously as possible and endeavour shall be made to decide the complaint within a period of three months from the date of receipt of notice by opposite party where the complaint does not require analysis or testing of commodities and within five months, if it requires analysis or testing of commodities. To serve the interest of speedy justice to the end consumers, Consumer Protection Act states that no adjournment shall ordinarily be granted by the consumer commissions unless sufficient cause is shown and the reasons for grant of adjournment have been recorded in writing by the Commission. Besides providing VC facilities to 10 benches of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) and 35 benches of State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions (SCDRCs), an e-Jagriti portal has been developed to enhance consumer grievance redressal through a micro-service architecture, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning integration and latest features like faceless onboarding and role-based dashboards. It unifies existing applications (OCMS, e-Daakhil, NCDRC CMS, CONFONET application) into a single, scalable system that significantly benefit consumers by enabling them to file complaints seamlessly from anywhere, anytime, with multi-lingual support. The integrated platform streamlines the grievance redressal process, offering faster resolution and enhanced transparency. ****ANNEXURE-I ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) to (f) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4599 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.08.2025 REGARDING FUNCTIONING OF CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSIONS. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- S. No. Name of State/UT No. of District Commissions STATES 1. Andhra Pradesh 17 2. Arunachal Pradesh 25 3. Assam 23 4. Bihar 38 5. Chhattisgarh 27 6. Goa 2 7. Gujarat 38 8. Kerala 14 9. Haryana 22 10. Himachal Pradesh 12 11. Jharkhand 24 12. Karnataka 33 13. Madhya Pradesh 48 14. Maharashtra 40 15. Manipur 3 16. Meghalaya 7 17. Mizoram 11 18. Nagaland 11 19. Odisha 30 20. Punjab 23 21. Rajasthan 37 22. Sikkim 6 23. Tamil Nadu 32 24. Telangana 12 25. Tripura 4 26. Uttarakhand 13 27. Uttar Pradesh 79 28. West Bengal 28 UNION TERRITORIES 1. A&N Island 1 2. Chandigarh 2 3. D&N Haveli and D&D 1 4. Delhi 10 5. Jammu & Kashmir 10 6. Ladakh 0 7. Lakshadweep 1 8. Puducherry 1 Total 685ANNEXURE-II ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) to (f) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4599 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.08.2025 REGARDING FUNCTIONING OF CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSIONS. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 (upto 24th July) Disposed Disposed Disposed Disposed (also (also Disposed Disposed (also includes (also includes includes the includes the (also includes the (also includes the cases the cases S. No. State / UT Name cases disposed the cases disposed cases cases disposed Filed Filed Filed Filed disposed Filed disposed Filed which were filed disposed which which were which were which were which were in the previous were filed in the filed in the filed in the filed in the filed in the years) previous years) previous previous previous previous years) years) years) years) 1. NCDRC 3,157 3,003 2,697 1,965 3,655 4,054 5,816 6,125 4,546 6,953 1,856 2,370 STATES 1. ANDHRA PRADESH 1,268 713 1,648 471 2,678 3,372 3,398 3,942 3,434 2,672 1,802 1,044 ARUNACHAL 2. 13 9 14 9 25 19 39 30 40 26 10 11 PRADESH 3. ASSAM 259 152 335 213 554 608 553 511 552 552 252 212 4. BIHAR 2,299 568 2,745 808 5,277 3,047 4,279 4,874 3,928 3,293 1,591 1,340 5. CHHATTISGARH 3,715 2,471 3,464 2,147 2,829 2,356 3,403 4,662 3,077 4,817 1,527 2,241 6. GOA 176 115 271 183 177 178 219 365 285 231 161 107 7. GUJARAT 9,584 4,777 14,944 9,751 14,676 16,143 17,634 17,226 18,152 12,583 8,239 5,509 8. HARYANA 9,228 2,662 10,364 4,567 11,959 9,002 13,251 11,795 13,214 9,674 6,690 4,532 HIMACHAL 9. 772 538 1,038 811 2,267 1,796 2,415 2,104 2,280 2,154 1,277 820 PRADESH 10. JHARKHAND 500 67 678 76 1,923 2,106 1,703 2,028 1,389 1,387 503 427 11. KARNATAKA 6,964 5,762 7,066 7,968 9,035 11,939 10,435 12,538 11,872 10,244 5,323 4,890 12. KERALA 4,524 2,422 4,974 3,719 6,121 7,198 8,473 6,700 12,003 6,778 5,401 4,101 13. MADHYA PRADESH 12,842 5,405 17,449 9,158 16,340 21,091 11,976 18,309 10,624 14,885 4,938 6,369 14. MAHARASHTRA 14,147 6,096 20,987 13,073 22,607 16,757 18,523 7,632 15,918 14,939 7,245 4,940 15. MANIPUR 17 13 30 18 74 60 50 62 91 35 62 41 16. MEGHALAYA 21 9 31 20 67 186 55 60 68 50 31 21 17. MIZORAM 36 85 56 113 67 108 64 53 99 67 74 25 18. NAGALAND 7 2 21 3 15 16 14 15 28 3 13 2 19. ODISHA 3,191 1,797 3,426 2,562 4,105 5,206 5,924 7,174 5,844 4,911 2,347 1,716 20. PUNJAB 8,314 5,216 8,478 8,821 8,151 8,173 6,966 8,652 8,536 6,815 3,420 3,058 21. RAJASTHAN 10,549 5,119 14,775 11,341 14,812 11,491 13,662 12,341 12,397 10,741 5,754 5,028 22. SIKKIM 7 14 16 19 27 10 56 26 87 29 8 1 23. TAMIL NADU 2,000 1,291 2,485 1,231 7,086 10,026 7,348 9,079 8,224 7,494 3,187 2,324 24. TELANGANA 2,640 2,018 3,533 2,566 4,378 5,390 3,972 4,571 4,405 3,974 1,823 1,477 25. TRIPURA 134 79 270 182 512 596 225 256 243 162 109 63 26. UTTARAKHAND 1,717 1,321 1,659 1,327 2,217 2,224 1,102 929 709 548 464 1,185 27. UTTAR PRADESH 13,947 4,433 14,988 13,414 20,428 25,782 19,023 25,657 17,733 19,630 9,104 7,554 28. WEST BENGAL 4,113 1,879 4,687 2,219 6,353 7,080 5,692 6,743 5,009 3,915 1,906 1,5152020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 (upto 24th July) Disposed Disposed Disposed Disposed (also Disposed Disposed (also (also (also includes (also includes (also includes includes the includes the includes the the cases the cases the cases S. cases cases cases State / UT Name disposed disposed disposed No. Filed disposed Filed Filed Filed disposed Filed disposed Filed which which were which were which were which were which were were filed filed in the filed in the filed in the filed in the filed in the in the previous previous previous previous previous previous years) years) years) years) years) years) UNION TERRITORIES ANDAMAN AND 1 31 18 21 24 23 36 8 2 11 1 5 1 NICOBAR ISLANDS 2 CHANDIGARH 1,648 942 2,149 1,180 2,135 1,655 1,782 2,625 1,741 1,902 805 554 3 D&N HAVELI AND D&D 7 0 12 0 19 2 31 0 19 0 0 0 4 DELHI 2,983 1,748 4,053 1,778 5,031 5,106 6,063 8,545 6,418 6,525 2,017 1,983 5 JAMMU AND KASHMIR 0 0 0 0 12 0 31 3 46 160 4 0 6 LADAKH 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 LAKSHADWEEP 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 2 2 0 0 8 PUDUCHERRY 35 2 48 2 45 55 95 145 157 169 83 76 Total 1,20,845 60,746 1,49,412 1,01,739 175,680 182,868 174,284 185,779 173,181 158,321 78,031 65,537 *****

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